maint

Inherited from Middle French maint, from Old French maint, meint (“many”), from Frankish *managiþu (“a large quantity, a great many”), from Proto-Germanic *managiþō (“large quantity, multitude”), from Proto-Indo-European *monegʰ- (“many”). Cognate with Middle Dutch menichte (“multitude, great number”), Middle High German mennichte (“quantity”), Old English menigdu (“group of people”). More at many.

Alternatively, the Old French could be from Gaulish *mantī, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Welsh maint, Old Irish méit), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).

• IPA^(key): /mɛ̃/

• Audio:

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• Homophones: main, mains, maints

maint m (feminine mainte, masculine plural maints, feminine plural maintes)

1. (archaic or literary) many
   • 1857, Charles Baudelaire, “Le Guignon”, in Les Fleurs du mal:

     — Maint joyau dort enseveli / Dans les ténèbres et l’oubli, / […] / Mainte fleur épanche à regret / Son parfum doux comme un secret

     Many a jewel sleeps shrouded / In darkness and oblivion, / […] / Many a flower spills with regret / Its sweet scent like a secret

maint

1. (rare or literary) many

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

• matin, mâtin, minât, mitan

From Old French maint.

maint m (feminine singular mainte, masculine plural maints, feminine plural maintes)

1. many; a lot of

• French: maint (archaic)

• meint

From Frankish *menigda, *managda (“a large quantity, a great many”), from Proto-Germanic *managiþō (“large quantity, multitude”), from Proto-Indo-European *monegʰ- (“many”).

Alternatively from Gaulish *mantī, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Welsh maint, Old Irish méit), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).

maint (invariable)

1. very; a lot

maint m (oblique and nominative feminine singular mainte)

1. many

• (adverb): molt, biau cop
• (adjective): molt

• Middle French: maint
  • French: maint (archaic)

From Middle Welsh maint, from Old Welsh meint, from Proto-Brythonic *mėnt, from Proto-Brythonic *mėnt, from Proto-Celtic *mantī (“quantity”) (compare Old Irish méit, Irish méid), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₁-nt-, from *meh₁- (“to measure”).

• IPA^(key): /mai̯nt/
• Rhymes: -ai̯nt

maint m (plural meintiau)

1. size, extent
2. quantity

• cymaint (“as much, as many”)
• faint (“how many?”)
• meintiol (“quantitative”)
• rhywfaint (“some amount”)

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “maint”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies