ample

English

WOTD – 16 August 2009

Etymology

From late Middle English ample, from Middle French ample, from Latin amplus (“large”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæm.pəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æmpəl

Determiner

ample

1. A fully sufficient or abundant quantity of; enough or more than enough.

   We have ample time to finish the task.

   It is a large house with ample space for all of us.

2. (as pronoun) A quantity (of something) that is fully sufficient; plenty.

   We don't need any more. We already have ample.

Adjective

ample (comparative ampler, superlative amplest)

1. Large; great in size, extent, capacity, or bulk; for example spacious, roomy or widely extended.

   We have an ample supply of water

   She has a very ample bosom.

2. Not contracted or brief; not concise; extended; diffusive

   an ample story

Synonyms

• full, spacious, extensive, wide, capacious, abundant, plentiful, plenteous, copious, bountiful; rich, liberal, munificent
• See also Thesaurus:ample
• (large): See also Thesaurus:large
• (fully sufficient): See also Thesaurus:abundant

Derived terms

• ampleness
• semiample

Related terms

• amplifiable
• amplification
• amplificatory
• amplifier
• amplify
• amplitude

Translations

large; great in size

• Armenian: լայն (hy) (layn), ընդարձակ (hy) (əndarjak)
• Bulgarian: обширен (bg) (obširen), просторен (bg) (prostoren)
• Czech: dostatečný (cs), hojný (cs), bohatý (cs), široký (cs)
• Danish: stor (da), vid
• Esperanto: ampleksa
• Finnish: tilava (fi), iso (fi), suuri (fi)
• French: ample (fr)
• Galician: amplo (gl)
• German: groß (de), umfangreich (de)
• Hindi: प्रचुर (hi) (pracur), पर्याप्त (hi) (paryāpt)
• Ido: ampla (io)
• Italian: ampio (it)
• Latin: magnus (la)
• Persian: کافی (fa), فراوان (fa), فراخ (fa) (farâx)
• Polish: duży (pl), obszerny (pl)
• Portuguese: amplo (pt)
• Romanian: amplu (ro)
• Russian: огро́мный (ru) (ogrómnyj), обши́рный (ru) (obšírnyj), просто́рный (ru) (prostórnyj)
• Spanish: amplio (es), extenso (es)

not contracted or brief; not concise

• Armenian: լայնածավալ (hy) (laynacaval)
• Czech: rozsáhlý (cs)
• Danish: fyldig
• Finnish: laaja (fi), pitkä (fi)
• Galician: longo (gl)
• Norwegian: fyldig (no)
• Swedish: fyllig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: مُتَوَفِّر (mutawaffir)
• Armenian: միանգամայն բավարար (miangamayn bavarar), լիառատ (hy) (liaṙat)
• Bulgarian: обилен (bg) (obilen)
• Czech: hojný (cs) m
• Danish: rigelig
• Dutch: overvloedig (nl), abondant (nl), rijkelijk voorhanden
• Finnish: runsas (fi), yltäkylläinen (fi), reilu (fi)
• Galician: amplo (gl), largo (gl)
• German: üppig (de)
• Italian: abbondante (it)
• Latin: amplus (la)
• Maori: makuru, mātuatua, ngahiri, ngeangea, rangea, hāwene, pukahu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: rikelig (no)

• Portuguese: abundante (pt)
• Russian: доста́точный (ru) (dostátočnyj), оби́льный (ru) (obílʹnyj)
• Spanish: abundante (es), generoso (es)
• Swedish: tillräcklig (sv), fullödig (sv)
• Telugu: పుష్కలం (te) (puṣkalaṁ), ధారాళం (dhārāḷaṁ)

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “ample”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “ample”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Mapel, Maple, Palme, maple, pelma

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin amplus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈam.plə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈam.ple]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Homophone: ampla (Balearic, Central)

Adjective

ample (feminine ampla, masculine and feminine plural amples)

1. wide
2. ample, plentiful

Derived terms

• amplada
• amplament
• amplària

Related terms

• ampliar

Further reading

• “ample”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “ample”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “ample” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “ample” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French ample, inherited from Latin amplus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃pl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

ample (plural amples)

1. plentiful, abundant, copious, profuse, ample
2. (of clothes) loose, baggy

Further reading

• “ample”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Etymology 1

Adverb

amplē (comparative amplius, superlative amplissimē)

1. amply, largely

Etymology 2

Adjective

ample

1. vocative masculine singular of amplus

References

• “ample”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ample”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English

Alternative forms

• emple

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ample, from Old French ample, from Latin amplus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈampəl/, /ˈɛmpəl/

Adjective

ample

1. (Late Middle English) ample, copious, profuse

Related terms

• amplifiyen

Descendants

• English: ample
• Scots: ample

References

• “ample, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-10-04.