more than two but not a large number of
I bought several books at the sale.
Several students raised their hands to answer the question.
✦ From Late Latin ‘severalis’ meaning ‘separate, different’.
more than two but not many people or things, used without a following noun
Several were injured in the accident.
Only several remained after the others left early.
✦ Pronoun use developed from the determiner meaning in Middle English.
separate and different from one another; distinct
After the ceremony, the friends went their several ways.
The treaty granted the islands several governments.
✦ Sense of ‘separate, distinct’ comes from Late Latin ‘separalis’.
