much

英文词源

much

much: [13] The Old English word for ‘much’ was mycel (a relative of Old Norse mikill, from which English got the now archaic mickle [13]). It goes back ultimately to the same Indo-European base as produced Latin magis ‘more’ (source of English master) and magnus ‘large’ (source of English magnitude) and Greek mégas ‘large’ (source of the English prefix mega-). Mycel became early Middle English muchel, which began to lose its second syllable in the 13th century.
=> magnitude, master, more

much (adj.)

c. 1200, worn down by loss of unaccented last syllable from Middle English muchel "large, much," from Old English micel "great in amount or extent," from Proto-Germanic *mekilaz, from PIE *meg- "great" (see mickle). As a noun and an adverb, from c. 1200. For vowel evolution, see bury.