plupart

French

Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French pluspart (“the greater/greatest part of something”). By surface analysis, plus +‎ part. Probably calqued from a Germanic phrase related to Old English māra dǣl (“majority”, literally “the greater part”), Dutch meerdeel, German Mehrteil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ply.paʁ/

• Audio:

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Noun

plupart f (uncountable)

1. main part, majority
2. most of

   Il a mangé la plupart du gâteau

   He ate most of the cake.

   La plupart des gens aiment le chocolat

   Most people like chocolate.

   La plupart d’entre eux se sont quand même partis

   Most of them have left, anyway.

   Il existe une cinquantaine de radioéléments naturels dont la plupart font partie des trois familles naturelles du thorium, de l’uranium et de l’actinium

   There are around 50 natural radioelements, most of which belong to the natural families of thorium, uranium, and actinium.

   Les châteaux valdôtains, auxquels est indissociablement liée l’histoire de la Vallée d’Aoste, autrefois principal moyen de défense, sont aujourd’hui une des plus importantes richesses de la plus petite région italienne. En dépit de ses dimensions, en la parcourant on peut trouver presque un château dans chaque village, dont la plupart ont été bien conservés, et constituent une des majeures attractions touristiques

   The castles of the Aosta Valley, to which the history of the Aosta Valley is inextricably linked, once its principal means of defense, are today one of the most important assets of the smallest region of Italy. Despite its size, in almost every village there is a castle, most of which have been well-preserved, and are a major tourist attraction.

Usage notes

While its near synonym majorité can accord with both singular and plural forms of verbs, adjectives, etc., when la plupart is linked to a verb, participle, adjective or pronoun, the form of the latter follows the grammatical gender and number of the noun to which the former is connected by the preposition de. When used without clear connection to some nominal unit, the masculine plural is used.

• La plupart de ce travail est trop compliqué. ― Most of this work is too complicated. (masculine singular agreement with travail)
• La plupart de mes amis sont américains. ― Most of my friends are American. (masculine plural agreement with amis)
• La plupart de la population est folle. ― Most of the population is mad. (feminine singular agreement with population)
• La plupart des étoiles sont plus grandes que le Soleil. ― Most stars are bigger than the Sun. (feminine plural agreement with étoiles)

Derived terms

• pour la plupart

See also

• majorité

Further reading

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