Etymologically
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multitudo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [mʊɫ.tɪˈtuː.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [mul.tiˈtuː.do][1]

Forms

multitūdō f (genitive multitūdinis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin multus + -tūdō, from the adjective “much, many”.[2][1][3] De Vaan derives multus from Proto-Italic *molto- and compares Ancient Greek μάλα (mála, “very”), though he calls the further PIE etymology weak;[4] Oscan molto (“a fine”) may belong here, a fine being an amount to be paid.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Lucilius on.[5]

Semantic evolution

Multitūdō is numerousness and abundance, in grammar the plural, and with a genitive “a large number, host” (multitūdō hominum).[2][6] Without a genitive it is a crowd, a throng, and also the population of a place and the common people.[2][3]

English multitude is recorded from the early 14th century, from Old French and directly from Latin.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – First found in Lucilius.[5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: concursābat urbe tōtā maxima multitūdō, “a huge crowd was running about the whole city”.[2][5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar: iubet in oppida multitūdinem convenīre, “he orders the population to gather in the towns”.[2][5]
  • early 14th century – English multitude.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Numerousness; abundance.[2][1]
  2. (grammar) The plural.[2]
  3. A great number, a multitude (of persons or things).[2][6][1][7]
  4. A crowd, throng.[2][1]
  5. The population;[2] the common people.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson