English
ample
Ample comes from Latin amplus ‘large’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamplus1‘large’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ample1
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ample1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ample1‘ample, copious, profuse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667ample1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ample
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton: “…a broad and ample road, whose dust is gold…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamplusWiktionary, English ample‘large’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ampleWiktionary, English ample
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ampleWiktionary, English ample
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ampleWiktionary, English ample‘ample, copious, profuse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667ampleWiktionary, English ample. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton: “…a broad and ample road, whose dust is gold…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
people, public, popular, plus, supply, complete, poll, folk, manipulation, accomplish, completion, supplement, implement, comply, plural, complement, puri, plethora, depletion, volk, replete, deplete, plebs, plebeian, 75 more
through Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós ‘full’
through Latin plēnus ‘full’
plenty, plain, replenish, plenary, plenum, 15 more
through Latin amplus ‘large’
Today it means
det A fully sufficient or abundant quantity of; enough or more than enough.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ample”. 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 / Latin amplus / ample