ΠΟΛΎΣ, πολλή, πολύ: gen. πολλοῦ, ῆς, οῦ: dat. πολλῷ, ῇ, ῷ: acc. πολύν, πολλήν, πολύ:—Ion. nom. πολλός, ή, όν, acc. πολλόν, ήν, όν, this Ion. declension being retained by the Att. in all cases, except the nom. and acc. masc. and neut. Hom. uses both Ion. and Att. forms. Special Ep. forms: πουλύς, ύ, gen. πολέος, pl. nom. πολέες, πολεῖς, gen. πολέων, dat. πολέσι, πολέσσι, πολέεσσι, acc. πολέας.

I. of Number, many, opp. to ὀλίγος, Hom., etc. ;– with nouns of multitude, πουλὺς ὅμιλος Od.; πολλὸν πλῆθος Hdt., etc.:—also of anything often repeated, πολλὸν ἦν τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος Id.; πολλὸς αἰνεόμενος Id.; τούτῳ πολλῷ χρήσεται τῷ λόγῳ often, Dem.

2. of Size, Degree, Force, much, mighty, great, Il., etc.; π. ὕπνος deep sleep, Od.; π. ὑμέναιος a loud song, Il., etc.:—rarely of a single person, μέγας καὶ πολλὸς ἐγένεο Hdt.; ἢν πολλῇ ῥυῇ if she flow with full stream, metaph. from a river, Eur.; πολλῷ ῥέοντι Dem.; from the wind, πολὺς ἔπνει was blowing strong, Id.; often with a Partic., πολλὸς ἦν λισσόμενος he was all intreaties, Lat. multus erat in precando, Hdt.; so, π. ἦν ἐν τοῖσι λόγοισι Id., etc.

3. of Value or Worth, πολέος or πολλοῦ ἄξιος Hom.; πολλοῦ and περὶ πολλοῦ ποιεῖσθαί τι, Lat. magni facere, cf. περί A.IV; ἐπὶ πολλῷ at a high price, Dem.

4. of Space, large, wide, wide-stretched, π. χώρη, πεδίον Il., Hes., etc.; πόντος, πέλαγος Hes., etc.;—πολλὸς ἔκειτο he lay outstretched, Il.;—π. κέλευθος a far way, Aesch., etc.

5. of Time, long, πολὺν χρόνον Hom., etc.; πολλοῦ χρόνου Ar.; ἐκ πολλοῦ Thuc.; ἔτι πολλῆς νυκτός, Lat. multa nocte, while still quite night, Id.

II. Special usages:

1. partitive c. gen., e.g. πολλοὶ Τρώων for πολλοὶ Τρῶες, Il.; πολλὸν σαρκός for πολλὴ σάρξ, Od.; in Prose, the Adj. generally takes the gender of the gen., τῆς γῆς οὐ πολλήν Thuc.

2. joined to another Adj. by καί, πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοί many men and good, Il.; π. καὶ πονηπά Xen.; μεγάλα καὶ π. Dem.

3. with the Art., of persons or things well known, Ἑλένα μία τὰς πολλὰς ψυχὰς ὀλέσασʼ those many lives, Aesch.; ὡς ὁ πολλὸς λόγος the common report, Hdt.:—esp. οἱ πολλοί the many, i.e. the greater number, Thuc.; hence, like τὸ πλῆθος, the people, the commonalty, Id.; εἷς τῶν πολλῶν one of the multitude, Dem.

b. τὺ πολύ, c. gen., τῆς στρατιῆς τὸ πολλόν Hdt.; τῶν λογάδων τὸ πολύ Thuc.; but also, ὁ στρατὸς ὁ πολλός Hdt.

c. τὰ πολλά the most, Od., etc.

4. the pl. πολλά is used with Verbs in the sense of very much, too much, πολλὰ πράσσειν = πολυπραγμονεῖν, Eur., Ar.; π. ἔρξαι τινά to do one much harm, Aesch.

5. πολλάς with Verbs of beating, the Subst. πληγάς being omitted, v. πληγή 1.

III. Adverbial usages:

a. neut. πολύ (Ion. πολλόν), πολλά, much, very, Hom., etc.; μάλα πολλά Ib.; πάνυ πολύ Plat.:—also of repetition, many times, ofttimes, often, much, Hom., etc.:—also with the Art., τὸ πολύ for the most part, Plat.; ὡς τὸ π. Xen.; so, τὰ πολλά, ὡς τὰ π. Thuc.

b. of Degree, far, very much, Hdt.; so absol. gen. πολλοῦ, very, θρασὺς εἶ πολλοῦ Ar.; πολλοῦ πολύς, πολλοῦ πολλή, πολλοῦ πολύ, much too much, Id.

c. of Space, a great way, far, οὐ πολλόν Hdt., etc.

d. of Time, long, Id.

2. πολύ is often joined with Adjs. and Advs.,

a. with a Compar. to increase its compar. force, πολὺ κάλλιον, μεῖζον, πολλὸν ἀμείνων, παυρότεροι much, far more beautiful, etc., Hom., etc.:—so dat. πολλῷ by far, Hdt., etc.

b. with a Sup., πολὺ πρῶτος, πολλὸν ἄριστος far the first, etc., Il., etc.:—also, πολλῷ πλεῖστοι Hdt.

c. in Att. with a Positive, ὦ πολλὰ μὲν τάλαινα, πολλὰ δʼ αὖ σοφή Aesch.

IV. with Preps.,

1. διὰ πολλοῦ at a great distance, V. διά A. 11. 2.

2. ἐκ πολλοῦ from a great distance, Thuc.; for a long time, v. ἐκ II. 1.

3. ἐπὶ πολύ,

a. over a great space, far, οὐκ ἐπὶ πολλόν Hdt.

b. for a long time, long, Thuc.

c. to a great extent, Plat.; so, ὡς ἐπὶ π. very generally, Thuc.; ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ π. for the most part, Id.

4. παρὰ πολύ, by far, v. παρά c. 1. 5.

5. περὶ πολλοῦ, v. supr. 1. 3.

V. for Comp. πλείων, πλέων; Sup. πλεῖστος, v. sub vocc.