plural

Etymology

From Middle English plurelle, from Old French plurel (“plural”), borrowed from Latin pluralis (“of or belonging to more than one, belonging to many”, adjective), from plus, pluris (“more”) + -alis.

adj

1. Consisting of or containing more than one of something.
   The notion of culture is one whose meanings are plural and shifting.
   Than plural faith which is too much by one: Thou counterfeit to thy true friend! 1594, William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona
2. (grammar) In systems of number, not singular or not singular or dual.
   English nouns usually have singular and plural forms.
3. (comparable) Pluralistic.
   Although the nation was far more plural than Canada in the number of its Christian groups 1987, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, editors, The Encyclopedia of religion, volume 3
   The Hong Kong and Singapore markets are way more "plural" than most Western economies, but they have not led to pluralistic politics. 2006, Suisheng Zhao, Debating political reform in China: rule of law vs. democratization, page 29
   History is perhaps more plural than traditionally imagined, leaving room for more groups to express their story. 2007, Lachelle Renee Hannickel, From cultural transgressions to literary transformations: ..., page 195
   Generally the girls tend to perceive their social world as somewhat more plural than boys do. Several of these questions reveal that there are more boys (61%) than girls (39%) who 'do not know' about the religion of others 2009, Pille Valk, Teenagers' perspectives on the role of religion in their lives, ..., page 281
   Yet More's conscience was responding to a world just a little more plural than the world he was born in 2011, Harald E. Braun, Edward Vallance, The Renaissance Conscience, page 50
4. (psychology, informal, not comparable, of a person) Having some form of multiplicity, especially dissociative identity disorder.

noun

1. (grammar, uncountable) The plural number. In English, referring to more or less than one of something.
   There are three numbers; the singular, the dual, and the plural. … The dual is sometimes used to denote two objects, but even here the plural is more common. 1895, William W. Goodwin, A Greek Grammar. Revised and enlarged., page 34
2. (grammar, countable) A word in the form in which it potentially refers to something other than one person or thing; and other than two things if the language has a dual form.
   The plural of 'cat' is 'cats', but the plural of 'child' is 'children'.
3. (psychology, informal, countable) A person with some form of multiplicity, particularly dissociative identity disorder.
   Singlet and monocultural identity is so normalized that many voice hearers and plurals don’t share their experiences with anyone, living in isolation (and sometimes in poverty) and spending considerable inner resources to manage postures and performances of ‘mental health’. 2016, Lori F. Clarke, “Embracing Polyphony: Voices, Improvisation, and the Hearing Voices Network”, in Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, volume 5, number 2, page 6
   More strongly, respect might require that singlets themselves accept, in the context of interacting with plurals, that people are truly distinct people. 2020, Elizabeth Schechter, “What we can learn about respect and identity from plurals”, in JPCA Mag, number 1, page 38
   Autistics, plurals, and gender nonconforming individuals are all stigmatized as not being capable of understanding their own experiences and are repeatedly attacked with narratives intended to make them doubt their own emotions, memories, and sense of self. 2020, Tynan Drake, "Intersectional Representation: LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices in transmedia fiction", paper submitted to Ball State University, page 14