plurality

noun

Etymology: From plural + -ity, from Middle English pluralite, from Old French pluralité (“multitude, state of being plural”), from Latin plūrālitās.

1. The state of being plural.

   “Nominal plurality in Basque is originally exclusively marked on definite determiners and not on nouns.”

2. The holding of multiple benefices.

   “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. A state of being numerous.
4. A number or part of a whole which is greater than any other number or part, but not necessarily a majority.

   ““America will soon belong to the men and women … who can comfortably walk into a room and accept with real comfort the sensation that … there are no real majorities, only pluralities and coalitions.”

   “A plurality of respondents said Republicans were more to blame than Clinton in every single poll. Between 43% and 51% blamed Republicans and between 25% and 34% blamed Clinton, depending on the poll.”

5. 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.

   “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.”

   “It could also radicalize American politics and lead to presidents who are elected with very small pluralities, or who failed to qualify for the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.””

6. A margin by which a number exceeds another number, especially of votes.

   “Truman's total vote was 24,104,836. Dewey received 21,969,500;[…]. Truman won by a plurality of 2,135,336, but it was the first time since 1916 that a winner has failed to capture a majority of all votes cast.”

7. 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. A group composed of more than one entity.

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

9. Polygamy.
10. Synonym of multiplicity (“the condition whereby a person displays or experiences multiple distinct personalities or selves in one body”).

    “In this paper I argue that hearing voices experiences and plurality are part of a broad, rich, and complex spectrum of human experience, […]”

    “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.”