plurimum

Forms

plūrimum n (genitive plūrimī); second declension^[1] It is also spelled plūrumum.^[2]

Etymology

It is the neuter of plūrimus (“most”) used as an adverb and a noun.^[2][1] plūrimus is the superlative of plūs (“more”); de Vaan traces it to Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-ist(h₂)o-, from *pleh₁- (“to fill; much”), and notes the old forms ⟨plīsima⟩ (Carmen Saliare) and ⟨plūsima⟩ (Varro).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it as a noun: plūrimum tū scīs, “you know a very great deal”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb plūrimum is “most, to the greatest extent, very much”.^[2][1] As a noun it is “the greatest amount, the most” (Cicero: since I owe him the most), quam plūrimum “as much as possible” (Cato: the more he eats, the sooner he will be well), and “at most” (Livy: those who write that there were at most 100,000 foot).^[2][1]

Church Latin uses it for “mostly, commonly, for the most part”.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: plūrimum tū scīs.^[2][4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato: quam plūrimum ēderit.^[2][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy: quī plūrimum … scrībunt.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Most, most of all, very much.^[2][1]
2. At most.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Mostly, commonly.^[5]

Noun

1. The greatest amount, the most, quam plūrimum, as much as possible.^[2][1]

Related words

• plūrimus
• plūs
• plērumque

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson