menig

Menig is a Dutch determiner and adjective that denotes a large but indefinite number, roughly comparable to the English “many” or “numerous.” It is most commonly found in formal, literary, or historical Dutch rather than in everyday speech, where veel or vele are more typical. In traditional texts, menig serves to emphasize quantity without specifying a precise count.

Historically, menig appears in older Dutch prose and legal or ceremonial language. It can function as a modifier before a noun and is often associated with stylistic or elevated registers. In modern usage, the term is retained mainly in fixed phrases, archaic reprises, or regional varieties, rather than as a standard everyday word.

Etymology and related forms: Menig originates from the Dutch-Germanic family of words for quantity and is related to other Germanic terms meaning “many.” It has yielded several related forms in Dutch, such as menige and menigte, the latter meaning a crowd or multitude. Related modal terms and derivations have appeared in historical texts to express breadth of quantity, sometimes in compound or idiomatic expressions.

See also: Dutch language; veel; vele; menigte.