pluraladj.n.

Brit.

/ˈplʊərəl/,

/ˈplʊərl̩/,

/ˈplɔːrəl/,

/ˈplɔːrl̩/, U.S.

/ˈplʊrəl/

Forms: Middle English plure (transmission error), Middle English plurel, Middle English plurele, Middle English–1500s plurell, Middle English–1500s plurelle, Middle English– plural, 1500s–1600s plurall; Scottish pre-1700 plurale, pre-1700 plurall, pre-1700 1700s– plural.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French plural; Latin plūrālis.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman plural, plurel, plurele, plurell and Middle French (northern) plurel (noun) the plural number (c1174 in Old French (northern)), (adjective) relating to more than one (13th cent. in Old French; c1150 in Anglo-Norman in pluralment ; compare Old French, Middle French plurer (see plurar adj.), Old French, Middle French, French †plurier , Middle French, French pluriel ) and their etymon classical Latin plūrālis (adjective) relating to more than one (Quintilian), (noun) the plural number (Quintilian), in post-classical Latin also multiple, consisting of more than one (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), designating multiple church livings held concurrently by one person (14th cent. in British sources) < plūr- , plūs more (see plus prep., n., adv., and adj.) + -ālis -al suffix¹. Compare French plural, in non-grammatical senses (1874; a reborrowing < Latin).With plural of excellence n. at sense B. 1b compare post-classical Latin pluralis maiestatis , also pluralis maiestaticus (1833 in the passage translated in quot. 1846 at sense B. 1b). In sense B. 3 after the name of the Department of Plural Relations and Development (compare sense A. 3c), used briefly in South Africa during 1978 as the title of the former Department of Bantu Affairs. For earlier use of the Latin word in an English context compare:OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. iii. 164 Þæt he gecwæð ærest ‘popule meus’, þæt ys singularis numerus on Lyden and on Englisc anfeald getæl. He cwæð þæræfter, ‘Inclinate aurem uestram’, þæt ys pluralis numerus on Lyden and on Englisc mænigfeald getæl.

A. adj.

1. Grammar. Of the form or class of a noun, verb, etc.: denoting more than one (or in languages having a dual form, more than a minimum number). Opposed to singular.Frequently postpositive in names of grammatical categories, as first (also second, third) person plural, genitive plural, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > number > plural

plurala1387

plurara1398

plurative1585

pluralizing1794

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 171 He moste be i-cleped Argi in þe plural nombre.

c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible in Speculum (1968) 43 272 A word of plurel noumbre bitokneþ mo þingis þan oon, as..‘wymmen’, [etc.].

c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 179 Whenne myn antecedent betokenith the kynde of thynge and the relatif betokenyth the partye of the same thyng, thenne myn antecedent schal be singuler and the relatyf plurel.

a1500 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 56 (MED) How knowyst the plurell nombur? For he spekyth of mony theyngis.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 4 The thyrde parsonnes plurelles of verbes actyves in the frenche tonge..ende in ent.

1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xviii. 131 Pence the plural number of penie.

1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor Pref. Lar is but the Turkish termination plurall.

1694 A. Boyer Compl. French-master iii. 102 This Participle is formed from the first person plural of the Present Tense of the Indicative.

1714 T. Ruddiman Rudiments Lat. Tongue iii. i. 81 Partitives and Words plac't Partitively, Comparatives, Superlatives, Interrogatives and some Numerals govern the Genitive plural.

1764 W. Primatt Accentus Redivivi 111 Provided they were third persons plural.

1797 Brit. Critic IX. 424 A more trifling matter of objection is the use of the plural form throughout in speaking of himself.

1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) ix. 113 They speak in the plural number, and the reader is utterly deceived.

1895 C. D. Buck Oscan-Umbrian Verb-system 135 The plural and passive forms have developed independently.

1934 N. Devitt Mem. Magistrate 143 The contraction ‘M'lait’ is probably derived from this word [sc.moonlighter], the prefix ‘Ama’ being a Zulu plural prefix.

1992 Amer. Speech 67 54 More research is needed on..the use of invariant woz with plural subjects.

2. More than one in number; consisting of, having, or equivalent to, more than one; forming a plurality; multiple, multiform.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > plurality > [adjective]

somec950

somea1122

sundryc1275

diverse1387

divers1393

diverse and sundry1484

plurala1538

various and sundry1652

several?1661

several-fold1833

pluralistic1837

a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 57, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Plural(l Kirk men plurall in benifice.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 52 Better haue none Then plurall faith, which is too much by one.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1958) IX. 140 God is a plurall God, and offers himselfe to all, collectively; God is a singular God, and offers himselfe to every man, distributively.

1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall v. 78 Having the advantage of plurall successions, they could not but act something remarkable in such variety of beings.

1708 R. Bulkeley Answer several Treat. 55 Jesus..made the Worlds..plural, not in coexistence and different in locality, but plural in Succession.

1786 J. Aitken Princ. Midwifery (ed. 3) vii. 104 Plural Birth. A plural pregnancy somewhat shows itself before parturition.

1811 T. Jefferson Let. 26 Jan. in Writings (1984) 1245 I do not believe..that this danger is lessened in the hands of a plural executive.

1893 S. Laing Human Origins 405 Polygeny, or plural origins, would at first sight seem to be the most plausible theory to account for the great diversities of human races.

1940 W. E. Hocking Living Relig. & World Faith Pref. 7 The unpublished chapter dealt with the actual religions in their plural and historical character.

1991 Internat. Affairs 67 331 These two forces have created a new legitimacy for ethnic self-expression, a legitimacy that sometimes rivals that of the state itself whose normally plural ethnicity leaves it vulnerable to internal challenges.

2002 Guardian (Nexis) 31 May 1 This legislation is a historical relic which has no place in plural Britain of the 21st century.

3. spec.

a. Designating multiple church livings held concurrently by one person. Cf. plurality n. 2. Now chiefly historical.

ΚΠ

?a1659 T. Pestell Poems (1940) 58 Fine Madams tongue 'gainst Plurall Liuings moves..And yet but one the Right Incumbent proues.

1895 Daily Chron. 6 Dec. 6/7 One of the few beneficed clergymen holding plural livings.

1913 A. L. Smith Church & State Middle Ages i. 8 ‘Many like ourselves of noble blood’, says the candid bishop, ‘hold plural benefices.’

1980 Hist. Jrnl. 23 698 The legal doctrine authorizing clerics to hold plural benefices in commendam.

2002 Spectator (Nexis) 5 Oct. 40 In 1743, 393 livings within the gift of the Archbishop of York were occupied by clergymen who did not live within that diocese and another 335 incumbents held plural livings.

b. Designating or relating to an electoral system in which each voter may cast more than one vote, or may vote in more than one constituency.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [adjective] > type of electoral system

scot and lot1818

plural1839

preferential1870

uninominal1881

second ballot1910

first past the post1914

1839 Times 11 Apr. 4/4 The pocket owners of the borough voted against the rate... There is a large majority of names, independent of plural votes, for the rate.

1860 J. S. Mill Consider. Represent. Govt. (1865) 73/1 Until there shall have been devised..some mode of plural voting which may assign to education, as such, the degree of superior influence due to it, and sufficient as a counterpoise to the numerical weight of the least educated class.

1897 Liverpool Courier 31 Aug. 8/5 He was perhaps the largest plural voter in the whole kingdom, being the possessor of no fewer than twenty-three Parliamentary votes.

1961 E. Graf tr. H. Jedin Ecumenical Councils Catholic Church 9 The right of participation is vested in the person; delegation is permissible but does not entitle the proxy to a plural vote.

1991 20th Cent. Brit. Hist. (BNC) 83 The Liberal plan to abolish plural voting before a possible 1915 general election offered the prospect of another Conservative defeat.

c. Designating or characteristic of a society, economy, etc., whose structure reflects the presence within it of different ethnic groups or cultural traditions; as plural community, plural democracy, plural economy, plural society.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > [noun] > a community > other types of community

churchOE

phalanx1602

republic1610

phalanstery1839

faith community1896

technocracy1925

plural community1939

Dogpatch1946

discourse community1972

society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > other types of civilizations or cultures

economy1535

patriarchy1868

by-world1872

Western world1894

overworld1895

open society1911

pao-chia1931

closed society1935

plural society1939

technopolis1946

shame culture1947

19841951

Hollerith1957

metaculture1959

underground1959

permissive society1960

caring society1966

technocomplex1968

microsociety1970

overground1971

Manhattanism1978

society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > segregation or discrimination

