Etymograph

English

many

Many comes from Middle English many, from Old English maniġ, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *managaz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*managaz1‘many’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*manag1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150maniġ1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500many1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611many1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English many
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thou shalt be a father of many nations.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*managazWiktionary, English many‘many’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*managWiktionary, English manyreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150maniġWiktionary, English many
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500manyWiktionary, English many
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611manyWiktionary, English many. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thou shalt be a father of many nations.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with many, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Germanic *managaz

  • manifold ← maniġfeald ← *managafalþaz

Explore everything descended from *managaz →

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Today it means

det before a countable noun: A large, indefinite number of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “many”. 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-Germanic *managaz / many