From plural + -ity, from Middle English pluralite, from Old French pluralité, from Latin plūrālitās.

• IPA: /plʊˈɹæləti/

plurality

1. (uncountable) The state of being plural.
2. (ecclesiastical) The holding of multiple benefices.

   Synonyms: pluralism

   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica:

     It was the complaint and lamentation of Prelats, upon every least breath of a motion to remove pluralities, and distribute more equally Church revennu's, that then all learning would be for ever dasht and discourag'd.

3. (countable) A state of being numerous.

   Synonyms: multiplicity

4. (countable) A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.
5. (countable) A number of votes for a single candidate or position which is greater than the number of votes gained by any other single candidate or position voted for, but which is less than a majority of valid votes cast.

   Synonyms: relative majority

   • 1977 September 8, "Crime against clarity", editorial, Bangor Daily News, page 14 [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=818zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TiMIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1343,2352985]:

     To repeal the tax (Question I), a 50 per cent majority vote is required. To keep the tax in its 1976 form (Question III), only a plurality of votes is required.

6. (countable) A margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes.
7. (countable) A group of many entities: a large number.

   A plurality of ideas were put forth at the meeting, most of which were rejected out of hand.

8. (countable) A group composed of more than one entity.
   • 1989, United States Patent 5065364, abstract:

     The array is organized into a plurality of vertical (column) blocks.

9. (of spouses) Polygamy.
10. (psychology) The condition of a single body/person displaying multiple distinct personas.

    Synonyms: multiplicity

    • 2020, Tynan Drake, "Intersectional Representation: LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse voices in transmedia fiction", paper submitted to Ball State University, [https://web.archive.org/web/20211101121903/https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/202668/DrakeT_2020-1_BODY.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y page 5]:

      Clinical psychology tends to lean towards early childhood trauma as an explanation for the development of plurality, but many members of the plurality community report experiencing a multiplicity of selves before, or even completely in the absence of, trauma.

• (antonym(s) of “state of being more than one”): singularity

• French: pluralité
• German: Pluralität
• Italian: pluralità
• Portuguese: pluralidade
• Russian: мно́жественность
• Spanish: pluralidad

• Russian: мно́жество