πλείων

Forms

πλείων (pleíōn) m or f (neuter πλεῖον); third declension^[1] Also πλέων (pléōn), neuter πλεῖον (pleîon), πλέον (pléon), Attic neuter πλεῖν (pleîn) (as an adverb), Ionic πλεῦν (pleûn), plural πλεῦνες (pleûnes), Epic and Aeolic plural πλέες (plées), Cretan πλίες (plíes), Arcadian πλος (plos) "more".^[2][3][4] Superlative πλεῖστος (pleîstos).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *pleíhōn,^[1] from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-is-on-, the comparative of the root Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill, be full”).^[2][1] The superlative πλεῖστος (pleîstos) continues Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-is-to-.^[2] The intervocalic /h/ was lost, giving πλέων (pléōn), and πλείων has its ⟨ει⟩ from πλεῖστος (pleîstos), as μείων (meíōn) took its form from πλείων.^[2][5][6] The plurals πλέες (plées) and πλίες (plíes), which look archaic, are better taken as new forms made from πλέον (pléon).^[2][5]

Cognate with Old Norse fleiri (“more”) and Old Norse flestr (“most”), and with Sanskrit प्रायस् (prā́yas, “mostly”).^[2][5] It comes from the same root as πολύς (polús), whose comparative it serves as, and πίμπλημι (pímplēmi) "to fill".^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is used from the Iliad on as the comparative of πολύς, "more" in number, size or extent: in the Iliad (13.739) the Trojans fight "few against more" (παυρότεροι πλεόνεσσι).^[4][2][8]

Semantic evolution

Homer already uses οἱ πλέονες for "the majority", the mass of the people as opposed to the chiefs.^[4][3] In Herodotus the Ionic forms πλεῦνες and πλεῦν are regular.^[4][3] The neuter πλέον became an adverb, "more, rather", and entered many set phrases of Attic prose: πλέον ἔχειν "to have the advantage", from which πλεονεξία (pleonexíā) "greed" was formed, and τί πλέον; "what good is it?"^[4][2]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept the adjective and especially the neuter πλέον as an adverb.^[9] In Modern Greek πλέον (pléon) is a learned adverb, "any more, now", beside the popular πια (pia).^[10][9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for "more", and οἱ πλέονες for the majority.^[4][8]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod says that more people mean more work (Works and Days 380).^[4][11]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the Ionic forms πλεῦνες and πλεῦν, and πλέον ἔχειν "to have the advantage".^[4][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses πλέον ἔχειν in the Republic, and Xenophon uses πλέον ἤ with numerals.^[4][11]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use the adjective and the neuter as an adverb.^[9]
• Modern Greek – πλέον (pléon) is a learned adverb, "any more".^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. More, greater, larger (in number, size or extent); the comparative of πολύς (polús).^[4][3]
2. With the article, οἱ πλείονες: the majority, the mass, the common people.^[4][3]
3. τὸ πλέον: the greater part.^[4]
4. Neuter as a noun: more; πλέον ἔχειν, to have the advantage; τί πλέον; what is the use?^[4]

Adverb

1. Neuter πλέον, πλεῖον, πλεῖν: more, rather; with numerals, more than.^[4][3]

Word family

• πλεονεξία (pleonexíā)
• πλεονεκτέω (pleonektéō)
• πλεονάζω (pleonázō)
• πλεονάκις (pleonákis)

Related words

• πλεῖστος (pleîstos)
• πολύς (polús)
• πίμπλημι (pímplēmi)
• μείων (meíōn)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
7. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
8. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
9. ^ a b c Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge