*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of many

From Middle English many, mani, moni, from Old English maniġ, moniġ, maneġ (“many”), from Proto-West Germanic *manag, from Proto-Germanic *managaz (“many; much”), from Proto-Indo-European *menegʰ-, *mengʰ- (“many, suffic

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
pron

A large, indefinite number of people or things.

noun

A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd. · A considerable number.

det

before a countable noun: A large, indefinite number of. · before a countable noun: (in combinations such as 'as many', 'so many', 'this many') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the number of people or things.

adj

Existing in large number; numerous.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English many, mani, moni, from Old English maniġ, moniġ, maneġ (“many”), from Proto-West Germanic *manag, from Proto-Germanic *managaz (“many; much”), from Proto-Indo-European *menegʰ-, *mengʰ- (“many, sufficient”) or Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂- (“big, great”). Cognates Cognate with Scots mony (“many”), Yola many (“many”), North Frisian manag, manig, mäning (“many”), Alemannic German meng (“many”), Central Franconian mannich, männich (“many”), Dutch menig (“many”), German manch (“many, some”), Low German männich, männig (“many”), Luxembourgish muench, munch, munnech (“many”), Danish mangen (“many”), Faroese mangur (“many”), Icelandic margur (“many”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk mang, mange (“many”), Swedish mången (“many”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃 (manags, “many; much”), French maint (“many”); also Cornish menowgh (“frequent, often”), Irish minic (“frequently, often”), Manx mennick (“frequent, often”), Scottish Gaelic minig (“frequent”), Welsh mynych (“frequent, often”), Belarusian мно́га (mnóha, “many; much”), Bulgarian and Russian мно́го (mnógo, “many; much”), Czech mnohý (“many, numerous”), Macedonian мно́гу (mnógu, “very; many; much”), Polish mnogi (“numerous; plural”), Serbo-Croatian мно̏гӣ, mnȍgī (“many; much, long; large, numerous”), Ukrainian мно́гий (mnóhyj, “many, multiple”). The noun is from Middle English manye, *menye, from Old English manigeo, menigu (“company, multitude, host”), from Proto-West Germanic *managu, *managī, from Proto-Germanic *managō, *managį̄ (“multitude”), from the same root as the determiner. Cognate with Middle Low German menige, menie, menje (“multitude”), Russian много (mnogo), Serbo-Croatian mnogo.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English many"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "maniġ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English maniġ"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*manag"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *manag"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*managaz",
        "t": "many; much"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *managaz (“many; much”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*menegʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *menegʰ-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*méǵh₂s",
        "4": "*méǵh₂-",
        "t": "big, great"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂- (“big, great”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "mony",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots mony (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "many",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola many (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "manag"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian manag"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "meng",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German meng (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-cfr",
        "2": "mannich"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Franconian mannich"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "menig",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch menig (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "manch",
        "t": "many, some"
      },
      "expansion": "German manch (“many, some”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "männich"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German männich"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "muench"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish muench"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "mangen",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish mangen (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "mangur",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese mangur (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "margur",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic margur (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb,nn",
        "2": "mang"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk mang"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "mången",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish mången (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃",
        "t": "many; much"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃 (manags, “many; much”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "maint",
        "t": "many"
      },
      "expansion": "French maint (“many”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "kw",
        "2": "menowgh",
        "t": "frequent, often"
      },
      "expansion": "Cornish menowgh (“frequent, often”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "minic",
        "t": "frequently, often"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish minic (“frequently, often”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gv",
        "2": "mennick",
        "t": "frequent, often"
      },
      "expansion": "Manx mennick (“frequent, often”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "minig",
        "t": "frequent"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic minig (“frequent”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "mynych",
        "t": "frequent, often"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh mynych (“frequent, often”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "be",
        "2": "мно́га",
        "t": "many; much"
      },
      "expansion": "Belarusian мно́га (mnóha, “many; much”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg,ru",
        "2": "мно́го",
        "t": "many; much"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian and Russian мно́го (mnógo, “many; much”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cs",
        "2": "mnohý",
        "t": "many, numerous"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech mnohý (“many, numerous”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mk",
        "2": "мно́гу",
        "t": "very; many; much"
      },
      "expansion": "Macedonian мно́гу (mnógu, “very; many; much”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "mnogi",
        "t": "numerous; plural"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish mnogi (“numerous; plural”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "мно̏гӣ"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian мно̏гӣ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "uk",
        "2": "мно́гий",
        "t": "many, multiple"
      },
      "expansion": "Ukrainian мно́гий (mnóhyj, “many, multiple”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "manye"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English manye"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "manigeo"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English manigeo"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*managu"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *managu"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*managō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *managō"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "menige"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German menige"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "много"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian много (mnogo)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "mnogo"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian mnogo"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "many",
      "many#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "mani",
      "mani#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "moni",
      "moni#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "maniġ",
      "manig#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "moniġ",
      "monig#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "maneġ",
      "maneg#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*manag",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/manag"
    ],
    [
      "*managaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/managaz"
    ],
    [
      "*menegʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/menegʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*mengʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/mengʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*méǵh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/méǵh₂s"
    ],
    [
      "mony",
      "mony#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "many",
      "many#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "manag",
      "manag#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "manig",
      "manig#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "mäning",
      "mäning#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "meng",
      "meng#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
      "mannich",
      "mannich#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "männich",
      "männich#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "menig",
      "menig#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "manch",
      "manch#German"
    ],
    [
      "männich",
      "männich#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "männig",
      "männig#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "muench",
      "muench#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "munch",
      "munch#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "munnech",
      "munnech#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "mangen",
      "mangen#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "mangur",
      "mangur#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "margur",
      "margur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "mang#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "mang",
      "mang#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "mange",
      "mange#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "mången",
      "mången#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃",
      "𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌲𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "maint",
      "maint#French"
    ],
    [
      "menowgh",
      "menowgh#Cornish"
    ],
    [
      "minic",
      "minic#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "mennick",
      "mennick#Manx"
    ],
    [
      "minig",
      "minig#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "mynych",
      "mynych#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "мно́га",
      "многа#Belarusian"
    ],
    [
      "Bulgarian",
      "много#Bulgarian"
    ],
    [
      "мно́го",
      "много#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "mnohý",
      "mnohý#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "мно́гу",
      "многу#Macedonian"
    ],
    [
      "mnogi",
      "mnogi#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "мно̏гӣ",
      "многи#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "mnȍgī",
      "mnogi#Serbo-Croatian"
    ],
    [
      "мно́гий",
      "многий#Ukrainian"
    ],
    [
      "manye",
      "manye#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*menye",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/menye"
    ],
    [
      "manigeo",
      "manigeo#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "menigu",
      "menigu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*managu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/managu"
    ],
    [
      "*managī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/managī"
    ],
    [
      "*managō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/managō"
    ],
    [
      "*managį̄",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/managį̄"
    ],
    [
      "menige",
      "menige#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "menie",
      "menie#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "menje",
      "menje#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "много",
      "много#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "mnogo",
      "mnogo#Serbo-Croatian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "pron",
      "glosses": [
        "A large, indefinite number of people or things."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "4642861213813ce11c4bb7b578e7661ab11ef1f42783fdbc8c2fe24dc964425b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "cf5116c06ff317b7d2a416c1b9551ac5693730ea30d78616f260511ad9d46ce9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 39079
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd.",
        "A considerable number."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "517454c66a13a69f3d397072d0121612f9efc231d37b5dd67dfa76eb80b9906e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9d4adc4e5c089287fd491ce750649a181795e473ca3dd8077fc84a88a5b216a6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 39080
    },
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "before a countable noun: A large, indefinite number of.",
        "before a countable noun: (in combinations such as 'as many', 'so many', 'this many') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the number of people or things."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "cfc1a559223b5604833992355f2dede499c8dab8a0ca3f4774513e70c6454473",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a3face87dbdd22709f86433a0e1ddd0878783ff9b43ad715e7e921c9b53882c3",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 39078
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Existing in large number; numerous."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "dcc7376b59faf30c858a1f9e85ada8c97fd234e0ab7fc008286a130bf2ec7417",
      "rawRecordSha256": "37cbf393089f870c0d8811ee4cac004a8824181d9d7c334bca13da3c0c60325c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 39081
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for many →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bWFueQ