The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Serial \Se"ri*al\, a.
   1. Of or pertaining to a series; consisting of a series;
      appearing in successive parts or numbers; as, a serial
      work or publication. "Classification . . . may be more or
      less serial." --H. Spencer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to rows. --Gray.
      [1913 Webster]

   Serial homology. (Biol.) See under Homology.

   Serial symmetry. (Biol.) See under Symmetry.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Serial \Se"ri*al\, n.
   A publication appearing in a series or succession of part; a
   tale, or other writing, published in successive numbers of a
   periodical.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

nonparallel \nonparallel\ adj.
   1. not parallel; -- of lines or linear objects. Opposite of
      parallel. [Narrower terms: bias, catacorner,
      cata-cornered, catercorner, cater-cornered, catty-corner,
      catty-cornered, diagonal, kitty-corner, kitty-cornered,
      oblique, skew, skewed, slanted ; {crossed, decussate,
      intersectant, intersecting; cross-grained ; {diagonal;
      orthogonal, orthographic, rectangular, right-angled ;
      {right, perpendicular; angled ; {convergent] Also See:
      convergent, divergent, diverging.
      [WordNet 1.5]

   2. (Computers) Not using parallel processing; -- of
      computers. [Narrower terms: serial] PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

serial
    adj 1: in regular succession without gaps; "serial concerts"
           [syn: consecutive, sequent, sequential, serial,
           successive]
    2: pertaining to or composed in serial technique; "serial music"
    3: pertaining to or occurring in or producing a series; "serial
       monogamy"; "serial killing"; "a serial killer"; "serial
       publication"
    4: of or relating to the sequential performance of multiple
       operations; "serial processing" [syn: serial, in
       series(p), nonparallel]
    n 1: a serialized set of programs; "a comedy series"; "the
         Masterworks concert series" [syn: serial, series]
    2: a periodical that appears at scheduled times [syn: series,
       serial, serial publication]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

231 Moby Thesaurus words for "serial":
   Grand Guignol, Passion play, Tom show, alternate, annual,
   antimasque, article, audience success, ballet, beating,
   best seller, bimonthly, biweekly, bomb, book, bound book,
   broadcast, broadcast drama, burlesque show, canned show, catenary,
   chapter, charade, circling, classic, clause, cliff hanger,
   closet drama, coloring book, column, comedy drama, commercial,
   commercial program, connected, consecutive, consistent, continuous,
   critical success, cyclic, daily, daybook, daytime serial,
   definitive work, dialogue, diary, documentary drama, drama,
   dramalogue, dramatic play, dramatic series, duodrama, duologue,
   editorial, electrical transcription, ephemeris, epic theater,
   epochal, even, every other, experimental theater, extravaganza,
   failure, fascicle, flop, folio, fortnightly, gasser, gazette,
   giveaway, great work, happening, hardback, hit, hit show,
   improvisational drama, installment, intermittent, isochronal,
   joined, journal, journalese, journalistic, juvenile, juvenile book,
   legitimate drama, limp-cover book, lineal, linear, livraison,
   magazine, magazinish, magaziny, magnum opus, masque, measured,
   melodrama, metronomic, minstrel show, miracle, miracle play,
   monodrama, monologue, monthly, morality, morality play,
   music drama, musical revue, mystery, mystery play, network show,
   newscast, newsmagazine, newspaperish, newspapery, nonbook,
   notebook, novel, opera, opus, opuscule, opusculum, orderly,
   ordinal, organ, oscillatory, pageant, panel show, pantomime,
   paperback, paragraph, part, passage, pastoral, pastoral drama,
   periodical, phrase, pictorial, picture book, piece, play, playbook,
   playlet, pocket book, prayer book, problem play, production,
   progressive, psalmbook, psalter, psychodrama, publication, pulsing,
   quarterly, quiz show, radio drama, radio fare, radiobroadcast,
   rebroadcast, reciprocal, recurrent, recurring, reportorial, rerun,
   review, revue, rhythmic, rotary, seasonal, section,
   sensational play, sequent, sequential, seriate, show, sitcom,
   situation comedy, sketch, sketchbook, skit, slick magazine, soap,
   soap opera, sociodrama, soft-cover, songbook, sound effects,
   spectacle, sportscast, stage play, stage show, standard work,
   steady, storybook, straight drama, subsequent, succeeding, success,
   successional, successive, suspense drama, sustainer, tableau,
   tableau vivant, talk show, taped program, teleplay,
   television drama, television play, theater of cruelty, tight,
   title, tome, total theater, trade book, trade magazine, undulant,
   undulatory, uninterrupted, variety show, vaudeville,
   vaudeville show, vehicle, verse, volume, wavelike, weekly,
   wheeling, word-of-mouth success, work, writing, yearbook



The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

serial

   1.  serial communications

   2.  serial processor.


The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

SERIAL, n.  A literary work, usually a story that is not true,
creeping through several issues of a newspaper or magazine.
Frequently appended to each installment is a "synposis of preceding
chapters" for those who have not read them, but a direr need is a
synposis of succeeding chapters for those who do not intend to read
_them_.  A synposis of the entire work would be still better.
    The late James F. Bowman was writing a serial tale for a weekly
paper in collaboration with a genius whose name has not come down to
us.  They wrote, not jointly but alternately, Bowman supplying the
installment for one week, his friend for the next, and so on, world
without end, they hoped.  Unfortunately they quarreled, and one Monday
morning when Bowman read the paper to prepare himself for his task, he
found his work cut out for him in a way to surprise and pain him.  His
collaborator had embarked every character of the narrative on a ship
and sunk them all in the deepest part of the Atlantic.