maint
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French maint, from Old French maint, meint (“many”), from Frankish *managiþu (“a large quantity, a great many”), from Proto-Germanic *managiþō (“large quantity, multitude”), from Proto-Indo-European *monegʰ- (“many”). Cognate with Middle Dutch menichte (“multitude, great number”), Middle High German mennichte (“quantity”), Old English menigdu (“group of people”). More at many.
Alternatively, the Old French could be from Gaulish *mantī, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Welsh maint, Old Irish méit), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Pronunciation edit
Determiner edit
maint m (feminine mainte, masculine plural maints, feminine plural maintes)
- (archaic or literary) many
- 1857, Charles Baudelaire, “Le Guignon”, in Les Fleurs du mal:
- — Maint joyau dort enseveli / Dans les ténèbres et l’oubli, / […] / Mainte fleur épanche à regret / Son parfum doux comme un secret
- Many a jewel sleeps shrouded / In darkness and oblivion, / […] / Many a flower spills with regret / Its sweet scent like a secret
Derived terms edit
Pronoun edit
maint
Further reading edit
- “maint”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Middle French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French maint.
Adjective edit
maint m (feminine singular mainte, masculine plural maints, feminine plural maintes)
Descendants edit
- French: maint (archaic)
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Frankish *menigda, *managda (“a large quantity, a great many”), from Proto-Germanic *managiþō (“large quantity, multitude”), from Proto-Indo-European *monegʰ- (“many”).
Alternatively from Gaulish *mantī, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Welsh maint, Old Irish méit), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Adverb edit
maint (invariable)
Adjective edit
maint m (oblique and nominative feminine singular mainte)
Declension edit
Synonyms edit
Descendants edit
Welsh edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Brythonic *mėnt, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Old Irish méit, Irish méid), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
maint m (plural meintiau)
Derived terms edit
- cymaint (“as much, as many”)
- faint (“how many?”)
- meintiol (“quantitative”)
- rhywfaint (“some amount”)
Mutation edit
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
maint | faint | unchanged | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References edit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “maint”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies