Teleserye is the Philippine English word for a television soap opera, combining tele- from television with the Tagalog word for series, serye. The word was apparently first used in reference to Pangako Sa ‘Yo (The Promise), a serial drama aired on Philippine television from 2000 to 2002.

The earliest evidence for teleserye in the OED is from an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer describing the show:

ABS-CBN has coined a new term, ‘teleserye’, to hype up its latest project, ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’… The teleserye combines ‘the magnitude of a continuing series and the sophisticated artistry of filmmaking’.

2000 Philippine Daily Inquirer 4 November p. C5

Since the word seems to have been invented by a network to promote a particular show, it is possible that written evidence can be found for it before the series began airing, perhaps from a script or a similar source. Can you help us find examples of teleserye earlier than November 2000?

Posted by OED_Editor on 24 May 2016 15.25