Etymologically
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plenty

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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

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