Lemma 1mūltus

adjective

much, many, great; large, intense, assiduous; tedious

Morphology1 analysis

masculine nominative singularmult + us · regular

Lewis & Short

key · multusFull entry

multus, a, adj. [etym. dub.]

I.comp. plus; sup. plurimus (v. at the end of this art.), much, great, many, of things corporeal and incorporeal.

II.Posit.

A.In gen.: multi mortales, Cato ap.: multi suam rem bene gessere: multi qui, etc., Enn. ap. (Trag. v. 295 sq. Vahl.). tam multis verbis scribere, at such length. — When used with another adjective it is usually connected with it by a conjunction. — But when the second adjective is used substantively the conjunction is omitted. — Also, when the second adjective forms with its substantive a single conception. — Similarly, et is omitted between multi and adjectives which form with their substantives familiar phrases. — Et is also omitted when the substantive stands between the two adjectives. — When both adjectives follow the substantive, et is sometimes inserted. — With a partitive gen. — In neutr. plur.: multa, ōrum, many things, much: bene multi, a good many, Asin. ap. — Sometimes multi stands for multi alii, many others. — The sing. also is used poet. for the plur., many a: agna.; of persons: multus sua vulnera puppi Affixit moriens, many a one, for multi affixerunt. — In sing., to denote quantity, much, great, abundant: multum aurum et argentum.: sermo, much conversalion, Brut. ap.: stilus tuus multi sudoris est.: multo cibo et potione completi — Of time. — multi, ōrum, m., the many, the common mass, the multitude: probis probatus potius, quam multis forem, Att. ap. — Esp.: unus e (or de) multis, one of the multitude, a man of no distinction: M. Calidius non fuit orator unus e multis. — In neutr. absol.: ne multa, or ne multis, not to be prolix, in short. — Sometimes multa is used (particularly by the poets) adverbially, much, greatly, very. — Rarely in multum.

B.In partic.

1.Too much, overmuch, excessive.

2.In speech, much-speaking, diffuse, prolix.

3.Frequent, frequently present. — Hence, adv., in two forms.

A.multum, much, very much, greatly, very, often, frequently, far, etc. (class.). — With an adj. — Poet. also with comp. — with infra, post.

B.multō by much, much, a great deal, far, by far (class.).

1.With comparatives and verbs which imply comparison. — With verbs. — With malle.

2.With sup. (rare but class.), by far, by much: multo optimus hostis, by far, Lucil. ap.; multo molestissima.

3.With particles denoting a difference, far, greatly, very: multo infra Cyrenaicum.

4.In specifications of time, before ante and post, long, much.

5.Very rarely with the positive for multum: Umpf.

6.Doubled, multo multoque, with comparatives: multo multoque magis, Front. Laud. Negl. § 3.

III.in the plur., plūres, plūra (in sing. anciently written plous; three times in the S. C. de Bacch. Here perh. belongs, in the plur., pleores and pleoris, for plures, in the Song of the Arval Brothers. — For the class. neuter of the plur., plura, the form pluria was used in ante-class. Latinity. Gellius cites M. Cato, Q. Claudius, Valerius Antias, L. Ælius, P. Nigidius, and M. Varro as authorities for this form; yet Plautus and Terence have only plura; and the earlier reading pluria, in, is now supplanted by the critically certain plura and plurima. — The gen. plur. plurium, however, has remained the predominant form, e. g.; et saep.) [from the root ple; Gr.; plenus, plera, compleo, etc.; also locu-ples, plebes, populus, etc.], more.

A.In the sing. (used both substantively and adverbially): LIBRAS FARRIS ENDO DIES DATO. SI VOLET PLVS DATO, Fragm. XII. Tab. in: SI PLVS MINVSVE SECVERVNT, SE FRAVDE ESTO, ib.; and in the signif. of circiter, about: septingenti sunt paulo plus aut minus anni. postquam, etc., Enn. ap. (Ann. v. 493 Vahl.); Oud.

(b).With a partitive gen.

(g).With quam (some examples of which have already been given above)

(d).Without quam: plus semel, Varr. ap. — With a compar. or adverbial abl., or with an abl. of measure: cave putes hoc tempore plus me quemquam cruciari, Balb. ap., A, 2; HOC PLVS NE FACITO, more than this, Fragm. XII. Tab. ap.: multo plus, Anton. ap., A, 1: quam molestum est uno digito plus habere, too much by a finger, i. e. a finger too much.

2.In the gen. pretii, pluris, of more value, of a higher price, for more, higher, dearer.

3.Rarely, instead of the genitive, in the abl. pretii: plure vendunt, Lucil. ap. P.: plure altero tanto, quanto ejus fundus est, velim, Plaut. ib.: plure venit, Cic. ib.

4.Plus plusque, more and more: quem mehercule plus plusque in dies diligo.

5.Like magis, with an adj.

B.In the plur.

1.Comparatively, more in number.

2.In gen., of a great number, many: qui plus fore dicant in pluribus consilii quam in uno.: cf.: quid quaeso interest inter unum et plures, si justitia est in pluribus?.

b.Esp.: plures.

(a).The mass, the multitude, opp. pauciores, =.

(b).Euphemistically, acc. to the Gr., the dead.

(g).The greater number, the majority.

IV.Sup.: plūrĭmus (archaic form, plisima plurima, Paul. ex and 205 Müll.: PLIOIRVME (I), Epit. of Scipio), a, um [from root ple; whence also plus, q. v., ploirumus for ploisumus; and thence the predominant form plurimus], most, very much, or many (as an adj. in good prose mostly in the plur., except the standing formula of greeting: salutem plurimam dicere alicui; infra) — In sing. — Of a greeting: impertit salutem plurimam; and esp. freq.: salutem plurimam dicit (commonly abbrev. S. P. D.) at the beginning of letters; salus. — Poet.: plurima quā silva est. thickest. — And collect. — In neutr. absol. (substant. or adverb.). — plurimum quantum also signifies very much indeed, exceedingly (post-class.); so, (opp. to cum minimum); 18, 7, 10, § 60: nec tam numerosa differentia; tribus ut plurimum bonitatibus distat, for the most part, commonly, usually, = plerumque.

(b).In neutr. with a partit. gen.: sententiarum et gravitatis plurimum, Cic. Inv. 1, 18, 25: plurimum quantum favoris partibus dabat fratermtas ducum.

(g).In the gen. pretii.