Etymograph

English

abundance

Abundance comes from Latin abundantia ‘fullness, plenty’, from abundō ‘to overflow’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-om2‘body of water’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEunda3‘water(s)’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundō3‘surge, swell’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabundō1‘to overflow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabundantia1‘fullness, plenty’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400habundance1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abundaunce1
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1610abundance1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English abundance
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin unda
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin abundo
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610, ?, Walter Raleigh: “It is lamentable to remember what abundance of noble…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, English abundance‘water’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*udn-omWiktionary, Latin unda‘body of water’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundaWiktionary, Latin abundo‘water(s)’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundōWiktionary, Latin abundo‘surge, swell’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabundōWiktionary, English abundance‘to overflow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabundantiaWiktionary, English abundance‘fullness, plenty’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400habundanceWiktionary, English abundance
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abundaunceWiktionary, English abundance
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1610abundanceWiktionary, English abundance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610, ?, Walter Raleigh: “It is lamentable to remember what abundance of noble…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’

water, wet, wash, vodka, hydro, otter, hydrate, vitriol, hydride, vitreous, aldehyde, vedra, 45 more

through Latin unda ‘water(s)’

und, undine, 10 more

through Latin undō ‘surge, swell’

surround, redundant, undated, inundation, inundate, 4 more

Today it means

noun A large quantity; many.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “abundance”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin unda, Latin abundo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wed- / abundance

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