πληθύς

Forms

πληθῡ́ς (plēthū́s) f (genitive πληθῠ́ος); third declension^[1] The long ῡ of the nominative and accusative singular is short in the other cases; the epic dative is πληθυῖ (plēthuî).^[2][3] The word is Ionic, Cretan and Locrian, and later Hellenistic, and Locrian and Boeotian have a parallel πλήθα (plḗthā).^[4]

Etymology

It belongs to the family of πίμπλημι (pímplēmi, “to fill”), πλήθω (plḗthō, “to be full”) and πλῆθος (plêthos, “mass, crowd”), whose root is from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”).^[4][1][5] Beekes takes the theta of πλῆθος (plêthos) and πλήθω (plḗthō) for a suffix found in rather young formations, but compares πληθύς with Latin plēbēs (“the common people”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-dʰuh₁-.^[4] Wiktionary reports his reconstruction of the nominative as *pléh₁dʰuh₁s, with an original accusative that Greek replaced, and notes that the Latin word may point to a slightly different stem; the exact pre-form is unclear.^[1]

Pokorny likewise sets the Ionic word beside the Latin one.^[5] Further related words are πολύς (polús, “much, many”) and Latin plērus (“for the greater part”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Homer, where it means the whole body or number of a people or an army, and especially the common mass of the host as opposed to its leaders, a throng in battle, and numerical strength.^[6][7] In the second book of the Iliad it already takes a plural verb as a noun of multitude.^[2]

Semantic evolution

LSJ treats it as the Ionic counterpart of πλῆθος (plêthos).^[2] Tyrtaeus uses it for the superior numbers of an army.^[3] In the law code of Gortyn it is used like δῆμος (dêmos) for the people, and a Locrian inscription of the 5th century BC uses it for the majority that carries a decision.^[2]

In later prose it reappears in the dialogue Axiochus ascribed to Plato and in the Third Book of Maccabees, where it means a crowd.^[2][8] Polybius uses it for the majority of people and for the number of troops, and Plutarch for the bulk of an army.^[3][2] Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses it as the Greek word for the Roman Latin plēbs.^[2]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept it, also in the form πληνθύς (plinthýs) with an added nasal, for a multitude, the common people and abundance.^[9] In 1806 Dimitrios Govdelas used it in his algebra as a mathematical term for an abstract plurality.^[10] It survives as a learned word, Modern Greek πληθύς (plithýs), for a great quantity of people or things.^[11][12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the mass of the army, set against its leaders, and for numerical strength.^[6][2]
• 7th century BC – Tyrtaeus uses it for superior numbers of troops.^[3][13]
• 5th century BC – A Locrian inscription uses it for the majority in a decision.^[2]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the majority of people and for the number of troops.^[3][13]
• 1st century BC – Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses it for the Roman plebs.^[2][13]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for the larger part of an army.^[3][13]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use it, also as πληνθύς (plinthýs), for a crowd, the common people and abundance.^[9]
• 1806 – Dimitrios Govdelas uses it as a term of algebra.^[10]
• Modern Greek – πληθύς (plithýs) is a learned word for a great quantity of people or things.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A great number, a multitude; the whole body of a people.^[3][6]
2. The general mass, the throng, especially of troops as opposed to their leaders; a crowd of people.^[3][6][2]
3. Numerical strength, superior numbers.^[3][6]
4. The majority of people; the larger part of an army.^[3][2]
5. The number of troops, a total.^[3]
6. The common people, like δῆμος (dêmos); the Roman plebs.^[2]

Related words

• πλῆθος (plêthos)
• πίμπλημι (pímplēmi)
• πλήθω (plḗthō)
• πληθύω (plēthúō)
• πληθύνω (plēthū́nō)
• πληθώρα (plēthṓra)
• Latin plēbs

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 k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ a b Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Κάτοπτρον: Ιστορικό λεξικό επιστημονικών όρων (Greek scientific terms 1700–1821)
11. ^ a b Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
12. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
13. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge