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man·y (mĕnē)
Share:
adj. more (môr), most (mōst)
1. Amounting to or consisting of a large indefinite number: many friends.
2. Being one of a large indefinite number; numerous: many a child; many another day.
n. (used with a pl. verb)
1. The majority of the people; the masses: "The many fail, the one succeeds" (Tennyson).
2. A large indefinite number: A good many of the workers had the flu.
pron. (used with a pl. verb)
A large number of persons or things: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).
Idiom:
as many
The same number of: moved three times in as many years.
[Middle English, from Old English manig; see menegh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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