Abounds

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Exists or occurs in very large amounts or numbers
2. Is present abundantly or in great quantity
3. Appears in plentiful or ample supply throughout a place or context

Etymology: "Abounds" is simply the third-person singular present form of "abound," so the history belongs to the verb. Its ancestor is Latin "abundare," meaning "to overflow," built from "ab" ("from" or "down from") and "undare," to surge or rise in waves, which itself comes from "unda," "wave." The image is literal: something that overflows is a liquid spilling over its container, like a wave breaking past its limit. The verb reached English in the 14th century, when it appeared in Middle English as "abounden" and "abounde," passed through Old French as "abonder" and "abunder." For much of its life it carried the watery sense into English, so that a river could abound with water in a fairly literal way, before the figurative sense of plentifulness took over.

Synonyms: exists abundantly, flourishes, proliferates, thrives, is plentiful

Antonyms: lacks, is scarce, diminishes, decreases, fades