plurality
English
Etymology
plural + -ity, from Middle English pluralite, from Old French pluralité (“multitude, state of being plural”), from Latin plūrālitās.
Pronunciation
Noun
plurality (countable and uncountable, plural pluralities)
- (uncountable) The state of being plural.
- (ecclesiastical) The holding of multiple benefices.
- Synonym: pluralism
- 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica:
- It was the complaint and lamentation of Prelats, upon every least breath of a motion to remove pluralities, and distribute more equally Church revennu's, that then all learning would be for ever dasht and discourag'd.
- (countable) A state of being numerous.
- Synonym: multiplicity
- (countable) A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.
- (countable) A number of votes for a single candidate or position which is greater than the number of votes gained by any other single candidate or position voted for, but which is less than a majority of valid votes cast.
- Synonym: relative majority
- 1977 September 8, "Crime against clarity", editorial, Bangor Daily News, page 14 [1]:
- To repeal the tax (Question I), a 50 per cent majority vote is required. To keep the tax in its 1976 form (Question III), only a plurality of votes is required.
- (countable) A margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes.
- 1948 December 10, “President Race Ignored by 683,382 Voters”, in The Deseret News[2], page A-2:
- Truman's total vote was 24,104,836. Dewey received 21,969,500; […] . Truman won by a plurality of 2,135,336, but it was the first time since 1916 that a winner has failed to capture a majority of all votes cast.
- (countable) A group of many entities: a large number.
- A plurality of ideas were put forth at the meeting, most of which were rejected out of hand.
- (countable) A group composed of more than one entity.
- 1989, United States Patent 5065364, abstract:
- The array is organized into a plurality of vertical (column) blocks.
- 1989, United States Patent 5065364, abstract:
- (of spouses) Polygamy.
- (psychology) The condition of a single body/person displaying multiple distinct personas.
- Synonym: multiplicity
- 2016, Lori F. Clarke, “Embracing Polyphony: Voices, Improvisation, and the Hearing Voices Network”, in Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, volume 5, number 2, page 1:
- In this paper I argue that hearing voices experiences and plurality are part of a broad, rich, and complex spectrum of human experience, […]
- 2020, Tynan Drake, "Intersectional Representation: LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices in transmedia fiction", paper submitted to Ball State University, page 5:
- Clinical psychology tends to lean towards early childhood trauma as an explanation for the development of plurality, but many members of the plurality community report experiencing a multiplicity of selves before, or even completely in the absence of, trauma.
- 2020, Meg-John Barker, “Plural selves, queer, and comics”, in Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, volume 11, number 4:
- People often find it easiest to recognise plurality in themselves when they reflect on how they behave in different relationships or situations.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:plurality.
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “state of being more than one”): singularity
Coordinate terms
- superminority, qualified minority, simple majority, relative majority, absolute majority, qualified majority, supermajority
Derived terms
Translations
the state of being plural
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ecclesiastical: the holding of multiple benefices
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a state of being numerous
most votes in election, but less than 50%
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a margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes
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group of many entities: a large number
group composed of more than one entity
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(of spouses) polygamy — see polygamy
psychology: the condition of a single body/person displaying multiple distinct personas
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Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *pleh₁-
- English terms suffixed with -ity
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ælɪti
- Rhymes:English/ælɪti/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English ecclesiastical terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:Psychology
- en:Multiplicity (psychology)