Multiplicity of Words for Numerous, Part I

There are a number of words for numerous. In my blog post “Hands and Legs” we looked at gamut, and multifarious was covered in “Nothing Nefarious about Multifarious”. But what’s the difference between multitude and multiplicity, between range and spectrum, between panoply and plethora? And where’d we get such an unusually spelled word as “number” and why is the word numerous rather than numberous? So many questions, so little space, so this will take several weeks to get through.

Let’s begin by getting the number vs. numerous mystery out of the way. Number was the first of the two words to come to English, and it came about 1300 from the Anglo-French word noumbre. The Anglo-French got noumbre from the Old French word nombre, which the Old French got from the Latin word numerus. Why they added a b is unexplained. A form of the Latin word numerus, numerosus, is the source of the English word numerous, which began to be used the 1400s. So you can blame the Old French (if you can find them) for the presence of a b in our word number. Number has at least five definitions, one of which is “the sum, total, count, or aggregate of a collection of units, or the like,” which is similar to our other words today and next week. But when used in this sense, it is usually in the phrase “a number of”. Numerous means “very many; being or existing in great quantity.”

Multitude and multiplicity, I must admit, are two words that seem to me to be so similar that research can only help me differentiate. Multitude came to English in the 14^th century, from a 12^th century Old French word (are you ready for this?) multitude. The Old French (you know who you are) took it “directly from” (that’s what etymonline says, and it rarely uses the word “directly”) the Latin word multitudinem. Multitudinem means “a great number, a crowd; the crowd, the common people.” Multi- means many, and -tude is the suffix Latins used to turn an adjective into a noun. So multitudinem was a noun meaning a great number, and had a sense of a lot of people. It still means a great number, and still has a sense of reference to a great number of people, a crowd.

Multiplicity came to English a century later than multitude, in the mid-15^th century. It came from the Middle French word multiplicité, which the Middle French got from the Late Latin word multiplicitas. Multiplicitas means (wait for it…) multiplicity. That clears it up, doesn’t it? By the way, the Late Latins (you know who you are, and next time be on time, please) got multiplicitas from the Latin prefix multiplic- from which we get our word multiple.

So what does multiplicity mean? It means either a large number or a large variety or both. It can mean “the state of being multiplex or manifold.” Here we go again.  But not until next week.