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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Plurality \Plu*ral"i*ty\, noun; pl. {pluralities}. [L. pluralitas: cf. F. pluralit['e].]
1. The state of being plural, or consisting of more than one; a number consisting of two or more of the same kind; as, a plurality of worlds; the plurality of a verb.
2. The greater number; a majority; also, the greatest of several numbers; in elections, the excess of the votes given for one candidate over those given for another, or for any other, candidate. When there are more than two candidates, the one who receives the plurality of votes may have less than a majority. See {Majority}.
Take the plurality of the world, and they are neither wise nor good. --L'Estrange.
3. (Eccl.) See {Plurality of benefices}, below.
{Plurality of benefices} (Eccl.), the possession by one clergyman of more than one benefice or living. Each benefice thus held is called a plurality. [Eng.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
plurality
noun
1: the state of being plural; "to mark plurality, one language may add an extra syllable to the word whereas another may simply change the vowel in the existing final syllable"
2: a large indefinite number; "a battalion of ants"; "a multitude of TV antennas"; "a plurality of religions" [syn: {battalion}, {large number}, {multitude}, {pack}]
3: (in an election with more than 2 options) the number of votes for the candidate or party receiving the greatest number (but less that half of the votes) [syn: {relative majority}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
56 Moby Thesaurus words for "plurality": a mass of, a world of, army, best part, better part, bevy, body, bulk, bunch, cloud, clutter, covey, essence, flight, flock, flocks, generality, gist, gravamen, hail, hive, host, jam, large amount, legion, lots, main body, major part, majority, many, mass, masses of, meat, mob, more than half, most, muchness, multitude, nest, numbers, pack, preponderance, preponderancy, quantities, quite a few, rout, ruck, scores, shoal, substance, swarm, the greatest number, throng, thrust, tidy sum, worlds of
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