epizoda

Epizoda is a term used in several languages, especially in Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Slovenian, and Polish, to denote a single installment of a serialized work. In everyday use it corresponds to the English word “episode” and can refer to a television or radio episode, a podcast installment, or a chapter within a larger narrative such as a novel or manga. The word is feminine in these languages and inflects for number and case (for example epizoda in singular, epizode in plural in many varieties).

Etymology: Epizoda comes from the Greek epizōdion, meaning an added portion, and it entered Slavic and other European languages through Latin and French or via direct borrowing. The broader semantic family includes terms for “episode” in other languages, such as Russian эпизод (epizod).

Use and nuance: As a unit of serialization, an epizoda is often self-contained but also part of a larger arc or story. In television and streaming, episodes are typically released in seasons, with epizodes sometimes designed to be watched in sequence as a narrative chain. In literature, episodic works may be structured around standalone episodes or chapters that collectively advance a plot.

Variations: Some languages distinguish between epizoda as the general term and epizod as a more technical or anglicized form. Spelling and pronunciation may differ slightly by language, reflecting orthographic conventions and stress patterns.

See also: Episode.