πλῆον

Grammatical information: adj. (comp.)

Meaning: `more, longer, larger' (Hom.).

Other forms: πλέων, n. πλεῖον, πλέον (Il.), ep. Aeol. pl. also πλέες, Cret. πλίες etc. (further forms in Seiler Steigerungsformen 113, Schwyzer 537 n. 6; cf. also bel.); superl. πλεῖστος (Il.) `most, the longset, the greatest'.

Compounds: As 1. member a.o. in the compound πλεον-εξ-ία f. `greed, benefitl', πλεον-εκτέω with - έκτημα, έκτης, - εκτικός (IA.; from πλέον ἔχειν, cf. εὑεξία a.o. s. 1. ἔχω and Fraenkel Nom. ag. 1, 166); πλειστό-μβροτος `very rich in people' (Pi.).

Derivatives: From πλε(ί)ων, πλέον: πλειότης f. `plurality' ( Theol. Ar.), πλειονότης f. `the superior length of the chord' (Nicom. Harm.); πλεον-άκις `more often' (IA.), - αχός, - αχῶς `multiple, in multiple ways' (Arist.), -αχῃ̃ `in more respects' (Pl.); - άζω `to have an abundance, to be excessive, to grow in number, to increase' (IA.) with - ασμός, - ασμα, - ασις (Arist., hell.). Fronm πλεῖστος: πλειστ-άκις `most often, very often' (IA.), - αχόθεν `from the most (very many) places' (Ar.), - ήρης `the most (χρόνος), the longest' (A. Eu. 763), - ηρίζομαι approx. `to appoint someone as the highest authority' (A. Ch. 1029), - ηριάζω `to bid the highest price (in auctions), to outbid' (Lys., Pl. Com., Them.) with - ηριασμός ὑπερθεματισμός H.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [798] * pleh₁- `full'

Etymology: As basis of the above comp. forms one may posit PGr. *πλή-[ι̯]ων, *πλή-ιστος; from there πλέων, πλεῖστος; to πλεῖστος analog. πλείων (cf. also μείων). The seemingly archaic πλέες, πλίες (s. on them Schwyzer 537 n. 6 w. rich lit.) are best taken as innovations to πλέον, pl. πλέα (Leumann Mus. Helv. 2, 1f. = Kl. Schr. 214f.). Unclear Att. πλεῖν = πλέον and Arc. πλος ( πλως?) `plus', s. Schwyzer l.c. (also n. 1) and Leumann l.c. The sporadic attestations with η, e.g. πλῆον (Milete a.e.), Πλήστ-αρχος (Tegea) can hardly be interpreted as testimonies of older situations (s. Seiler l.c.). -- A corresponding comp. gives Av. frāyah- `more, much, many', Skt. adv. prāyaḥ. As the superlative originally had zero grade and a zero grade form. has been supposed in Av. fraēštǝm `mostly', OWNo. fleistr `most' (with comp. fleiri), but it has full grade, IE * pleh₁-isto-? The stem πλη- is best seen in πίμπλημι (s. v.); on the positive πολύς s. v. -- Details in the above mentioned lit. and in WP. 2, 65 (Pok. 798), W.-Hofmann s. plūs, Mayrhofer s. prāyaḥ.

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