πολύς the ionic declension πολλός, ή, όν is retained by the attic in all cases, except the nom. and acc. masc. and neut. Hom. uses both ionic and attic forms.
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=Hdt.; πολλὸς αἰνεόμενος id=Hdt.; 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=Dem.; often with a Partic., πολλὸς ἦν λισσόμενος he was all intreaties, Lat. multus erat in precando, Hdt.; so, π. ἦν ἐν τοῖσι λόγοισι id=Hdt., 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=Thuc.
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 πονηρά Xen.; μεγάλα καὶ π. Dem.
3.with the Art., of persons or things well known, Ἑλένα μία τὰς πολλὰς ψυχὰς ὀλέσασ᾽ 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=Thuc.; 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.
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.
III.Adverbial usages:
a.neut. πολύ (ionic πολλόν), πολλά, much, very, Hom., etc.; μάλα πολλά id=Hom.; 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=Ar.
d.of Time, long, id=Hdt.
2.πολύ is often joined with Adjs. and Advs.,
a.with a comp. 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.
IV.with Preps.,
b.for a long time, long, Thuc.
