# much
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English muche (“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel (“much, great”), from Old English myċel, miċel (“big, much”), from Proto-West Germanic *mikil, from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- (“big, stour, great”). See also mickle, muckle.
Cognate with Scots mickle, mukill, mekil, mikil (“big, large, great, much”), Middle Dutch mēkel (“great, many, much”), Middle High German michel ("great, many, much"; > German michel (“great, big, large”)), Norwegian Bokmål mye (“much”), Norwegian Nynorsk mykje (“much”), Swedish mycket (“much”), Danish meget (“much”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils, “great, many”), Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas, “large, great”), Modern Greek μεγάλος (megálos, “large, great”).
Note that English much is not related to Spanish mucho, and their resemblance in both form and meaning is purely coincidental, as mucho derives from Latin multus and is not related to the Germanic forms. Instead, related to Spanish maño.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /mʌt͡ʃ/
* (Northern England) IPA: /mʊt͡ʃ/
* (General American) IPA: /mʌt͡ʃ/
* (Canada) IPA: /mʌt͡ʃ/
** (dialectal) IPA: /mʊt͡ʃ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌtʃ (Southern England, US, Canada)

### Determiner

much (comparative more, superlative most)
* A large amount of. [from 13th c.]
    Do you think I have much chance of catching the train on trai?
    They set about the task with much enthusiasm.
** 1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.
** 2011 February 24, “Wisconsin and wider”, in The Economist:Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.
* (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the quantity of something.
    Add this much water and no more.
    Take as much time as you like.
* (now archaic or nonstandard) A great number of; many (people). [from 13th c.]
** 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX:ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre sayd the Kynge / for as I here saye sir Launcelot will abyde me and yow in the Ioyous gard / and moche peple draweth vnto hym as I here saye(please add an English translation of this quotation)
** 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew:When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.
** 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:There wasn't much people about that day.
* (now Caribbean, African-American, UK regional) many ( + plural countable noun). [from 13th c.]
** 1977, Bob Marley, “So Much Things to Say”:They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say.

#### Usage notes

* Much is now generally used with uncountable nouns. The equivalent used with countable nouns is many. In positive contexts, much is widely avoided: I have a lot of money instead of I have much money. There are some exceptions to this, however: I have much hope for the future. A lot of these cases are emotive transitive verbs and nouns. I have much need for a new assistant. In parallel, I need it very much.
* Unlike many determiners, much is frequently modified by intensifying adverbs, as in “too much”, “very much”, “so much”, “not much”, and so on. (The same is true of many.)

#### Synonyms

* a great deal of, (informal) a lot of

#### Antonyms

* little

#### Related terms

* how much
* too much

#### Translations
### Adjective

much (not comparable)
* (obsolete) Large, great. [12th–16th c.]
** 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “iiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX:Thenne launcelot vnbarred the dore / and with his lyfte hand he held it open a lytel / so that but one man myghte come in attones / and soo there came strydyng a good knyghte a moche man and large / and his name was Colgreuaunce / of Gore / and he with a swerd strake at syr launcelot myȝtely and he put asyde the stroke(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (obsolete) Long in duration.

### Adverb

much (comparative more, superlative most)
* To a great extent.
    I don't like fish much. I don’t much care for strawberries either.
    He left her, much to the satisfaction of her other suitor.
    That boyfriend of yours is much {like - the same as} the others.
    My English was much the worst, and I'm certainly not much good at math either.
    Both candidates, who are much of an age, say much the same thing, but the youngest shows much the commoner behavior of the two.
** 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC, page 9:They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.
** 2008, “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (track 1), in Freedom, performed by Akon:I can’t lie (I miss you much). Watching every day that goes by (I miss you much).
** 2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.
** 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
** (with a comparative adjective) for emphasis or to indicate a great difference
    He is much fatter than I remember him.
    Honestly, I can't stand much more of this.
* Often; frequently.
    Does he get drunk much?
* (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate or compare extent.
    I don't like Wagner as much as I like Mozart.
* (slang) Combining with an adjective or (occasionally) a noun, used in a rhetorical question to mock someone for having the specified quality.
    Jamie's always preaching about how we need to save a planet when she drives literally everywhere she goes. Like, hypocritical much?
** 2005 December 28, Seth Stevenson, “What’s With That Overstock.com Ad?”, in Slate‎, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-01-20:The moment you've been waiting for—the lowdown on the Overstock hottie. I talked to her by phone last week. (Jealous much, gentlemen? Ad Report Card talks to all the fine ladies.)
** 2023 May 12, Lia Mappoura, “I tried Glossier's brand new G Suit lip crèmes so you don't have to – you're welcome”, in Cosmopolitan‎:Well, on the grounds of this, what if I told you the brand's latest launch goes against the latter and instead, is the first product in an opaque lip crème line? Screaming, crying, throwing up, much?
* (obsolete) Almost.

#### Usage notes

* As a verb modifier in positive contexts, much must in standard English be modified by another adverb: I like fish very much, I like fish so much, etc. but not *I like fish much.
* As a comparative intensifier, many can be used instead of much if it modifies the comparative form of many, i.e. more with a countable noun: many more people but much more snow.
* May be used in humorous questions to draw attention to somebody's undesirable behaviour: "desperate much?", "cherry-picking much?", etc.

#### Synonyms

* (to a great extent): (informal) a great deal, (informal) a lot, greatly, highly, (informal) loads, plenty (slang, especially US), very much

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “to a great extent”): less, little, few, almost, nearly

#### Translations
### Pronoun

much
* A large amount or great extent.
    From those to whom much has been given much is expected.
    We lay awake for much of the night.

### Derived terms

* a bit much
* as much
* as much again
* as much as
* as much as possible
* as much sinning as sinned against
* as much use as a chocolate fireguard
* as much use as a chocolate teapot
* enough is too much
* fuck you very much
* how much does it cost
* how much do I owe you
* how much do you charge
* how much is it
* in as much as
* leave much to be desired
* make much
* methinks the lady doth protest too much
* methinks thou dost protest too much
* much ado about nothing
* much appreciated
* much as
* Much Birch
* Much Dewchurch
* much for muchness
* much good may it do someone
* much grass
* Much Hadham
* Much Hoole
* much less
* Much Marcle
* muchness
* much obliged
* much of a muchness
* much to be said
* Much Wenlock
* much what
* much-what
* not give much for someone's chances
* not much chop
* not much cop
* not much of anything
* not much to look at
* not so much
* overmuch
* pretty much
* protest too much
* so much
* so much as
* so much for
* so much so
* so much the better
* so much the worse
* so much the worse for
* spank you very much
* thank ye so very much
* thank you very much
* the lady doth protest too much
* the world is too much with someone
* think much of
* think too much
* this much
* too much bed makes a dull head
* too much information
* too much of a good thing
* too much pudding will choke a dog
* too much water drowned the miller
* very much
* without so much as a by your leave

### References

* “much adv.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

### Anagrams

* Chum, chum

## Chuj
### Noun

much
* bird

## Chuukese
### Verb

much
* to end

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmux]

### Noun

much
* genitive plural of moucha

## Old Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmut͡ʃ/

### Adverb

much
* Apocopic form of mucho; very, greatly
** c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 36r:Job fue much rich õe e ouo .v. fijos. ⁊ .iij. fijas. ⁊ ouo .mil. ouejas. ⁊ .iij. mil. camellos. ⁊ .d. iugos de bueẏes. ⁊ .v. mil aſnas.Job was a very rich man. And he had five sons and three daughters. And he owned a thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five thousand donkeys.

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmux/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ux
* Syllabification: much

### Noun

much f
* genitive plural of mucha

## Swedish
### Noun

much c
* Archaic spelling of musch.

## Yola
### Adjective

much
* Alternative form of mucha
** 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 108:Hea had no much wut,He had not much wit,

### References

* Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 108

## Yucatec Maya
### Noun

much
* Obsolete spelling of muuch.