Serry

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To crowd or pack things closely together in a compressed mass
2. To press multiple items into a confined space with force or density
3. To jam or squeeze elements together so they form a tight, compact arrangement

Etymology: "Serry" is a verb meaning to crowd closely together, as in ranks of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder. It came into English by borrowing the past participle of French "serrer," meaning "to tighten" or "to close," so the English word is literally a French form meaning "pressed tight." Its deeper roots lie in Latin "sera," a bar or bolt used to fasten a door, which is why the family of words carries an idea of locking things together. That bolt sense is the real surprise. The Latin noun for a door bar gave rise to a verb meaning "to fasten," and through Vulgar Latin "serrare" it spread across Romance languages: Spanish "cerrar" still means "to shut" or "close" a door today. The same pressing-together idea that made a bolt a bolt made a crowd of people or objects a tightly packed mass in English.

Synonyms: crowd, press, compress

Antonyms: scatter, disperse