many
Part of speech: det
pron
noun
adj
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English many, mani, moni, from Old English maniġ, moniġ, maneġ (“many”), from Proto-West Germanic *manag, from Proto-Germanic *managaz (“many; much”), from Proto-Indo-European *menegʰ-, *mengʰ- (“many, sufficient”) or Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂- (“big, great”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots mony (“many”), Yola many (“many”), North Frisian manag, manig, mäning (“many”), Alemannic German meng (“many”), Central Franconian mannich, männich (“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 and Norwegian Nynorsk mang, mange (“many”), Swedish mången (“many”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃 (manags, “many; much”), French maint (“many”); also Cornish menowgh (“frequent, often”), Irish minic (“frequently, often”), Manx mennick (“frequent, often”), Scottish Gaelic minig (“frequent”), Welsh mynych (“frequent, often”), Belarusian мно́га (mnóha, “many; much”), Bulgarian and Russian мно́го (mnógo, “many; much”), Czech mnohý (“many, numerous”), Macedonian мно́гу (mnógu, “very; many; much”), Polish mnogi (“numerous; plural”), Serbo-Croatian мно̏гӣ, mnȍgī (“many; much, long; large, numerous”), Ukrainian мно́гий (mnóhyj, “many, multiple”).
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.
Inflected forms:
form: more
pos: det
tags: comparative
form: most
pos: det
tags: superlative
form: manie
pos: det
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: manie
pos: pron
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: manies
pos: noun
tags: plural
rare
form: manie
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: more
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: manie
pos: adj
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: before a countable noun: A large, indefinite number of.
pos: det
examples: Not many such people enjoyed playing chess.
There are very many different ways to cook a meal.
We spent many hours and days training, but running clubs boast many hundreds of faster members.
Thou shalt be a father of many nations.
I did it in a moment of conceit and folly—one of my many such moments—one of my many such hours—years.
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.
gloss: 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.
pos: det
examples: We don't need this many bananas. Put some back.
There may be as many as ten million species of insect.
I don't have as many friends as my sister does.
gloss: A large, indefinite number of people or things.
pos: pron
examples: Many are called, but few are chosen.
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...
By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,[…].
gloss: A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd.
pos: noun
examples: Democracy must balance the rights of the few against the will of the many.
gloss: A considerable number.
pos: noun
examples: I know that my mother cried a many of times from decisions I made.
gloss: Existing in large number; numerous.
pos: adj
examples: Let’s take these fears about a rich, strong China to their logical extreme. The U.S. and Chinese governments are always disagreeing—about trade, foreign policy, the environment. Someday the disagreement could be severe. Taiwan, Tibet, North Korea, Iran—the possibilities are many, though Taiwan always heads the list.
Synonyms: a lot of
Antonyms: few
Derived words: 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
Translations: