Etymologically
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amplus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈam.pɫʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈam.plus][1]

Forms

amplus (feminine ampla, neuter amplum, comparative amplior, superlative amplissimus, adverb amplē or ampliter); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.[1][2][3] De Vaan considers Proto-Italic *am-lo- (“seizable”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃mh₃- (“to grab”), related to ampla “handle”, with the same change of *-ml- to *-mpl- as in exemplum.[4][1] He notes, however, that *amalos would not normally have been shortened early enough for that change.[4] Another suggestion is *ambi-plus “full on both sides”, from ambi-.[1] Lewis and Short mention older comparisons with Ancient Greek ἀνάπλεως (anápleōs, “full”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Livius Andronicus,[4][6] who uses it of a large purple robe.[2] Köbler places his career before 200 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant large in size, spacious, and then magnificent, large in number or amount, and abundant.[2] With abstract nouns it meant great or intense, of the mind generous, and of honours and persons distinguished, as in the title vir amplissimus.[2] Of orators it meant copious, and of words full of meaning.[2]

Döderlein groups it with magnus and grandis as words for a fitting greatness, as opposed to ingēns and vastus, which suggest an overwhelming size.[7] Its derivatives include amplificō, amplitūdō and amplius “more”.[1] Through Old French ample it gave English ample in the mid-15th century, and it survives in Spanish ancho (“wide”).[8][1]

Timeline

  • before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it of a purple robe.[2][6]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of a large, fierce man.[2][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of a spacious house.[9][6]
  • mid-15th century – English ample is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Large, big, spacious.[2]
  2. magnificent, splendid.[2]
  3. Large in number; abundant, plentiful.[2]
  4. (with abstract nouns) Great, intense.[2]
  5. Generous; honourable.[2]
  6. Distinguished, eminent.[2]
  7. (of orators, words) Copious; full of meaning.[2]

Word family

  • amplificō
  • amplificus
  • ampliō
  • amplitūdō
  • ampliusculus
  • amplo
  • peramplus
  • amplē
  • ampliter
  • amplius
  • examplō
  • amō
  • ampla
  • English ample

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.