plenty

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈplen.ti/, US /ˈplen.t̬i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English plente,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French plenté, earlier plentet “abundance, profusion”,^[4][2] from Latin plēnitās (“fullness”) (accusative plēnitātem),^[4][2] from plēnus (“full”),^[4][2] from Proto-Indo-European *pele- (“to fill”).^[4] Middle English also had plenteth, from the older Old French form, until the mid to late 15th century.^[2][4] It is related to full, plenary and plenitude.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A full supply, abundance: before 1250, in a version of the Ancrene Riwle,^[2] and the mid-13th century in Etymonline, as much as one could desire.^[4] Its early senses also included “fullness” and “perfection”.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

“A large amount, a great deal” is from the early 14th century,^[4] and the condition of general abundance, as in times of plenty, from the late 14th century.^[4] The OED dates “abundance” to 1382.^[7] The adjective, “abundant”, is from before 1325, in Cursor Mundi,^[2] and the spelling plenty from 1373.^[2] The colloquial adverb, “quite, very much”, is from 1842^[4][2] or 1775 in Merriam-Webster.^[3] plentiful is from about 1400.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1250 – abundance.^[2]
• early 14th century – a large amount.^[4]
• before 1325 – adjective.^[2]
• 1373 – spelling plenty.^[2]
• late 14th century – general prosperity.^[4]
• c. 1400 – plentiful.^[2]
• 1842 – adverb, very.^[4][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A full or more than adequate supply: plenty of time.
2. A large quantity; an abundance.
3. General prosperity: a land of plenty.

Adjective

1. (informal) Plentiful; abundant.

Adverb

1. (informal) Quite; very: plenty warm.

Word family

• aplenty
• plenteous
• plentiful
• horn of plenty

Related words

• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenary
• plethora
• full
• replete

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press