Plentiful

How to spell plentiful

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce plentiful

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does plentiful mean?

1. adjectiveExisting or available in large quantities; abundant.

Plentiful in a sentence

• The harvest was plentiful this year, so prices fell at the market.

• Affordable parking is plentiful on the streets near the office.

Where does plentiful come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grew from the English noun 'plenty', which arrived in the 1200s through Old French 'plenté', meaning a full supply or abundance. That French word descended from the Latin 'plenitatem', the accusative of 'plenitas', meaning 'fullness', which was built on the adjective 'plenus', meaning 'full'. The same 'plenus' root sits behind familiar relatives such as 'plenary', 'replenish', and 'complete'. English speakers later attached the native suffix '-ful', meaning 'full of', to form 'plentiful' around the 1400s, so the word literally carries the idea of fullness twice over. Note the spelling trap: the final 'y' of 'plenty' softens to an 'i' before the suffix, giving 'plenti-', and '-ful' takes only a single 'l'.

How the word is built

• plenti- (from plenty: abundance)
• -ful (full of)