Pluralis

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A grammatical form indicating the state of being more than one in number
2. A linguistic term referring to a category that denotes multiple entities or items
3. A structure within language reflecting the plural quantity of nouns or pronouns

Etymology: "Pluralis" is the Latin adjective meaning "of more than one" or "plural," built from "plus," "more," which gave English "plus" and "plural" itself. The Latin form was used by grammarians to describe the number category that distinguishes several things from one, and English took the term directly as a grammatical label. The adjective sense, referring to a plural form, follows the same Latin base. In English grammar, the word appears in the phrase "pluralis majestatis," the "plural of majesty," in which a monarch refers to themselves with "we." The Latin phrase is a grammatical label rather than a separate word, and it describes the use of plural pronouns for a single speaker.

Synonyms: plural, plural form

Antonyms: singular