plerusque

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-

Proto-Italic *plēros

Latin plērus

Proto-Indo-European *-kʷe

Proto-Italic *-kʷe

Latin -que

Latin plērusque

From plērus + -que.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [pɫeːˈrʊs.kʷɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [pleˈrus.kʷe]

Adjective

plērusque (feminine plēraque, neuter plērumque or plērunque); first/second-declension adjective (without or with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion

1. most, very many, most of, the greater or larger part or number of, a very great part or number of

   Synonyms: complures, plūrimus

   Antonyms: perpauci, paucī

2. (less emphatically) a considerable part or number of, a great part or number of, many, much, many of, much of
   • c. 100 CE – 110 CE, Tacitus, Historiae 1.41:

     Ceteri crura brachiaque (nam pectus tegebatur) foede laniavere; pleraque vulnera feritate et saevitia trunco iam corpori adiecta.

     The rest foully tore apart his legs and arms (for his chest was covered); a great many wounds were put upon his body with fierceness and savagery, [even] after his head had been cut off.

Usage notes

• Apart from in the works of C. Sallustius Crispus, this adjective only occurs in plural forms in Classical sources; moreover, the genitive plural forms are exclusively post-Classical, and rare generally. The forms with m assimilated to n (plēranque, plērārunque, plērōrunque, and plērunque), meanwhile, do not occur until the New Latin period.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (without or with m optionally → n in compounds) with an indeclinable portion.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	plērusque	plēraque	plērumque plērunque		plērīque	plēraeque	plēraque
genitive	plērīque	plēraeque	plērīque		plērōrumque plērōrunque	plērārumque plērārunque	plērōrumque plērōrunque
dative	plērōque	plēraeque	plērōque		plērīsque
accusative	plērumque plērunque	plēramque plēranque	plērumque plērunque		plērōsque	plērāsque	plēraque
ablative	plērōque	plērāque	plērōque		plērīsque
vocative	plēreque	plēraque	plērumque plērunque		plērīque	plēraeque	plēraque

Derived terms

• plēraque
• plēraque omnia
• plērīque
• plērīque omnēs
• plērumque
• plērumquē

References

• “plērusque”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “plerusque”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “plērusquĕ”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,190/2.
• “plērusque” on page 1,391 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)