abundance English · revision 15376

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1340|origins=la abundō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈbʌn.dn̩s/ ''(UK)''; /əˈbʌn.dn̩s/, /əˈbʌn.dn̩ts/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|aboundance]], [[bor|fro|abundance]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|abundantia|t=fullness, plenty]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|abundāns|t=overflowing]], the present participle of [[m|la|abundō|t=to overflow]] (see [[abound]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An overflowing quantity, plenty: 1340, in ''Ayenbite of Inwyt'', in Barnhart and the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Some writers of the 14th and 15th centuries borrowed directly from Latin,^(Barnhart 1988) and the form ''habundance'' was common in the 14th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) An overflowing state is from 1366,^(OED 1989) plenty of the good things of life, affluence, from 1382,^(OED 1989) and loosely a great number from 1375.^(OED 1989) In solo whist, abundance is a declaration to take nine tricks, from 1888,^(OED 1989) and in ecology and physics it is the relative amount of a species or element, from the early 20th century.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1340 – a plentiful amount.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1366 – overflowing state.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – affluence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – abundance in solo whist.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very large quantity; [[plenty]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Fullness to overflowing: ''from the abundance of my heart''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[affluence|alt=Affluence]]; wealth.^(AHD)

+ # ''(chemistry, ecology)'' The relative amount of an element or species in a place.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[overabundance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[abound]]

+ * [[abundant]]

+ * [[undulate]]

+ * [[redundant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}