plethora
English
WOTD – 26 April 2006
Etymology
From Late Latin plēthōra (earlier plētūra), from Ancient Greek πληθώρη (plēthṓrē, “fullness”), from πλήθω (plḗthō, “I fill”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: plĕʹthərə, plĕʹdhərə, plĭthôʹrə, IPA(key): /ˈplɛθəɹə/, /ˈplɛðəɹə/, /plɪˈθɔːɹə/
- (General American) enPR: plĕʹthərə, IPA(key): /ˈplɛθəɹə/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːɹə
Noun
Quotations
- 1849, Herman Melville, Redburn. His First Voyage
- I pushed my seat right up before the most insolent gazer, a short fat man, with a plethora of cravat round his neck, and fixing my gaze on his, gave him more gazes than he sent.
- 1927, H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature (The Aftermath of Gothic Fiction)
- Meanwhile other hands had not been idle, so that above the dreary plethora of trash like Marquis von Grosse's Horrid Mysteries..., there arose many memorable weird works both in English and German.
Synonyms
- (excess, abundance): glut, myriad, surfeit, superfluity, slew
Related terms
Translations
excess, abundance
See also
References
- “plethora” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]
Pronounced: /ˈplɛθərə/, /plɪˈθɔərə/.
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πληθώρη (plēthṓrē) (plēthōrē) "fullness", from πλήθω (plḗthō) (plēthō) "I fill".
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /pleːˈtʰoː.ra/, [pɫeːˈtʰoː.ra]
Synonyms
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