Plurality

How to spell plurality

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce plurality

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does plurality mean?

1. nounA great number of people or things; the state of being numerous or more than one.
2. nounThe largest share of votes cast, even when it falls short of an outright majority.

Plurality in a sentence

• The report acknowledged a plurality of opinions among the staff.

• The candidate won by a plurality rather than a clear majority.

• A plurality of factors contributed to the project running late.

• With three names on the ballot, a simple plurality was enough to take the seat.

Where does plurality come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin pluralitas, a noun built on pluralis, meaning 'consisting of more than one', which in turn came from plus, with its stem plur-, literally meaning 'more'. The same Latin root gives us 'plural' itself, as well as 'plus' and the rather technical 'plurabel' relatives, so the family of 'more-ness' is the thread running through them all. English borrowed the word through Old French pluralite in the late 1300s, when it first referred to the simple fact of being numerous or to holding more than one church office at the same time. From there it broadened into the general sense of 'a large number' and, much later, into the specific political meaning of winning the most votes without an outright majority. The spelling trap is the unstressed middle: writers reach for the stressed second syllable 'RAL' and then have to remember the quiet '-ity' tail, all built faithfully on that single Latin idea of 'more'.

How the word is built

• plur- (from Latin plus, pluris: more, several)
• -al (adjective suffix)
• -ity (noun suffix denoting state or condition)