Where does “many” come from?

Many derives from Middle English mani, from Old English manig, from Proto-Germanic managaz, a word of uncertain ultimate origin.

many (English): An indefinite large number of; Used to indicate,...

Definitions

  1. An indefinite large number of; Used to indicate,...

Ancestry of “many”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmany
2Old Englishmaniġmany, much
3Proto-West Germanic*managmany
4Proto-Germanicmanagazmany; much
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmenegʰ-many, sufficient

Words derived from “many

Every word from Proto-Indo-European menegʰ-