Plentenesse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a state of abundance, where there is more than enough of something available
2. Old-fashioned word meaning the quality of being plentiful, or a generous supply of goods or resources
3. Archaic noun for ample plenty, the condition of having a large and sufficient quantity of something

Etymology: "Plentenesse" is a Middle English noun meaning "abundance" or "fullness," and it has long since dropped out of use. It was built in English by attaching the suffix "-nesse," from Old English "-nes(s)," which turns adjectives and nouns into words for a state or quality (as in "kindness"), to "plente," the Middle English form of "plenty." The suffix was added to a noun that already meant abundance, so the result was doubly abstract. "Plente" came from Old French "plenté," which in turn came from Latin "plenitas," "fullness," formed from "plenus," "full." That same Latin root gives English "plenary," "plenitude," and "replenish." English "plenty" and "plentiful" come from the same stock, so "plentenesse" is essentially a Middle English relative of those words that did not survive.