voluminous

English

Etymology

From Late Latin voluminosus, from volumen, from volvō (roll, turn about) +‎ -men (noun-forming suffix). Related to volume.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /vəˈl(j)uː.mɪ.nəs/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /vəˈlu.mə.nəs/

Adjective

voluminous (comparative more voluminous, superlative most voluminous)

  1. Of or pertaining to volume or volumes.
  2. Consisting of many folds, coils, or convolutions.
    • 1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter VI, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth[1]:
      I remember that the Baroness was clad in a voluminous silk dress, pale grey in colour, and adorned with flounces and a crinoline and train.
  3. Of great volume, or bulk; large.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:
      Matters of a much more extraordinary kind are to be the subject of this history, or I should grossly mis-spend my time in writing so voluminous a work []
  4. Having written much, or produced many volumes
    Synonyms: copious, diffuse
    a voluminous writer

Translations

See also

  • volumous