From Greek 'plethore' (fullness), originally a medical diagnosis of excess blood requiring bloodletting — now any excess.
An excess or overabundance of something.
From Greek 'plethore' (fullness), from 'plethein' (to be full). Originally a medical term for an excess of blood or bodily fluid that was thought to cause disease. Doctors would treat plethora by bloodletting — draining the excess. The word only generalized to mean any excess later
Having a 'plethora' of options originally meant you needed emergency bloodletting. Doctors diagnosed 'plethora' when a patient had too much blood — symptoms included redness, swollen veins, and headaches. The cure was to drain blood until the patient looked appropriately pale. Now we use this medieval medical emergency to