Abundant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈbʌn.dənt/

Definitions

1. Existing in large quantities or plentiful supply
2. Present in significant numbers or ample supply that goes beyond a basic requirement or expectation
3. Present in very large amounts or more than what is needed

Etymology: Latin "abundare" meant "to overflow," and it was built from "unda," "wave," so the core image is water spilling over its banks. Latin "abundans" was the present participle of that verb, meaning "overflowing" or "overflowing with." The word arrived in English around 1380 through Anglo-Norman and Old French "abondant," and early English spellings such as "habundaunt" show how writers were still working out the form. Its verb relative "abound" entered English along a similar route, so the two words have travelled together for roughly six centuries. Both began as descriptions of liquid spilling beyond its container, and the sense of "existing in large amount" grew naturally out of that image of overflow.

Synonyms: plentiful, ample, copious, overflowing, bountiful

Antonyms: scarce, sparse, insufficient, meager, limited