πλεῖστος G4118
Most, greatest, very large; the superlative of polys (many/much).
The superlative form of polys, pleistos means 'most' or 'greatest in number.' Jesus performed most of his mighty works in the cities addressed in his woes (Matt 11:20), and at his triumphal entry the very large crowd spread garments on the road (Matt 21:8). Mark 4:1 describes the very large crowd gathered by the sea. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 14:27 to set a limit—at most two or three should speak in tongues. The Spanish 'mayoría' and 'muy grande' reflect both the quantitative and degree aspects of this superlative.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The greatest number or amount; most, very large. As the superlative of polys, it denotes the maximum end of a quantity scale. Matthew 11:20 refers to the cities where most of Jesus' miracles occurred, while Matthew 21:8 and Mark 4:1 describe very large crowds. In 1 Corinthians 14:27, Paul uses it to set an upper boundary—'at most' two or three speakers. The multilingual evidence (Spanish 'muy grande,' French 'le plus grand nombre') confirms both the quantitative and superlative force of the word. 4×
AR["أكثَرَ", "أَكثَرُ", "عَظيمٌ"]·ben["অধিকাংশ", "বেশি,", "বেশি-তে"]·DE["sehr-viel", "πλεῖσται", "πλεῖστος"]·EN["most", "very-large"]·FR["le-plus-grand-nombre"]·heb["מֵרֹב-", "רַבִּים-מְאֹד", "רֹב"]·HI["अधिक", "अधिकांश", "अधिक्तम", "ऐसे-कि"]·ID["paling-banyak", "sangat-banyak", "sangat-besar,", "terbanyak"]·IT["il-piu-grande", "pleistai", "pleistos"]·jav["gedhe-banget,", "kathah-kathahipun", "kathah-sanget", "paling-kathah"]·KO["가장-많은", "매우-많은", "최대한"]·PT["maior-parte-da", "mais", "muito-grande,", "máximo"]·RU["большее", "многие", "множайшая", "огромная"]·ES["mayoría-de-la", "muy-grande", "más"]·SW["mingi", "mkubwa-sana,", "umati", "zaidi"]·TR["en-büyük", "en-çok", "çok-büyük,", "üç"]·urd["بہت-بڑی", "بہت-سے", "زیادہ-تر", "زیادہ-سے-زیادہ"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πλεῖστος, η, ον, superlative of πολύς, most, greatest, largest, in number, size, extent, etc., π. ὅμιλος, λαός, Refs 8th c.BC+most in vogue, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῇ γνώμῃ πλεῖστός εἰμι, ἡ π. γνώμη, Refs 5th c.BC+; πλεῖστον σχήσειν, as superlative of πλέον ἔχειν (see. πλείων), Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 with Article, οἱ π. the greatest number, Refs; τὸ π. τοῦ βίου the greatest part of.., Refs 5th c.BC+ __II…