plural
English
Alternative forms
- pl., pl (abbreviation)
Etymology
From Middle English plurelle, from Old French plurel (“plural”), borrowed from Latin pluralis (“of or belonging to more than one, belonging to many”, adjective), from plus, pluris (“more”) + -alis.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈplʊə.ɹəl/, /ˈplɔː.ɹəl/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈpljʊə.ɹəl/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈplʊɚ.əl/, /ˈplɝ.əl/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʊəɹəl
Adjective
plural (comparative more plural, superlative most plural)
- Consisting of or containing more than one of something.
- The notion of culture is one whose meanings are plural and shifting.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona:
- Than plural faith which is too much by one: Thou counterfeit to thy true friend!
- (grammar) In systems of number, not singular or not singular or dual.
- English nouns usually have singular and plural forms.
- (comparable) Pluralistic.
- 1987, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, editor, The Encyclopedia of religion, volume 3:
- Although the nation was far more plural than Canada in the number of its Christian groups
- 2006, Suisheng Zhao, Debating political reform in China: rule of law vs. democratization, page 29:
- The Hong Kong and Singapore markets are way more "plural" than most Western economies, but they have not led to pluralistic politics.
- 2007, Lachelle Renee Hannickel, From cultural transgressions to literary transformations: ..., page 195:
- History is perhaps more plural than traditionally imagined, leaving room for more groups to express their story.
- 2009, Pille Valk, Teenagers' perspectives on the role of religion in their lives, ..., page 281:
- Generally the girls tend to perceive their social world as somewhat more plural than boys do. Several of these questions reveal that there are more boys (61%) than girls (39%) who 'do not know' about the religion of others
- 2011, Harald E. Braun; Edward Vallance, The Renaissance Conscience, page 50:
- Yet More's conscience was responding to a world just a little more plural than the world he was born in
-
Synonyms
- manifold
- multiple
- morefold
- several
Related terms
- singular
Translations
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Noun
plural (plural plurals)
- (grammar, uncountable) The plural number. In English, referring to more or less than one of something.
- 1895, William W. Goodwin, A Greek Grammar. Revised and enlarged., page 34:
- "There are three numbers; the singular, the dual, and the plural. [...] The dual is sometimes used to denote two objects, but even here the plural is more common."
-
- (grammar, countable) A word in the form in which it potentially refers to something other than one person or thing; and other than two things if the language has a dual form.
- The plural of 'cat' is 'cats', but the plural of 'child' is 'children'.
- (psychology, informal, countable) A person with some form of multiplicity, particularly dissociative identity disorder.
- 2016, Lori F. Clarke, "Embracing Polyphony: Voices, Improvisation, and the Hearing Voices Network", Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, Volume 5, Number 2 (2016), page 6:
- Singlet and monocultural identity is so normalized that many voice hearers and plurals don’t share their experiences with anyone, living in isolation (and sometimes in poverty) and spending considerable inner resources to manage postures and performances of ‘mental health’.
- 2020, Elizabeth Schechter, "What we can learn about respect and identity from plurals", JPCA Mag, Issue 1 (2020), page 38:
- More strongly, respect might require that singlets themselves accept, in the context of interacting with plurals, that people are truly distinct people.
- 2020, Tynan Drake, "Intersectional Representation: LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices in transmedia fiction", paper submitted to Ball State University, page 14:
- Autistics, plurals, and gender nonconforming individuals are all stigmatized as not being capable of understanding their own experiences and are repeatedly attacked with narratives intended to make them doubt their own emotions, memories, and sense of self.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:plural.
- 2016, Lori F. Clarke, "Embracing Polyphony: Voices, Improvisation, and the Hearing Voices Network", Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, Volume 5, Number 2 (2016), page 6:
Usage notes
- Many languages have singular for one item and plural for more than one item. Some languages also have a dual form for two, a trial form for three, or a paucal form for several (e.g. Fijian). Other languages do not distinguish any of these categories.
- While the plural form generally refers to two or more persons or things, that is not always the case. The plural form is often used for zero persons or things, for fractional things in a quantity that is not equal to one, and for people or things when the quantity is unknown.
