more

英文词源

more

more: [OE] The Indo-European term for ‘more’ was *meis (it was formed from the same base as produced Latin magis ‘more’, source of Spanish mas ‘more’ and English master, and Latin magnus ‘large’, source of English magnitude). Its Germanic descendant was *maiz, which evolved into modern German mehr ‘more’, and also into Old English mā ‘more’, which survived dialectally until fairly recently as mo. From the adverb *maiz was derived the adjective *maizon, and it was this that has given English more. Most is, of course, closely related.
=> magnitude, master, most

more (adj.)

Old English mara "greater, more, stronger, mightier," used as a comparative of micel "great" (see mickle), from Proto-Germanic *maizon- (cognates: Old Saxon mera, Old Norse meiri, Old Frisian mara, Middle Dutch mere, Old High German mero, German mehr), from PIE *meis- (cognates: Avestan mazja "greater," Old Irish mor "great," Welsh mawr "great," Greek -moros "great," Oscan mais "more"), from root *me- (3) "big." Sometimes used as an adverb in Old English ("in addition"), but Old English generally used related ma "more" as adverb and noun. This became Middle English mo, but more in this sense began to predominate in later Middle English.

"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."

"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing."

More or less "in a greater or lesser degree" is from early 13c.; appended to a statement to indicate approximation, from 1580s.