multitudinous

The story

1. Latin · learned borrowing frommultitūdin-
2. English todaymultitudinous

Learned borrowing from Latin multitūdin- (the oblique stem of multitūdō (“great number (of people), multitude”)) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance)). Multitūdō is derived from multus (“many; much”) + -tūdō (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition or state). By surface analysis, multitude + -in- (interfix used before Latinate suffixes appended to nouns ending with -itude or -tude) + -ous.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from early 17th c. Existing in multitudes or great numbers; very numerous; innumerable.