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copious

[koh-pee-uh s]
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adjective
  1. large in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful: copious amounts of food.
  2. having or yielding an abundant supply: a copious larder; a copious harvest.
  3. exhibiting abundance or fullness, as of thoughts or words.
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Origin of copious

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cōpiōsus plentiful, rich, equivalent to cōpi(a) wealth (co- co- + op(s) Ops + -ia -ia) + -ōsus -ous
Related formsco·pi·ous·ly, adverbco·pi·ous·ness, co·pi·os·i·ty [koh-pee-os-i-tee] /ˌkoʊ piˈɒs ɪ ti/, nouno·ver·co·pi·ous, adjectiveo·ver·co·pi·ous·ly, adverbo·ver·co·pi·ous·ness, nounun·co·pi·ous, adjective

Synonyms

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1. bountiful.

Synonym study

2. See ample.

Antonyms

1. scanty, scarce. 3. meager.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for copiousness

Historical Examples

  • They sing with more confidence and copiousness, and as if they, too, had been touched by civilization.

    Fresh Fields

    John Burroughs

  • For copiousness, sustained wit, and verbal brilliancy the man had few equals.

    Unicorns

    James Huneker

  • From all this we may form some idea of the richness and copiousness of Joseph's history.

    Notes on the Book of Genesis

    Charles Henry Mackintosh

  • And the drinking was, of course, of a copiousness he had little dreamed of.

    Villa Elsa

    Stuart Henry

  • He had a light to all its copiousness, and the other party should have allowed him full enjoyment.

British Dictionary definitions for copiousness

copious

adjective
  1. abundant; extensive in quantity
  2. having or providing an abundant supply
  3. full of words, ideas, etc; profuse
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Derived Formscopiously, adverbcopiousness, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin cōpiōsus well supplied, from cōpia abundance, from ops wealth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for copiousness

copious

adj.

mid-14c., from Latin copiosus "plentiful," from copia "an abundance, ample supply, profusion, plenty," from com- "with" (see com-) + ops (genitive opis) "power, wealth, resources," from PIE root *op- "to work, produce in abundance" (see opus). Related: Copiously.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper