many
Language: English
Part of speech: det
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɛni/
ipa: /ˈmɛni/
rhymes: -ɛni
ipa: /ˈmɪni/
homophone: mini (pin–pen merger)
ipa: /ˈmæni/
rhymes: -æni
homophone: mannie
homophone: Mannie
homophone: manny
homophone: Manny
Forms: form: more
form: most
form: manie
Etymology: From Middle English many, mani, moni, from Old English maniġ, moniġ, maneġ (“many”), from Proto-West Germanic *manag, from Proto-Germanic *managaz (“some, much, many”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots mony (“many”), Yola many (“many”), Alemannic German meng (“many”), Dutch menig (“many”), German manch (“many, some”), Low German männich, männig (“many”), Luxembourgish muench, munch, munnech (“many”), Danish mangen (“many”), Faroese mangur (“many”), Icelandic margur (“many”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk mang, mange (“many”), Swedish mången (“many”), French maint (“many”), Russian мно́гий (mnógij, “much; many”), Serbo-Croatian and Polish mnogi (“numerous; plural”), Czech mnohý (“many, numerous”), Scottish Gaelic minig.
The noun is from Middle English manye, *menye, from Old English manigeo, menigu (“company, multitude, host”), from Proto-West Germanic *managu, *managī, from Proto-Germanic *managō, *managį̄ (“multitude”), from the same root as the determiner. Cognate with Middle Low German menige, menie, menje (“multitude”), Russian много (mnogo), Serbo-Croatian mnogo.
Senses: examples: text: Not many such people enjoyed playing chess.
text: There are very many different ways to cook a meal.
text: Thou shalt be a father of many nations.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 17:4:
text: I did it in a moment of conceit and folly—one of my many such moments—one of my many such hours—years.
ref: 1864–65, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in Our Mutual Friend:
text: Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
ref: 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
synonyms: numerous#Determiner
antonyms: a couple of
a few#Determiner
a handful of
several#Determiner
;
one#Determiner
;
no#Determiner
zero#Determiner
hypernyms: multiple#Determiner
various#Determiner
glosses: before a countable noun: A large, indefinite number of.
examples: text: We don't need this many bananas. Put some back.
text: There may be as many as ten million species of insect.
text: I don't have as many friends as my sister does.
glosses: before a countable noun: (in combinations such as 'as many', 'so many', 'this many') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the number of people or things.
Synonyms: a lot of
Derived terms: a fair booty makes many a thief
a good many
a great many
have a few too many
have one's fingers in many pies
how many languages do you speak
how many siblings do you have
infinitely many
in so many words
know how many beans make five
longways for as many as will
manifold
maniness
maniverse
man of many parts
many a mickle makes a muckle
many an
many and varied
many and various
many another
many a time
many a time and oft
many a time and often
many a times
many at times
many-banded krait
many-bodied
many-body problem
many-coloured
manycore
many-eyed
many-faced
many-faceted
manyfold
many-handed
many-handedly
many-handedness
many hands make light work
many happies
many happy returns
manyhood
many-kinded
many-layered
many moons ago
manyness
many-partedness
manyplies
many-plumed moth
many-seed goosefoot
many-sided
many-sidedness
manysome
many-sorted logic
many-splendored
many-stemmed
many such cases
many thanks
many time
many times
many-tongued
many-valued logic
manywise
many-worlds interpretation
one too many
overmany
there are many ways to skin a cat
there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle
there's many a slip between the cup and the lip
there's many a slip twixt cup and lip
there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip
too many
too many balls in the air
too many chefs spoil the broth
too many chiefs and not enough Indians
too many chiefs and not enough indians
too many cooks spoil the broth
too many cooks spoil the soup
too many cooks spoil the stew
wear too many hats
wrong on so many levels