English
plenty
Plenty comes from Old French plenté ‘fullness, abundance’, from Latin plēnitās ‘fullness’, from plēnus ‘full’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥h₁nós‘full’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēnosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnus‘full, complete’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnitās‘fullness, abundance’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plenté‘fullness; abundance’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plentie
- Englishearliest quotation 1597plenty
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥h₁nós‘full’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēnosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnus‘full, complete’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnitās‘fullness, abundance’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400plenté‘fullness; abundance’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400same form
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500plentie
- Englishearliest quotation 1597plenty
Earliest quotation: 1597, Shakespeare, Henry IV: “if reasons were as plenty as blackberries”.
Formed from plenté + -y
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
people, public, popular, complete, plus, supply, poll, folk, accomplish, completion, manipulation, comply, implement, supplement, plural, complement, plethora, puri, depletion, volk, replete, deplete, plebs, plebeian, 75 more
through Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós ‘full’
through Latin plenus ‘complete, full’
plain, ample, amplitude, amplify, replenish, plenary, plenum, 15 more
Today it means
noun A more-than-adequate amount; plenitude; a great deal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- / plenty