umpteen

English

Etymology

From ump (“colloquial name for the dash "—" in Morse code”) +‎ -teen.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʌmp.tiːn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn

Determiner

umpteen

1. (informal, often slightly derogatory) Relatively large but unspecified in number.

   Synonym: umpty-ump

   She's taking umpteen friends with her to the party.

   • 2001, American Bar Association, Symposium Issue of The Professional Lawyer:

     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.

   • 2014, Kevin Brockmeier, A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade:

     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.

Derived terms

• umpteenth

Translations

Relatively large but unspecified in number

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: عشرميه (ʕošroméyya)

• Bulgarian: безброй (bg) (bezbroj)
• Czech: spousty f pl, moře (cs) n, halda (cs) f, hromada (cs) f, fůra (cs) f, hafo (cs) n, spousta (cs) f
• Dutch: tig (nl)
• Finnish: toistakymmentä (fi) (between 11 and 19)
• French: trente-six (fr), trente-six mille, trente-six-mille
• German: zig (de)
• Hungarian: kismillió (hu), egy rakás, csillió
• Manx: dy liooar
• Maori: tuauriuri
• Norwegian: ørten
• Portuguese: um bocado de, um monte de, inúmeros (pt)
• Romanian: enșpe
• Russian: бесчисленно (ru) (besčislenno)
• Spanish: una multitud de, un montón de, tropecientos m pl
• Swedish: femtioelva (sv)