Where does “pluralism” come from?
Pluralism derives from English plural, from Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός, from Latin pluralis and -alis, from Proto-Indo-European plē- and pleh₁-, meaning to fill or be full.
pluralism (English): The quality or state of being plural, or in the...
Definitions
- The quality or state of being plural, or in the...
Ancestry of “pluralism”, step by step
pluralism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English plural
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | plural | Consisting of or containing more than one of... |
| 2 | Middle English | plurelle | plural |
| 3 | Old French | plurel | plural |
| 4 | Latin | plūrālis | plural |
| 5 | Latin | plūs | more; more of |
| 6 | Old Latin | plous | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ploh₁is- | — |
via French pluralisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | pluralisme | pluralism |
| 2 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 3 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 4 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |