Etymology Explorer › English

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*manag—
4Proto-Germanicmanagazmany; much
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmenegʰ-many, sufficient

Words derived from “many”

  • manyness
  • manyfold
  • manyplies
  • overmany
  • maniness
  • manywise
  • many-sided
  • manycore
  • many-branched
  • many-sidedness
  • many-handed
  • many-handedness
  • many-handedly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European menegʰ- →