early 15c., "existing apart," from Anglo-French several, from Middle French seperalis "separate," from Medieval Latin separalis, from Latin separ "separate, different," back-formation from separare "to separate" (see separate, v.). Meaning "various, diverse, different" is attested from c.1500; that of "more than one" is from 1530s, originally in legal use.Related: Severalty. Jocular ordinal form severalth attested from 1902 in American English dialect (see -th(2)).