plenty

plen•ty

[[t]ˈplɛn ti[/t]] n. pl. -ties, adj. adv.

1) a full or abundant supply or amount:

There is plenty of time[/ex]

2) the state or quality of being plentiful; abundance:

resources in plenty[/ex]

3) an abundance, as of goods or luxuries, or a time of such abundance:

the years of plenty[/ex]

4) plentiful; abundant

5) more than sufficient; ample:

This helping is plenty for me[/ex]

6) use Informal. fully; quite: plenty good enough

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Etymology: 1175–1225; ME plente(th) < OF plente(d), plentet < L plēnitātem, acc. of plēnitās fullness. See plenum, -ity usage: The construction plenty of is standard in all varieties of speech and writing: plenty of room in the shed. The use of plenty preceding a noun, without an intervening of, first appeared in the late 19th century: plenty room in the shed. It occurs today chiefly in informal speech. As an adverb, a use first recorded in the mid-19th century, plenty is also informal and occurs chiefly in speech. All these uses are often criticized when they occur in formal contexts.