ample

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ample,^[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman ample and ample,^[3][4][5] and partly directly from Latin,^[3] Latin amplus (“large, spacious; abundant; magnificent”).^{[3][6][7][8][9]} The French adjective is recorded from the 11th century in Old French,^[3] and in Anglo-Norman from 1121–25, meaning wide, spacious, widespread and abundant.^[10] The Latin word has relatives in the other Romance languages, such as Italian ampio and Catalan ample.^[3] The OED calls the Latin adjective of unknown origin;^[3] Etymonline, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster relate it to ampla (“handle, grip”),^[6][5][11] from Proto-Italic *amlo- (“seizable”),^[6] and Barnhart and Klein derive it from Proto-Indo-European *am- (“to grasp, hold”),^[5][9] so that it would first have meant "comprehensive".^[9] Weekley instead analysed it as amb- (“about”) with the ending of duplus (“double”).^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of something immaterial, large in extent or amount: 1437, in the Proceedings of the Privy Council, where the king wills that a man should have "as large & ample power" as the Duke of York had.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

In 1447 the word was used for generous ("of youre more ample grace") and, of writing, for full or detailed.^[3][2] The main modern sense, more than enough for a purpose, plentiful, is recorded from 1472–3.^[3] Caxton used it in the 1480s of physical size: roomy or spacious (1483), wide in extent (before 1492), and of a person's body, large in proportions (1485);^[3] in later use this last sense became a euphemism for plump or fat.^[3][13] Johnson (1755) defined it first as "large; wide; extended" and then as "great in bulk".^[14] An adverb ample, amply, was used from 1481 to 1654, and a verb ample, to enlarge, from before 1500 to 1555.^[3] In Shropshire dialect ample, also imple, meant complete or perfect: things were "in ample order".^[15]

Timeline

• 1437 – of an immaterial thing, large in extent or amount.^[3][2][5]
• 1447 – generous; of writing, detailed and full.^[3][2]
• 1472–3 – more than sufficient, plentiful.^[3]
• 1481 – adverb, amply (obsolete after 1654).^[3]
• 1483 – roomy, spacious, in Caxton.^[3]
• 1485 – of the body, of large proportions.^[3]
• before 1500 – verb, to enlarge (obsolete after 1555).^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. More than enough; plentiful: There was ample room for everyone's luggage.
2. Large in size, extent or capacity; spacious: a farmhouse with an ample kitchen.
3. Of a person's figure, large and full; also as a euphemism for plump.

Word family

• ampleness
• amply

Related words

• amplification
• amplifier
• amplificatory
• amplify
• amplitude

Usage notes

Dictionary.com compares four words for degrees of plenty: ample means a plentiful supply, liberal one drawn generously from a large store, copious an abundance that seems endless, and profuse an even freer, unrestrained flow.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)