Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “plural” come from?

Plural comes from Middle English plurelle, from Old French plurel, from Latin pluralis, formed from the Latin suffix -alis added to a root from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-, meaning to fill or multiply.

plural (English): Consisting of or containing more than one of...

Definitions

  1. Consisting of or containing more than one of...

Ancestry of “plural”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishplurelleplural
2Old Frenchplurelplural
3Latinplūrālis—
4Latinplūs—
5Old Latinplous—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanploh₁is-—

Words derived from “plural”

  • plurality
  • pluralism
  • pluralistic
  • pluralist
  • pluralization
  • pluralize
  • pluralisation
  • pluralistically
  • plurally
  • antipluralist
  • pluralizer
  • hyperpluralism
  • pluralizable
  • nonplural
  • antipluralistic
  • antipluralism
  • ethnopluralism
  • hyperpluralistic
  • ethnopluralist
  • pl
  • pluralizability
  • duoplural
  • plurals
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ploh₁is- →