discrimination1819

colour discrimination1868

colour bar1869

segregation1903

plural democracy1939

apartheid1947

parallel development1950

separate development1955

petty apartheid1964

society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system

free market1642

peasant economy1883

agriculturism1885

money economy1888

price system1889

external economy1890

peace economy1905

war economy1919

planned economy1924

market economy1929

circular economy1932

managed economy1932

mixed economy1936

market socialism1939

plural economy1939

market capitalism1949

external diseconomy1952

siege economy1962

knowledge economy1967

linear economy1968

EMU1969

wage economy1971

grey economy1977

EMS1978

enterprise culture1979

new economy1981

tiger1981

share economy1983

gig economy2009

1939 J. S. Furnivall Netherlands India xiii. 446 One finds a plural society also in independent states, such as Siam, where Natives, Chinese and Europeans have distinct economic functions, and live apart as separate social orders.

1939 J. S. Furnivall Netherlands India xiii. 446 Some Dutch writers use the term dual or plural economy..to connote the co~existence within the same political community of two or more distinct sets of different economic principles.

1946 Afr. Affairs 45 4 The report considers major research needs to be the following: social and economic conditions in rural and urban areas..political developments in ‘plural’ communities, [etc.].

1966 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 29 427/1 Dr. Ratnam's attempt to accommodate the system of Malay safeguards within the framework of democratic ideals has led to his adoption of the term ‘plural democracy’.

1982 K. W. Grundy in G. M. Carter & P. O'Meara Southern Afr. (ed. 2) xi. 294 It [sc. trade with black Africa] is likely to stay low until the policy of apartheid and its successor policies (‘separate development’ and ‘plural democracy’) are abandoned.

2004 Hindu (Nexis) 7 May They [sc. electoral reforms]..will have to factor in a bicameral legislature to effectively cater to the multi-ethnic, plural Sri Lankan society.

B. n.

1. Grammar.

a. The plural number; a plural word or form.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > number > plural

plurala1398

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 243 It is ‘hoc porrum’ in the synguler and ‘hij porri’ in þe plurell.

c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 180 How knowyste prolempcis? A figure by the whych men diuiden a noun that bytokenyth the hole by the singuler or by the plurell.

1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xviii. 130 Medle, nedle what difference in proportion? as in nedles, the plurall of nedle, and nedelesse the adiectiue?

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 114 The plural of the Masculine is Zebaim, and of the feminine Zebaoth.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 136 The Dorians abbreviate even ας in the Accusative Plural.

1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 49 It is better to say in the Singular Pea, in the Plural Peas.

1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 202/2 The number three, as being the first of plurals.

1835 Court Mag. 6 186/1 This literary fashion of speaking in the plural, sadly puzzles an old gentleman unused to composition, like myself.

1877 A. H. Sayce in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1875–6 136 In Protomedic and Susianian..the initial is similarly always dropped in the plural of the verb.

1922 G. K. Chesterton in Illustr. London News 12 Aug. 234/1 There ought not to be anything but a plural for..the sweets called hundreds and thousands.

1987 Multilingua 6 313 In Old English there were no person distinctions in the plural and it became necessary to specify the subject independently of the verb in both the singular and plural.

b. plural of excellence n. (also plural of majesty, plural intensive) Semitic Grammar a plural noun used as the name of a single person.The typical example is ĕlōhīm used as the name of (the one) God.

ΚΠ

1837 G. Phillips Elem. Syriac Gram. 103 A plural of excellence the Syrians have not.

1846 S. P. Tregelles tr. F. H. W. Gesenius Heb. & Chaldee Lex. p. xlix/1 The plural of majesty [L. pluralis maiestaticus], [ĕlōhīm], occurs..more than two thousand times.

1898 F. Brown Heb.-Eng. Lex. 43 Pl. intensive.

1915 Amer. Jrnl. Semitic Lang. & Lit. 31 270 The ending -kunu here..is apparently plural of excellence.

1997 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 18 May (Mag. section) d6 Elohim denotes ‘gods’ but connotes one God in the strictly monotheistic Hebrew Scriptures. The form can be called, according to taste, the plural of excellence, the plural of majesty or the plural intensive.

2. In extended use: the fact or condition of there being more than one; something composed of several parts or pieces. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > plurality > [noun]

pluralitya1398

multiplicityc1454

moreness1611

manya1620

plural1655

multeity1814

several-fold1892

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 76 If respect be had to the severall Arts there professed, Sigebert founded Schools in the plurall.

1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 277 Do not make a singular into a plural, as the facetious say of those who break a thing.

1942 W. Stevens in Coll. Poems (1954) 392 North and South are an intrinsic couple And sun and rain a plural, like two lovers That walk away as one.

3. South African. With (frequently humorous or ironic) reference to official terminology (see etymology above): a black South African.

ΚΠ

1978 Sunday Times 19 Feb. 14 If the old term ‘Bantu’ (to which the Government clung so obdurately for a generation) was offensive, the new term ‘Plural’ is hilarious.

1986 M. S. Hlatshwayo in D. Bunn & J. Taylor From S. Afr. (1988) 298 Today you're called a Bantu, Tomorrow you're called a Communist Sometimes you're called a Native... Sometimes you're called a Plural.

2000 S. Hlatshwayo Educ. & Independence Introd. 5 Africans have been called by many terms, including Kaffirs, Aborigines, Natives, Non-Whites, Plurals, and Bantu.

Compounds

plural marriage n. marriage to more than one spouse; polygamy.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [noun] > polygamy

polygamy1538

plural marriage1862

1862 R. F. Burton City of Saints (ed. 2) 428 The ‘chaste and plural marriage’, being once legalized, finds a multitude of supporters.

1869 Utah Mag. 18 Sept. 310/1 The Mormon proposition is not to make plural marriage obligatory on the world, but to declare its necessity and legitimacy under certain circumstances.

1910 Mrs. B. W. Labaree in Students & Present Missionary Crisis (Student Volunteer Movement Foreign Missions) 366 Mohammedan home life with its plural marriage and frequent divorce, uncontrolled passions and untutored idleness.

1988 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 24 Jan. 3 The [Mormon] church has forbidden the once-common practice of plural marriage for 97 years.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	plural
释义	pluraladj.n. Brit. /ˈplʊərəl/, /ˈplʊərl̩/, /ˈplɔːrəl/, /ˈplɔːrl̩/, U.S. /ˈplʊrəl/ Forms: Middle English plure (transmission error), Middle English plurel, Middle English plurele, Middle English–1500s plurell, Middle English–1500s plurelle, Middle English– plural, 1500s–1600s plurall; Scottish pre-1700 plurale, pre-1700 plurall, pre-1700 1700s– plural. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French plural; Latin plūrālis. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman plural, plurel, plurele, plurell and Middle French (northern) plurel (noun) the plural number (c1174 in Old French (northern)), (adjective) relating to more than one (13th cent. in Old French; c1150 in Anglo-Norman in pluralment ; compare Old French, Middle French plurer (see plurar adj.), Old French, Middle French, French †plurier , Middle French, French pluriel ) and their etymon classical Latin plūrālis (adjective) relating to more than one (Quintilian), (noun) the plural number (Quintilian), in post-classical Latin also multiple, consisting of more than one (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), designating multiple church livings held concurrently by one person (14th cent. in British sources) < plūr- , plūs more (see plus prep., n., adv., and adj.) + -ālis -al suffix¹. Compare French plural, in non-grammatical senses (1874; a reborrowing < Latin).With plural of excellence n. at sense B. 1b compare post-classical Latin pluralis maiestatis , also pluralis maiestaticus (1833 in the passage translated in quot. 1846 at sense B. 1b). In sense B. 3 after the name of the Department of Plural Relations and Development (compare sense A. 3c), used briefly in South Africa during 1978 as the title of the former Department of Bantu Affairs. For earlier use of the Latin word in an English context compare:OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) iii. iii. 164 Þæt he gecwæð ærest ‘popule meus’, þæt ys singularis numerus on Lyden and on Englisc anfeald getæl. He cwæð þæræfter, ‘Inclinate aurem uestram’, þæt ys pluralis numerus on Lyden and on Englisc mænigfeald getæl. A. adj. 1. Grammar. Of the form or class of a noun, verb, etc.: denoting more than one (or in languages having a dual form, more than a minimum number). Opposed to singular.Frequently postpositive in names of grammatical categories, as first (also second, third) person plural, genitive plural, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > number > plural plurala1387 plurara1398 plurative1585 pluralizing1794 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 171 He moste be i-cleped Argi in þe plural nombre. c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible in Speculum (1968) 43 272 A word of plurel noumbre bitokneþ mo þingis þan oon, as..‘wymmen’, [etc.]. c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 179 Whenne myn antecedent betokenith the kynde of thynge and the relatif betokenyth the partye of the same thyng, thenne myn antecedent schal be singuler and the relatyf plurel. a1500 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 56 (MED) How knowyst the plurell nombur? For he spekyth of mony theyngis. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 4 The thyrde parsonnes plurelles of verbes actyves in the frenche tonge..ende in ent. 1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xviii. 131 Pence the plural number of penie. 1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor Pref. Lar is but the Turkish termination plurall. 1694 A. Boyer Compl. French-master iii. 102 This Participle is formed from the first person plural of the Present Tense of the Indicative. 1714 T. Ruddiman Rudiments Lat. Tongue iii. i. 81 Partitives and Words plac't Partitively, Comparatives, Superlatives, Interrogatives and some Numerals govern the Genitive plural. 1764 W. Primatt Accentus Redivivi 111 Provided they were third persons plural. 1797 Brit. Critic IX. 424 A more trifling matter of objection is the use of the plural form throughout in speaking of himself. 1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) ix. 113 They speak in the plural number, and the reader is utterly deceived. 1895 C. D. Buck Oscan-Umbrian Verb-system 135 The plural and passive forms have developed independently. 1934 N. Devitt Mem. Magistrate 143 The contraction ‘M'lait’ is probably derived from this word [sc.moonlighter], the prefix ‘Ama’ being a Zulu plural prefix. 1992 Amer. Speech 67 54 More research is needed on..the use of invariant woz with plural subjects. 2. More than one in number; consisting of, having, or equivalent to, more than one; forming a plurality; multiple, multiform. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > plurality > [adjective] somec950 somea1122 sundryc1275 diverse1387 divers1393 diverse and sundry1484 plurala1538 various and sundry1652 several?1661 several-fold1833 pluralistic1837 a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 57, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Plural(l Kirk men plurall in benifice. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 52 Better haue none Then plurall faith, which is too much by one. View more context for this quotation a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1958) IX. 140 God is a plurall God, and offers himselfe to all, collectively; God is a singular God, and offers himselfe to every man, distributively. 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall v. 78 Having the advantage of plurall successions, they could not but act something remarkable in such variety of beings. 1708 R. Bulkeley Answer several Treat. 55 Jesus..made the Worlds..plural, not in coexistence and different in locality, but plural in Succession. 1786 J. Aitken Princ. Midwifery (ed. 3) vii. 104 Plural Birth. A plural pregnancy somewhat shows itself before parturition. 1811 T. Jefferson Let. 26 Jan. in Writings (1984) 1245 I do not believe..that this danger is lessened in the hands of a plural executive. 1893 S. Laing Human Origins 405 Polygeny, or plural origins, would at first sight seem to be the most plausible theory to account for the great diversities of human races. 1940 W. E. Hocking Living Relig. & World Faith Pref. 7 The unpublished chapter dealt with the actual religions in their plural and historical character. 1991 Internat. Affairs 67 331 These two forces have created a new legitimacy for ethnic self-expression, a legitimacy that sometimes rivals that of the state itself whose normally plural ethnicity leaves it vulnerable to internal challenges. 2002 Guardian (Nexis) 31 May 1 This legislation is a historical relic which has no place in plural Britain of the 21st century. 3. spec. a. Designating multiple church livings held concurrently by one person. Cf. plurality n. 2. Now chiefly historical. ΚΠ ?a1659 T. Pestell Poems (1940) 58 Fine Madams tongue 'gainst Plurall Liuings moves..And yet but one the Right Incumbent proues. 1895 Daily Chron. 6 Dec. 6/7 One of the few beneficed clergymen holding plural livings. 1913 A. L. Smith Church & State Middle Ages i. 8 ‘Many like ourselves of noble blood’, says the candid bishop, ‘hold plural benefices.’ 1980 Hist. Jrnl. 23 698 The legal doctrine authorizing clerics to hold plural benefices in commendam. 2002 Spectator (Nexis) 5 Oct. 40 In 1743, 393 livings within the gift of the Archbishop of York were occupied by clergymen who did not live within that diocese and another 335 incumbents held plural livings. b. Designating or relating to an electoral system in which each voter may cast more than one vote, or may vote in more than one constituency. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > right to vote at elections > [adjective] > type of electoral system scot and lot1818 plural1839 preferential1870 uninominal1881 second ballot1910 first past the post1914 1839 Times 11 Apr. 4/4 The pocket owners of the borough voted against the rate... There is a large majority of names, independent of plural votes, for the rate. 1860 J. S. Mill Consider. Represent. Govt. (1865) 73/1 Until there shall have been devised..some mode of plural voting which may assign to education, as such, the degree of superior influence due to it, and sufficient as a counterpoise to the numerical weight of the least educated class. 1897 Liverpool Courier 31 Aug. 8/5 He was perhaps the largest plural voter in the whole kingdom, being the possessor of no fewer than twenty-three Parliamentary votes. 1961 E. Graf tr. H. Jedin Ecumenical Councils Catholic Church 9 The right of participation is vested in the person; delegation is permissible but does not entitle the proxy to a plural vote. 1991 20th Cent. Brit. Hist. (BNC) 83 The Liberal plan to abolish plural voting before a possible 1915 general election offered the prospect of another Conservative defeat. c. Designating or characteristic of a society, economy, etc., whose structure reflects the presence within it of different ethnic groups or cultural traditions; as plural community, plural democracy, plural economy, plural society. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > [noun] > a community > other types of community churchOE phalanx1602 republic1610 phalanstery1839 faith community1896 technocracy1925 plural community1939 Dogpatch1946 discourse community1972 society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > other types of civilizations or cultures economy1535 patriarchy1868 by-world1872 Western world1894 overworld1895 open society1911 pao-chia1931 closed society1935 plural society1939 technopolis1946 shame culture1947 19841951 Hollerith1957 metaculture1959 underground1959 permissive society1960 caring society1966 technocomplex1968 microsociety1970 overground1971 Manhattanism1978 society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > segregation or discrimination discrimination1819 colour discrimination1868 colour bar1869 segregation1903 plural democracy1939 apartheid1947 parallel development1950 separate development1955 petty apartheid1964 society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system free market1642 peasant economy1883 agriculturism1885 money economy1888 price system1889 external economy1890 peace economy1905 war economy1919 planned economy1924 market economy1929 circular economy1932 managed economy1932 mixed economy1936 market socialism1939 plural economy1939 market capitalism1949 external diseconomy1952 siege economy1962 knowledge economy1967 linear economy1968 EMU1969 wage economy1971 grey economy1977 EMS1978 enterprise culture1979 new economy1981 tiger1981 share economy1983 gig economy2009 1939 J. S. Furnivall Netherlands India xiii. 446 One finds a plural society also in independent states, such as Siam, where Natives, Chinese and Europeans have distinct economic functions, and live apart as separate social orders. 1939 J. S. Furnivall Netherlands India xiii. 446 Some Dutch writers use the term dual or plural economy..to connote the co~existence within the same political community of two or more distinct sets of different economic principles. 1946 Afr. Affairs 45 4 The report considers major research needs to be the following: social and economic conditions in rural and urban areas..political developments in ‘plural’ communities, [etc.]. 1966 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 29 427/1 Dr. Ratnam's attempt to accommodate the system of Malay safeguards within the framework of democratic ideals has led to his adoption of the term ‘plural democracy’. 1982 K. W. Grundy in G. M. Carter & P. O'Meara Southern Afr. (ed. 2) xi. 294 It [sc. trade with black Africa] is likely to stay low until the policy of apartheid and its successor policies (‘separate development’ and ‘plural democracy’) are abandoned. 2004 Hindu (Nexis) 7 May They [sc. electoral reforms]..will have to factor in a bicameral legislature to effectively cater to the multi-ethnic, plural Sri Lankan society. B. n. 1. Grammar. a. The plural number; a plural word or form. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > number > plural plurala1398 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 243 It is ‘hoc porrum’ in the synguler and ‘hij porri’ in þe plurell. c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 180 How knowyste prolempcis? A figure by the whych men diuiden a noun that bytokenyth the hole by the singuler or by the plurell. 1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xviii. 130 Medle, nedle what difference in proportion? as in nedles, the plurall of nedle, and nedelesse the adiectiue? 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 114 The plural of the Masculine is Zebaim, and of the feminine Zebaoth. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 136 The Dorians abbreviate even ας in the Accusative Plural. 1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 49 It is better to say in the Singular Pea, in the Plural Peas. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 202/2 The number three, as being the first of plurals. 1835 Court Mag. 6 186/1 This literary fashion of speaking in the plural, sadly puzzles an old gentleman unused to composition, like myself. 1877 A. H. Sayce in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1875–6 136 In Protomedic and Susianian..the initial is similarly always dropped in the plural of the verb. 1922 G. K. Chesterton in Illustr. London News 12 Aug. 234/1 There ought not to be anything but a plural for..the sweets called hundreds and thousands. 1987 Multilingua 6 313 In Old English there were no person distinctions in the plural and it became necessary to specify the subject independently of the verb in both the singular and plural. b. plural of excellence n. (also plural of majesty, plural intensive) Semitic Grammar a plural noun used as the name of a single person.The typical example is ĕlōhīm used as the name of (the one) God. ΚΠ 1837 G. Phillips Elem. Syriac Gram. 103 A plural of excellence the Syrians have not. 1846 S. P. Tregelles tr. F. H. W. Gesenius Heb. & Chaldee Lex. p. xlix/1 The plural of majesty [L. pluralis maiestaticus], [ĕlōhīm], occurs..more than two thousand times. 1898 F. Brown Heb.-Eng. Lex. 43 Pl. intensive. 1915 Amer. Jrnl. Semitic Lang. & Lit. 31 270 The ending -kunu here..is apparently plural of excellence. 1997 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 18 May (Mag. section) d6 Elohim denotes ‘gods’ but connotes one God in the strictly monotheistic Hebrew Scriptures. The form can be called, according to taste, the plural of excellence, the plural of majesty or the plural intensive. 2. In extended use: the fact or condition of there being more than one; something composed of several parts or pieces. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > plurality > [noun] pluralitya1398 multiplicityc1454 moreness1611 manya1620 plural1655 multeity1814 several-fold1892 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 76 If respect be had to the severall Arts there professed, Sigebert founded Schools in the plurall. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 277 Do not make a singular into a plural, as the facetious say of those who break a thing. 1942 W. Stevens in Coll. Poems (1954) 392 North and South are an intrinsic couple And sun and rain a plural, like two lovers That walk away as one. 3. South African. With (frequently humorous or ironic) reference to official terminology (see etymology above): a black South African. ΚΠ 1978 Sunday Times 19 Feb. 14 If the old term ‘Bantu’ (to which the Government clung so obdurately for a generation) was offensive, the new term ‘Plural’ is hilarious. 1986 M. S. Hlatshwayo in D. Bunn & J. Taylor From S. Afr. (1988) 298 Today you're called a Bantu, Tomorrow you're called a Communist Sometimes you're called a Native... Sometimes you're called a Plural. 2000 S. Hlatshwayo Educ. & Independence Introd. 5 Africans have been called by many terms, including Kaffirs, Aborigines, Natives, Non-Whites, Plurals, and Bantu. Compounds plural marriage n. marriage to more than one spouse; polygamy. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > types of marriage custom or practice > [noun] > polygamy polygamy1538 plural marriage1862 1862 R. F. Burton City of Saints (ed. 2) 428 The ‘chaste and plural marriage’, being once legalized, finds a multitude of supporters. 1869 Utah Mag. 18 Sept. 310/1 The Mormon proposition is not to make plural marriage obligatory on the world, but to declare its necessity and legitimacy under certain circumstances. 1910 Mrs. B. W. Labaree in Students & Present Missionary Crisis (Student Volunteer Movement Foreign Missions) 366 Mohammedan home life with its plural marriage and frequent divorce, uncontrolled passions and untutored idleness. 1988 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 24 Jan. 3 The [Mormon] church has forbidden the once-common practice of plural marriage for 97 years. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.n.a1387
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