Derived terms
- plurale tantum
Related terms
- singular
Translations
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See also
- (grammatical numbers) grammatical number; singular, dual, trial, quadral, paucal, plural (Category: en:Grammar)
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /pluˈɾal/
Audio (file)
Adjective
plural (masculine and feminine plural plurals)
- plural
- Antonym: singular
Noun
plural m (plural plurals)
- plural
- Antonym: singular
Derived terms
- pluralisme
- pluralista
Related terms
- pluralitat
Further reading
- “plural” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “plural”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “plural” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “plural” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ply.ʁal/
Audio (file)
Adjective
plural (feminine plurale, masculine plural pluraux, feminine plural plurales)
- plural, large
Related terms
- pluralisme
- pluraliste
- pluralité
- pluri-
- pluriel
Further reading
- “plural”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Adjective
plural m or f (plural plurais)
- plural
- Antonym: singular
Derived terms
- pluralismo
- pluralista
Related terms
- pluralidade
Further reading
- “plural” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
German
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pluˈʁaːl/
Adjective
plural (strong nominative masculine singular pluraler, not comparable)
- pluralistic
- Synonym: pluralistisch
Declension
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist plural | sie ist plural | es ist plural | sie sind plural | |
strong declension (without article) | nominative | pluraler | plurale | plurales | plurale |
genitive | pluralen | pluraler | pluralen | pluraler | |
dative | pluralem | pluraler | pluralem | pluralen | |
accusative | pluralen | plurale | plurales | plurale | |
weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der plurale | die plurale | das plurale | die pluralen |
genitive | des pluralen | der pluralen | des pluralen | der pluralen | |
dative | dem pluralen | der pluralen | dem pluralen | den pluralen | |
accusative | den pluralen | die plurale | das plurale | die pluralen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein pluraler | eine plurale | ein plurales | (keine) pluralen |
genitive | eines pluralen | einer pluralen | eines pluralen | (keiner) pluralen | |
dative | einem pluralen | einer pluralen | einem pluralen | (keinen) pluralen | |
accusative | einen pluralen | eine plurale | ein plurales | (keine) pluralen |
References
- “plural” in Duden online
- “plural” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Indonesian
Etymology
From English plural, from Middle English plurelle, from Old French plurel (“plural”), from Latin pluralis (“of or belonging to more than one, belonging to many”, adjective), from plus, pluris (“more”) + -alis. Compare to Afrikaans pluraal.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈplural]
- Hyphenation: plu‧ral
Adjective
plural
- plural: consisting of or containing more than one of something.
- Synonyms: jamak, majemuk
Related terms
- pluralis
- pluralisme
- pluralistik
- pluralistis
Further reading
- “plural” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Maltese
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian plurale.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pluˈraːl/
Noun
plural m (plural plurali)
- (grammar) plural
- plural sħiħ ― sound plural
- plural miksur ― broken plural
Related terms
- pluralista
- pluralistiku
- pluralità
- pluraliżmu
Middle English
Adjective
plural
- Alternative form of plurelle
Occitan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
Audio (Languedocien) (file)
Noun
plural m (plural plurals)
- plural
Portuguese
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /pluˈɾaw/ [pluˈɾaʊ̯]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /pluˈɾal/ [pluˈɾaɫ]
- Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
- Hyphenation: plu‧ral
Adjective
plural m or f (plural plurais)
- plural (consisting of more than one things)
- Antonym: singular
Noun
plural m (plural plurais)
- (grammar) plural (word referring to multiple things)
- Antonym: singular
Derived terms
- pluralismo
- pluralista
Related terms
- pluralidade
Further reading
- “plural” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Etymology
From Latin pluralis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pluˈral/
Noun
plural n (plural plurali)
- plural
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) plural | pluralul | (niște) plurali | pluralile |
genitive/dative | (unui) plural | pluralului | (unor) plurali | pluralilor |
vocative | pluralule | pluralilor |
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /plǔraːl/
- Hyphenation: plu‧ral
Noun
plùrāl m (Cyrillic spelling плу̀ра̄л)
- (uncountable) plural
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | plùrāl | plurali |
genitive | plurála | plurala |
dative | pluralu | pluralima |
accusative | plural | plurale |
vocative | plurale | plurali |
locative | pluralu | pluralima |
instrumental | pluralom | pluralima |
Synonyms
- množìna
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin plūrālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pluˈɾal/ [pluˈɾal]
Audio (Colombia) (file) - Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: plu‧ral
Adjective
plural (plural plurales)
- plural, multiple
- Antonym: singular
Noun
plural m (plural plurales)
- (grammar) plural
- Antonym: singular
Derived terms
- pluralismo
- pluralista
- pluralmente
Related terms
- pluralidad
Further reading
- “plural”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014