Etymologically
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plus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /plʌs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin plūs (“more”),[2][3] the comparative of multus “much”,[4][2] Old Latin plous, altered under the influence of minus from *pleos,[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *pelə- (“to fill”);[4][2] it is akin to Greek pleíōn “more” and Latin plēnus “full”.[5] The sense “added to” did not exist in Latin of any period;[2] Barnhart thinks it arose in the commercial language of the Middle Ages, and the OED notes that Leonardo of Pisa used plus and minus in 1202.[4][2] The same Latin word is the source of plural.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The spoken form of the sign + in algebra, a positive quantity: 1579,[7][2] the 1570s;[4] Merriam-Webster has a first use in 1537.[5] The sign itself was well known from at least the late 15th century and is perhaps an abbreviation of Latin et “and”.[4]

Semantic evolution

The noun, the plus sign, is from 1654.[2][8] As a preposition between two numbers, to indicate addition, it is from 1668[7][8] or the 1660s.[4] The adjective, “additional, extra”, is from 1756,[2][5] and in electricity “positive” from 1747.[7] An advantage or extra is from 1791, in Walpole's letters.[2][4] After a number, to mean “and somewhat more”, it is attested by 1902,[4][7] and as a conjunction, “and in addition”, from 1968, colloquial and chiefly North American.[7][2][4] Plus fours, from 1920, are knickerbockers four inches longer than usual, to give an overhang at the knee, associated with golfers.[2][4][6]

Timeline

  • 1579 – the oral rendering of the sign +.[7][2]
  • 1654 – noun, the plus sign.[2]
  • 1668 – preposition, added to.[7]
  • 1747 – electrically positive.[7]
  • 1756 – adjective, additional.[2]
  • 1791 – noun, an advantage.[2][4]
  • 1902 – after a number, and more.[4][7]
  • 1920 – plus fours.[2]
  • 1968 – conjunction, and in addition.[7][2]

Modern meaning

Preposition

  1. Increased by; with the addition of: two plus two.
  2. Along with; besides.

Conjunction

  1. (informal) And also; moreover.

Adjective

  1. Greater than zero; positive.
  2. Additional or extra; more than expected.
  3. Slightly higher than a given grade: B plus.

Noun

  1. The plus sign (+).
  2. A favorable factor; an advantage.
  3. An added or positive quantity.

Word family

  • eleven-plus
  • plus or minus
  • ne plus ultra
  • rien ne va plus
  • plus fours
  • plus sign

Usage notes

The conjunctive use, “and, besides”, as in it's cheap, plus it's fast, is informal, and many writers avoid it in formal prose.[9][7]

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 q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin