English
much
Much comes from Middle English muche ‘much, great’, from Proto-West Germanic *mikil ‘big, large’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-1‘big’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mikilaz1‘great’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mikil1‘big’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150myċel1‘big’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muchel1‘much’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muche1‘much’apocopated variant of muchel
- Englishearliest quotation 1485much1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English much
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-Wiktionary, English much‘big’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mikilazWiktionary, English much‘great’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mikilWiktionary, English much‘big’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150myċelWiktionary, English much‘big’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muchelWiktionary, English much‘much’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mucheWiktionary, English much‘much’apocopated variant of muchel
- Englishearliest quotation 1485muchWiktionary, English much. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory: “ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- ‘big, stour, great’
majority, magistrate, mastery, maestro, merino, meister, masterly, magisterium, 7 more
through Proto-Germanic *mikilaz ‘great, many, much’
through Proto-West Germanic *mikil ‘big, large’
through Middle English muchel ‘much, great’
Today it means
det A large amount of.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “much”. 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 *meǵh₂- / much