The word 'voluminous' traces its lineage to the Latin verb volvere, meaning "to roll." From this came volumen, which originally referred to a rolled-up scroll, the primary form of a book in antiquity. This concrete object gave rise to the abstract concept of "volume" as a measure of space a three-dimensional object occupies, akin to the space taken up by a scroll. By adding the adjectival suffixes '-in-' and '-ous', the word evolved to mean "full of volume" or "characterized by bulk," first describing copious writings (like many scrolls) and later extending to anything of great size or extent, such as flowing garments.

Structure: volum (volume) + in (pertaining to) + ous (full of) - volum: From Latin volumen (a roll, scroll, book; something rolled up), related to volvere (to roll). It functions as the core root denoting a rolled object, which evolved to mean a book (as scrolls) and later a measure of three-dimensional space. - in: A Latin adjectival suffix meaning "pertaining to" or "of the nature of". - ous: A Latin-derived suffix (-osus) forming adjectives meaning "full of" or "characterized by".