An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/manch

by Friedrich Kluge

manch, adj., ‘many a,’ from MidHG. manec (g), OHG. manag, adj., ‘much, many a.’ The g has been preserved in ModHG. mannig-falt;. the change of g to ch in this word, which is first found in ModHG., is due to LG. influence. ModHG. manec, OHG. manag, ‘much’; akin to Goth. manags, ‘much,’ so too AS. monig, E. many, OSax. maneg, Du. menig. From the Teut. standpoint, the adj. may be derived from Goth. and OHG. mana-, ‘man, person,’ which orig. always occurred in compounds; comp. Goth. ga-man, n., ‘fellow-man,’ mana-sêþs, ‘mankind,’ OHG. manaheit, ‘valour,’ manalîhho, ‘likeness,’ &c. In that case, since the suffix ga-, equiv. to Gr. κο-, Lat. o, denotes ‘providing with something,’ the prim. meaning of Goth. manags may have been ‘to provide with people.’ Yet OIr. menice, ‘frequent,’ and OSlov. mănogŭ, ‘much,’ point to a prim. word probably unconnected with Goth. and OHG. mana-, ‘person.’