ample meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

ample

det

US, UK /ˈæm.pəl/

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

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

3 more examples

…a broad and ample road, whose dust is gold…1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost (Book II)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost_(1667)/Book_II):
…a line of wooden troughs supplies ample water for irrigation.1862, Richard F. Burton, The City of the Saints:
…possesses an ample supply of water-power for industrial purposes.1911, Various (ed. Hugh Chisholm), 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Article on Sweden:

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

adj

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

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

1 more example

[H]e was satisfied that Alice yet lived; he hoped she might yet escape and return. […] He enriched Mrs. Jones for life, in gratitude for her vindication of his lost and early love: he promised the amplest rewards for the smallest clue.1837, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XI, in Ernest Maltravers […] , volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 111:

Very adequate.

It was pointed out to me that the security was ample, and as I had no practical knowledge of house-valuing there was nothing to be gained by inspecting it.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:

Not contracted or brief; not concise; extended; diffusive

Synonyms: full, spacious, extensive, wide, capacious, abundant, plentiful, plenteous, copious, bountiful, rich, liberal, munificent
Derived terms: ampleness, semiample
Related terms: amplifiable, amplification, amplificatory, amplifier, amplify, amplitude