much

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English muche, also miche, shortened from Middle English muchel (“large, great, much”), also michel,^[2][3][4][5] which continues from Old English micel (“great in amount or extent”), also mycel,^[6][2][5][3] from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz,^[1][7] from Proto-Indo-European *meg- (“great”).^[6][8] The Old English word is cognate with Old Saxon mikil, Old High German mihhil, Old Norse mikill and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils),^[2][3][7] and outside Germanic with Latin magnus (“great, large”), Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas, “large, great”) and Hittite mekkiš (“great, much, many”).^[2][3][5] The OED thinks the loss of the final -l may have been suggested by the pair lut and lutel (little), or may have been a sound change after the ch sound, as in wench;^[9][2] Skeat explained the change of vowel from i to u by the same association.^[10] The full form survives as muckle,^[9][11] while mickle comes from the Old Norse cognate, according to Ayto.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Great in size; of a person, tall or large: before 1154, in a text printed in Madox's Formulare Anglicanum.^[9] Barnhart's first record of the short form muche is probably before 1200, in Laȝamon's Brut.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Like more and most, the word first referred to size, a sense that survives only in English place names such as Much Wenlock and Much Hadham.^[13][5][11] From about 1200 it meant "great in quantity", and the noun "a great deal" and the adverb "greatly" appeared at the same time.^[6][2][9] In the 16th and 17th centuries it could also mean "many", as in much people,^[13] a use the OED now calls archaic and nonstandard.^[9] Too much meant "astonishing" or "unforgivable" from the late 14th century and "more than can be endured" from the 1530s, and jazz slang made it "excellent" by 1937.^[6] Since the 17th century the adverb has formed compound adjectives with participles.^[6] The verb, "to make much of, to pet", is recorded from 1640;^[9] it was used in southern English dialects for petting animals,^[14] and Merriam-Webster labels it dialectal.^[3] In American black slang much has meant "a lot of" (1953), and the adverb "very" in teenage use (1964).^[15]

Timeline

• before 1154 – great in size; of a person, tall or large.^[9]
• c. 1200 – great in quantity; noun, a great deal; adverb, greatly.^[6][2][9]
• c. 1275 – of people, many (now archaic).^[9]
• late 14th century – too much, astonishing, unforgivable.^[6]
• 1530s – too much, more than can be endured.^[6]
• 1640 – verb, to make much of, to pet.^[9]
• 1937 – too much, excellent, in jazz slang.^[6]
• 1953 – a lot of, many, in American black slang.^[15]

Meanings

Determiner

1. A great amount or degree of, used especially in questions and with a negative: We didn't have much time.^[16][3]

Pronoun

1. A great amount or deal: She learned much from her travels.^[3][16]
2. a bit much: rather excessive (informal).^[16]
3. as much: just that: I guessed as much.^[16]

Adverb

1. To a great degree; greatly: He felt much better after a rest.^[3][16]
2. Very, with adjectives formed from past participles: much admired.^[3]

Verb

1. (dialect) To make much of; to pet or fondle.^[3][9][14]

Word family

• insomuch
• muchness
• overmuch
• much as
• much less
• so much

Related words

• mickle
• muckle
• magnitude
• master
• mega-
• magnum

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ a b 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)
15. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
16. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins