much

Hurry! We don't have much time!

They set about the task with much enthusiasm.

As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.

1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:

Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.

2011 February 24, “Wisconsin and wider”, in The Economist:

Add this much water and no more.

Take as much time as you like.

(in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the quantity of something.

ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre sayd the Kynge / for as I here saye sir Launcelot will abyde me and yow in the Ioyous gard / and moche peple draweth vnto hym as I here saye

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX (in Middle English):

When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew:

There wasn't much people about that day.

1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

(now archaic or nonstandard) A great number of; many (people).

They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say.

1977, Bob Marley (lyrics and music), “So Much Things to Say”:

(now Caribbean, African-American, UK regional) many ( + plural countable noun).

head

much (comparative more, superlative most)

From Middle English muche (“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel (“much, great”), from Old English myċel, miċel (“big, much”), from Proto-West Germanic *mikil, from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- (“big, stour, great”). See also mickle, muckle.
cognates
Cognate with Scots mickle, mukill, mekil, mikil (“big, large, great, much”), Middle Dutch mēkel (“great, many, much”), Middle High German michel ("great, many, much"; > German michel (“great, big, large”)), Norwegian Bokmål mye (“much”), Norwegian Nynorsk mykje (“much”), Swedish mycket (“much”), Danish meget (“much”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils, “great, many”), Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas, “large, great”), Modern Greek μεγάλος (megálos, “large, great”).
Note that English much is not related to Spanish mucho, and their resemblance in both form and meaning is purely coincidental, as mucho derives from Latin multus and is not related to the Germanic forms. Instead, related to Spanish maño.

gloss

"great, many, much"; > German <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">michel</i> (“great, big, large”)


much

Thenne launcelot vnbarred the dore / and with his lyfte hand he held it open a lytel / so that but one man myghte come in attones / and soo there came strydyng a good knyghte a moche man and large / and his name was Colgreuaunce / of Gore / and he with a swerd strake at syr launcelot myȝtely and he put asyde the stroke

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “iiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX (in Middle English):


much

I don't like fish much. I don’t much care for strawberries either.

He is much fatter than I remember him.

He left her, much to the satisfaction of her other suitor.

That boyfriend of yours is much {like - the same as} the others.

My English was much the worst, and I'm certainly not much good at math either.

Honestly, I can't stand much more of this.

Both candidates, who are much of an age, say much the same thing, but the youngest shows much the commoner behavior of the two.

They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.

1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC, page 9:

I can’t lie (I miss you much). Watching every day that goes by (I miss you much).

2008, “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (track 1), in Freedom, performed by Akon:

Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.

2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:

From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

Does he get drunk much?

I don't like Wagner as much as I like Mozart.

(in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate or compare extent.

Jamie's always preaching about how we need to save a planet when she drives literally everywhere she goes. Like, hypocritical much?

The moment you've been waiting for—the lowdown on the Overstock hottie. I talked to her by phone last week. (Jealous much, gentlemen? Ad Report Card talks to all the fine ladies.)

2005 December 28, Seth Stevenson, “What’s With That Overstock.com Ad?”, in Slate, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-01-20:

Well, on the grounds of this, what if I told you the brand's latest launch goes against the latter and instead, is the first product in an opaque lip crème line? Screaming, crying, throwing up, much?

2023 May 12, Lia Mappoura, “I tried Glossier's brand new G Suit lip crèmes so you don't have to – you're welcome”, in Cosmopolitan:

rhetorical question
rhetorical question#Noun

(slang) Combining with an adjective or (occasionally) a noun, used in a rhetorical question to mock someone for having the specified quality.


much

From those to whom much has been given much is expected.

We lay awake for much of the night.