plethora

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈplɛθərə/ UK /ˈplɛθərə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an excessive or overabundant amount of something

The menu offered a plethora of vegetarian options.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an excessive or... excess superabundance glut surfeit overabundance profusion surplus abundance

Opposites

dearth scarcity lack shortage paucity

Word family

Derived forms plethoric

Etymology

From Late Latin plethora, from Ancient Greek plethore ('fullness, repletion'), from plethein ('to be full'). Originally a medical term for an excess of bodily fluids.

plethore Ancient Greek plethein Ancient Greek *pleh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# plethora

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈplɛθərə/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈplɛθərə/

## Meanings
1. an excessive or overabundant amount of something

## Examples
- The menu offered a plethora of vegetarian options.

## Synonyms
- excess
- superabundance
- glut
- surfeit
- overabundance
- profusion
- surplus
- abundance

## Antonyms
- dearth
- scarcity
- lack
- shortage
- paucity

## Derived Forms
- plethoric

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: plethore
- Root: plethein
- Root: *pleh₁-

## Etymology
From Late Latin plethora, from Ancient Greek plethore ('fullness, repletion'), from plethein ('to be full'). Originally a medical term for an excess of bodily fluids.

## AI Etymology
Plethora is from Late Latin plethora, from Ancient Greek plethore ('fullness, repletion'), from plethein ('to be full'). Originally a medical term for an excess of bodily fluids. Important recorded forms include plethore (Ancient Greek), plethein (Ancient Greek), and *pleh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers an excessive or overabundant amount of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as plethoric.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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