Etymograph

English

plus

Plus is borrowed from Latin plūs ‘more’, from Old Latin plous, from Proto-Italic *plēōs.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēōs1reconstructed
  2. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEplous1
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplūs1‘more’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1920plus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English plus
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, The Current Business Cyclopedia: Busines: “Good will is also secured by plussing the original…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēōsWiktionary, English plusreconstructed
  2. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEplousWiktionary, English plus
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplūsWiktionary, English plus‘more’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1920plusWiktionary, English plus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, The Current Business Cyclopedia: Busines: “Good will is also secured by plussing the original…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’

people, public, full, popular, complete, fill, supply, plenty, poll, folk, plain, completion, implement, accomplish, manipulation, supplement, comply, complement, ample, amplitude, plethora, depletion, amplify, plenary, replenish, puri, replete, volk, plenum, deplete, plebs, plebeian, fulsome, 74 more

through Latin plūs ‘more’

plurality, plural, 3 more

Today it means

prep And; sum of the previous one and the following one.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plus”. 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-Italic *plēōs / plus

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