umpteen en · DET
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈʌmp.tiːn/ (UK)
Etymology
From ump (“a colloquial name for the dash "—" in Morse code”) + -teen. Unrelated to ump as in umpire, and simply a mnemonic rhyming aid.
Meanings
-
(informal, qualifier:often slightly derogatory) Relatively large but unspecified in number.
He tries, "The few, the proud, the umpteen," and Shane says, "Umpteen? Pray tell me, good sir, who is this umpteen of which you speak?" and Joseph says, "Umpteen Dumpteen sat on a wall," and they both break up laughing. "It's like a bunch, isn't it? 'Umpteen'?" This from Sean Lanham, whose small round skull has inspired Coach Dale to name him Peahead.
2014, Kevin Brockmeier, A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade:She's taking umpteen friends with her to the party.
We still claim a population of over 300,000 based on the new city directory, and that chief of the census who threw out umpteen thousand names on us this spring can’t put his name on our slipboard any more.
1911, O.E. Shannon, edited by J.W. Hays, The Typographical Journal, volume XXXVVIII, number 4, page 439:Make sure your music software is stand-alone, too (ie, it doesn’t have to be loaded into a utility—we don’t want to have to mess around with bits of wire or umpteen different programs just to hear your maestropiece).
1986 July, “Become a famous composer and appear in ZZAP!”, in Roger Kean, editor, ZZAP! 64, number 15, Ludlow, Shropshire: Newsfield, →OCLC, page 89, column 4:Does it continue to make sense to have umpteen definitions of the practice of law, umpteen UPL prohibitions, umpteen UPL investigation and prosecution procedures, and umpteen UPL sanctions? The current crazy quilt of regulation in this area makes it difficult for anyone to know (including lawyers) what is and is not permitted in a particular jurisdiction.
2001, American Bar Association, Symposium Issue of The Professional Lawyer:
Deriveds
Translations (32)
bg безброй (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · es una multitud de (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · ru бесчисленно (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · mi tuauriuri (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · es un montón de (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · pt um bocado de (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · ru надцать (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · eo multnombra (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · fr trente-six mille (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · ro enșpe (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · nl tig (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · de zig (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · fr trente-six-mille (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs fůra (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs halda (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · pt inúmeros (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · fr trente-six (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · gv dy liooar (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs hromada (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs spousty (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · hu csillió (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · arz عشرميه (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs moře (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · es tropecientos (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · fi toistakymmentä (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · hu kismillió (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · sv femtioelva (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs spousta (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · cs hafo (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · no ørten (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · hu egy rakás (Relatively large but unspecified in number) · pt um monte de (Relatively large but unspecified in number)