English
multitude
Multitude comes from Middle English multitude.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500multitude
- Englishearliest quotation 1599same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500multitude
- Englishearliest quotation 1599same form
Earliest quotation: 1599, Exodus 23:2: “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil”.
The story
The English word is analysable as multi- + -itude.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mel- ‘good, big’
mole, amelia, dulcimer, 29 more
through Latin multus ‘much, many’
Today it means
noun A great amount or number, often of people; abundance, myriad, profusion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English multitude / multitude