greatadj.n.adv.int.

Brit.

/ɡreɪt/, U.S.

/ɡreɪt/

Forms: Old English græat (rare), Old English (rare)–1600s gret, Old English– great, late Old English grett- (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English græt, late Old English–Middle English 1600s grat, early Middle English griat (south-eastern), Middle English graat (south-eastern), Middle English gre- (in compounds), Middle English greit, Middle English gretee (perhaps transmission error), Middle English greth, Middle English greyt, Middle English grut (chiefly south-western), Middle English gryet (south-western), Middle English 1600s grate, Middle English–1500s grette, Middle English–1600s grait, Middle English–1600s greate, Middle English–1600s greatt, Middle English–1600s greatte, Middle English–1600s greet, Middle English–1600s greete, Middle English–1600s grete, Middle English–1600s grett, 1500s graete, 1500s greyte, 1600s greadt, 1600s gritt; English regional 1700s– grit, 1800s– greeat (northern and midlands), 1800s– greet, 1800s– gret, 1800s– greyt, 1900s– gre't, 1900s– grete; U.S. regional 1700s– gret, 1800s gred, 1800s gre't; Scottish pre-1700 graitt, pre-1700 grat, pre-1700 grate, pre-1700 grayt, pre-1700 greit, pre-1700 greite, pre-1700 greitt, pre-1700 grette, pre-1700 gryit, pre-1700 gryitt, pre-1700 1700s 1900s– grete, pre-1700 1700s 2000s– gritt, pre-1700 1700s–1800s gryt, pre-1700 1700s– great, pre-1700 1700s– grit, pre-1700 1700s– grite, pre-1700 1800s grytt, pre-1700 1800s– grait, pre-1700 1800s– grett, pre-1700 1800s– gryte, pre-1700 1900s– gret, 1800s greet; also Welsh English 1900s– graate, 1900s– grate, 1900s– grert, 1900s– gret. See also gurt adj., greater adj., adv., and n., greatest adj., n., and adv.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian grāt large, Old Dutch groot large, numerous, mighty (Middle Dutch groot large, mighty, numerous, bulky, Dutch groot ), Old Saxon grōt large (Middle Low German grōt large, numerous, powerful), Old High German grōz large, strong, long, thick, fat (Middle High German grōz large, German gross large, extensive), and perhaps further with Old Icelandic grautr (noun) groats, porridge, mash, coarsely ground meal ( < the same Germanic base as grit n.¹, grit n.², grout n.¹, groats n., and grot n.¹), although see discussion below.Germanic etymology. The etymology of this word and its cognates in the West Germanic languages given here is accepted by most authorities, assuming development from an Indo-European base with the sense ‘to pound, crush’ (see forms in non-Germanic languages cited and discussed at grit n.¹) via the sense ‘coarsely ground, large-grained’ (compare sense A. 1a) to the prevailing sense ‘large’. However, it has been objected that the sense ‘coarse’ is relatively rare in Old English and not well attested in the other West Germanic languages, where the sense ‘large, thick, fat, bulky’ is more typical (compare also greatness n. 1). For further discussion see T. Hoad ‘Semantics in Etymological Explanations’ in R. Bremmer & J. van den Berg Current Trends West Germanic Etymol. Lexicogr. (1993) 117–32. Form history. The present word is one of a small number with Middle English long open ē (where that sound is not followed by r ) in which the vowel underwent regular raising to /eː/ as a result of the Great Vowel Shift without subsequent raising to /iː/, thus merging ultimately with the reflex of Middle English long ā ; others include break v., yea adv., drain v., and steak n. Pronunciations of the present word with /iː/ are given alongside those with /eː/ by contemporary commentators from the 16th to the 18th cent. and are still current in some regional varieties (compare e.g. the Scots and English regional variant greet). Various explanations have been proposed for the atypical development of the vowel sound in this word, including the retractive influence of the preceding r and perhaps also of the following voiceless stop (see e.g. J. Beal Eng. Pronunc. in the Eighteenth Cent. (1999) 64–5). For further discussion of earlier explanations and their relative merits see also E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §115. In Middle English the stem vowel of the comparative form (the reflex of Old English (Anglian) *grēt(t)ra greater adj.) shows regular shortening before the consonant cluster (e.g. gretter , grettir , etc.). The short vowel was sometimes transferred by analogy to the positive (and superlative) giving such forms as gret , grett , grette , (and grettest ). Forms with short ă (e.g. grat , gratter , grattest ), attested especially in the north-west midlands and the south-east, probably originate in shortening of an unmutated Old English comparative form *grēat(t)ra (after earlier monophthongization of ēa to ǣ ). Occasional early Middle English forms also show regular shortening before consonant clusters in the positive in reflexes of Old English inflected forms (compare e.g. quot. c1275 at sense A. 9a). In Older Scots (and in some English regional varieties) short ĕ was raised sporadically to ĭ before alveolar consonants, giving such forms as grit , gritt , gryt , grytt (see A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Scots Vowels (2002) §14.15.(8)). Forms such as grate , grait , grayt , etc., chiefly represent reverse spellings after the merger of the reflex of Middle English long open ē with the reflexes of Middle English ā and ai . The distinctive diphthongal Scots form gryte /ɡrəit/ (now chiefly north-eastern) appears to have arisen (in the 16th cent.) as a result of a development whereby the reflex of Middle English long open ē in certain environments (between /tʃ/ or /r/ and certain alveolar consonants) was captured by the already diphthongized reflex of Middle English long ī (see A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Scots Vowels (2002) §§9.3.(2),14.1.(12)). For metathesized forms see gurt adj. and adv. Use in names. Although not common, the word is attested early in place names (apparently chiefly in sense A. 3), as Gretedone , Devon, lit. ‘great hill’ (1086; now Gratton), Gretestan , Gloucestershire (1086; formerly Greston, now lost), Greatanlea (first half of the 12th cent. in a copy of the Laws of Æðelstan of c935; now Grately). In use designating the larger of two places of the same name (see sense A. 4c), Great typically appears as a later addition to an existing name. Examples are attested from at least the 13th cent.; compare e.g. Great Langton , North Yorkshire (1223 as Great Langeton ; 1086 as Langeton ), Great Yeldham , Essex (1265 as Great Gelham ; 1086 as Geldeham ), Great Eccleston , Lancashire (1285 as Great Ecleston ; 1086 as Eglestun ). Such names are often paralleled by earlier Latin forms with Magna (feminine of classical Latin magnus great: see magni- comb. form), as e.g. Great Ponton , Lincolnshire (1086 as Magna Pantone and also as Pamptune ), and more rarely by forms with Major (classical Latin maior major adj.), as e.g. Great Harwood , Lancashire (early 12th cent. as Majori Harewuda ), or by forms with Maius (classical Latin maius , neuter form corresponding to maior ), as e.g. Great Livermere , Suffolk (11th cent. as Maius Liuremere and also as Leuuremer ). Such Latin forms may suggest earlier currency of Great as an affix in place names, although compare earlier equivalent use of much adj. and mickle adj. Also attested early in bynames and surnames, as Godwine Greatseod , lit. ‘great purse’ (late 11th cent.; probably denoting a wealthy person), Willelmi Gretheuid (1243), Thom. Gretword (1269; perhaps denoting a braggart (compare sense A. 6)), Henry Gretschank (1275), Thom. Gretchep , lit. ‘great bargain’ (1313; compare sense A. 9a), etc. Development of specific senses. In sense A. 12, designating a degree of family relationship or descent one degree further removed from that specified, after similar use of Middle French, French grand (see grand- comb. form), itself after similar use of classical Latin magnus great (see magni- comb. form), in e.g. classical Latin avunculus magnus great-uncle, amita magna great-aunt. In Scots use in sense A. 10d with reference to a money of account after similar use of Middle Dutch, Dutch groot , adjective (a1401 in schelling groot , 1507 or earlier in pond groot ). With use as noun as the name of a coin (sense B. 6) compare also earlier groat n. and Middle Dutch, Dutch groot , noun (see groat n.).

A. adj.For use in the comparative and superlative see greater adj. and greatest adj.

I. Senses relating primarily to physical size.

a. Composed of large particles; having a coarse grain or texture. Cf. great salt at salt n.¹ 1b. Frequently opposed to small adj. 11, 12. Now regional and rare. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in Angus in 1955.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > coarse

greateOE

hardOE

boistous1398

hask?a1425

roidc1485

gross?1504

gruff1533

coarse1582

stoggie1825

broad1908

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. lii. 270 Ascrep þa greatan rinde of, gecnuwa þonne smæle.

OE Lacnunga (2001) I. lxxxiv. 72 Gif men eglað seo blace blegen, þonne nime man great sealt;..grinde þonne þæt sealt swiþe smæl.

lOE Royal Charter: Edward the Elder to Bp. Denewulf (Sawyer 385) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 38 Tu hund greates hlafes & þridde smales.

a1200 Addit. Glosses to Ælfric's Gloss. (Faust. A.x) in P. Bierbaumer Der Botanische Wortschatz des Altenglischen (1979) III. 148 Far, faris, þat is gret hwete.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 His alter cloð [is] great and sole, and hire chemise smal and hwit.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 307 Nest flesch ne schal nan werien nan linnene bute hit beo of harde & greate heorden.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 114 A pouere cote..made of grete caunuas, and callid a frokke.

1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. K.iv The vpper [mouth of the stomacke] receyueth meate great and boystrous in substaunce that there beeyng made subtile it might passe into the nether.

?1586 J. Partridge Widowes Treasure (new ed.) sig. F.v When it is Milke warme, or somewhat hotter, then take a bagge of greate Canuas, and with a staffe straine out all the matter.

1604 in J. H. Macadam Baxter Bks. St. Andrews (1903) 62 The pickeman..for his peanes in grindeing of twente bollis gryt corne.

1647 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1846) III. 198 Ane boll gryt aitis.

1746 W. Ellis Agric. Improv'd I. May xiii. 86 Of this Mixture take a Tea-spoonful, and put among it an Handful of great Bran.

1871 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. 3 176 Linlithgowshire..Fiars struck are wheat, barley, bere, great oats, pease and beans, malt, and oatmeal one of each.

1900 N.E.D. at Great Mod. Sc. That meal (or salt) is ower gryte; I like it sma'.

1901 C. E. H. Chadwyck-Healey Hist. Part W. Somerset 265 The stock was augmented by the purchase of 11 qrs. of great oats for seed.

†b. Of food or a person's diet: of inferior quality, poor, coarse; spec. of meat: boiled (as opposed to roast). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xi. 305 A seruaunt womman..is ifed wiþ grete mete [L. grossioribus cibis reficitur].

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. lv. 409 Þe ston and grauel..brediþ ofte in þe reynes. And þat comeþ nameliche of drinke of slymy watir, and of grete diet.

a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 662 Caro grossa, grete flesche. Caro assota, rost flesche.

c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 24 vi messes of greete mete and rost.

c1525 T. Moulton Myrour of Helthe ii. sig. c.^v And also other feuors metes, ete no great mete no vnnyons, nor lekes, nor garlyke, nor no fruyte.

†c. Of a fluid: thick in consistency, thick with particles. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > specific qualities of (the) air > thick or turbid

troublyc1380

greata1398

murkc1480

mistyc1485

foggyc1487

troublea1500

grossa1592

fat1598

filthya1616

thick1626

murky1667

turbid1705

solid1807

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. xlvi. 718 Þerfore valeies ben demed bi asaie hote, trubily, with grete aire and þikke and many vapoures.

a1413 in J. Norri Names of Sicknesses in Eng. 1400–1550 (1992) 167 Galien sayth þat þe blod sumtyme ys rotun & þat þat is grete it turnyþ into melancolie & þat þat is sotil turnyþ into colre.

?a1425 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Claud.) (1850) Wisd. xvii. 13 Gloss. Erthe and water, fro whiche stieden smokis, makinge greet the eir.

2. Of relatively large girth or circumference, or breadth or width, in comparison with length or height; not slender or slim; thick; swollen. Opposed to small adj. I. Now rare except as a contextual use of sense A. 3.

a. Of a thing. Scottish in later use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of large volume or bulky > and solid

greateOE

stour?a1300

fata1325

mightyc1375

sternc1394

stiffc1400

massivec1425

mastiff1495

gross1516

massy1548

robustious1548

mountainousa1616

monumental1632

mountain1633

lusty1640

beamy1697

material1736

Himalayan1878

wodgy1907

monolith1922

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. iii. 392 Se earm wæs swa swiðe great & aswollen, to ðon þæt he nænge begnisse in þæm elmbogan hæfde.

OE Lacnunga (2001) I. xliv. 24 Genim medmicle moran glædenon, fædme longe & swa greate swa ðin þuma.

OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) cxxxiv. 174 Ðeos wyrt..hafað wið þone wyrttruman greatne stelan [L. densam caulem] & twegea fæðma lange.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 445 Iuliene..grap a great raketehe þet ha wes wið ibunden.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12963 Þat weore twælf swine iteied to-somne mid wiðen swiðe grete.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 1884 Þe staf, þat he to fiȝte ber, Was twenti fote in lengþe be tale, Þar to gret & noþing smale.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Physician's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 37 And Phebus dyed hath hir tresses grete Lyk to the stremys of his burned hete.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 306 (MED) And he sett þis trompe to his mouthe & began to blaw, & it was foyste & ill-saverd & garte hym make grete chekis.

a1525 (?1421) Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) I. 28 We commaund that no bocher..ber no billys, ne gysarnez, ne no grett stauys within the Cite.

1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 62 [They] straik the said Walter..with daggis, battownis and greit endis of speris.

1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue v. 237 They grow very high, and the stalke great, whereof the people make faggots.

1629 J. Parkinson Garden of Pleasant Flowers xc. 364 The stalke of this meruellous plant is great and thick, bigger then any mans thumbe.

1663 J. D. tr. H. de Péréfixe de Beaumont Hist. Henry IV iii. 107 The mass of his Body, great and fat beyond all proportion.

?a1800 Earl of Aboyne in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1892) IV. viii. 312 Wi her fingers sae white, and the gold rings sae grite.

1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin xxxiii. 352 Between his waistcoat pouch an' a button‐hole there dangled a chain..as grit as my curnie-wurnie.

1900 N.E.D. at Great Mod. Sc. He had a stick as gryte as your airm.

b. Of a person or animal: having a large waist or girth; heavily built, sturdy, stout, corpulent. Frequently in collocation with fat. Now Scottish (northern) and archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] > fat or plump

fatc893

frimOE

fullOE

overfatOE

greatOE

bald1297

roundc1300

encorsivea1340

fattishc1369

fleshyc1369

fleshlyc1374

repletea1398

largec1405

corsious1430

corpulentc1440

corsyc1440

fulsome1447

portlyc1487

corporate1509

foggy fata1529

corsive1530

foggish?1537

plump1545

fatty1552

fleshful1552

pubble1566

plum1570

pursy1576

well-fleshed1576

gross?1577

fog1582

forfatted1586

gulchy1598

bouksome1600

fat-fed1607

meatified1607

chuff1609

plumpya1616

bloat1638

blowze-like1647

obese1651

jollya1661

bloated1664

chubbed1674

pluffya1689

puffya1689

pussy1688

sappy1694

crummy1718

chubby1722

fodgel1724

well-padded1737

beefy1743

plumpish1753

pudsy1754

rotund1762

portable1770

lusty1777

roundabout1787

well-cushioned1802

plenitudinous1803

stout1804

embonpointc1806

roly-poly1808

adipose1810

roll-about1815

foggy1817

poddy1823

porky1828

hide-blown1834

tubby1835

stoutish1836

tubbish1836

superfatted1841

pottle-bodied1842

pincushiony1851

opulent1882

well-covered1884

well-upholstered1886

butterball1888

endomorphic1888

tisty-tosty1888

pachyntic1890

barrel-bodied1894

overweight1899

pussy-gutted1906

upholstered1924

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1017 On þisum geare wæs eac Eadric ealdorman ofslægen, & Norðman, Leofwines sunu ealdormannes, & Æþelward, Ægelmeres sunu greatan [lOE Laud þæs grætan].

OE tr. Wonders of East (Tiber.) §16. 194 Ðær beoð dracan kende, ða beoð on lenge hundteontiges fotmæla and fiftiges lange, & beoð greate swa stænene sweras micle [L. uastitudine columnarum].

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2098 Ðeden ut comen .vii. neet, Euerilc wel swiðe fet and gret.

c1330 Gregorius (Auch.) (1914) l. 1024 (MED) He toke fisches þre Þat were boþe gret and long.

c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess (Fairf. 16) (1871) l. 954 Euery lyth Fattysh flesshy, not grete therwith.

c1450 Practica Phisicalia John of Burgundy in H. Schöffler Mittelengl. Medizinlit. (1919) 246 For to make a man fat and grete.

?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 3 Store of all kinde freshwater-fish, delicat, great & fat.

1657 J. Davies tr. H. D'Urfé Astrea II. 100* The Transalpines..esteem great and fat women to be the prime Beauties, the Gauls are for the slender and lean.

1709 Brit. Apollo 23–25 Mar. I Little eat, and yet I'm Fat and Great.

1818 New Bon Ton Mag. June 100 Unmarried dames, so fat and great, Fatigued to find a father.

1895 ‘H. Haliburton’ Dunbar: Poems adapted for Mod. Readers 87 On stool beside the fire she sat; Gude kens if she was grit an' fat.

1925 C. Archer tr. S. Undset Mistress of Husaby II. ii. viii. 238 You bear your children under a loving heart, my Kristin—the boy is great and fat, but you are pale and thin as a wand.

1995 A. Cole & C. Bunch Kingdoms of Night ix. 183 It was as ugly out of water with its bulk exposed as it was in. ‘Great an' fat, boy, jus' like yer fishwives.’

3. Of a size, bulk, or extent that is considerably above average; large. See also sense A. 23.

a. Without a reinforcing or intensifying adjective.In unmarked, neutral use now somewhat literary (except in regional use), being superseded by large or (more colloquially) big. In non-literary or less formal contexts sometimes with connotations of annoyance, surprise, etc.: cf. e.g. quot. 2011. N.E.D. (1900) comments: ‘"I found a large table in my room" would simply state a fact, but if great were used the sentence would indicate annoyance, amusement, or surprise.’ Cf. uses with other adjectives and intensifiers at A. 3b and A. 3c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective]

unlittleeOE

mickleeOE

greateOE

mucha1154

mainc1275

boldc1300

fadec1330

largec1392

tallc1430

big1444

masterfula1450

grand1452

largy1558

fine1590

bonnya1600

large-sized1628

roomly1682

lumping?1706

maun1743

strapping1827

barn door1829

serious1843

jumboesque1893

jumbo1897

economy-sized1930

L1942

jumbo-size1949

economy size1950

eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) xii. 56 Gif mon oðres wudu bærneð oððe heaweð unaliefedne, forgielde ælc great treow mid v scillingum, & siððan æghwylc, sie swa fela swa hiora sie, mid v pæningum; & xxx scillinga to wite.

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvii. 508 Great beam on wuda wyrcð hludne dynt þonne men læst wenað.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) iii. 202 He orsorh betwux þam greatum hagelstanum þurhwunade.

lOE Bounds (Sawyer 696) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1893) III. 296 Andlang weges oðða greatan dic þonne west andlang dic.

c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 10 A þusent deoflen. & euch an bereð a gret [c1225 Royal great] boc al of sunnen iwriten.

c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 615 Tron wel grete, Mit þicke boȝe noþing blete.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 238 (MED) Þe vissere heþ more blisse uor to nime ane gratne viss þane ane littlene.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 55 Hellespontus brekeþ oute abrode in greet wawes and stremes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 393 Þe sterns, gret and smale.

?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) iv. met. i. 86 The swifte thowht..surmountith the Roundnesse of the grete ayr [L. aeris inmensi].

1542 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 71 Item, twa gryt barrallis ourgilt.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. iii. 33 Eighteen or twentie baths small and great.

1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions viii, in Complaints sig. Y3^v A riuer swift, whose fomy billowes Did wash the ground work of an old great wall.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 153 The Clowd-capt Towres, the gorgeous Pallaces, The solemne Temples, the great Globe it selfe..shall dissolue.

1655 S. Hartlib Reformed Common-wealth Bees 6 For the great hole..in the top of the Hive, you must make a cover.

1685 W. Salmon Polygraphice (ed. 5) v. xxxv. 479 The other great line above it is called Linea Stellata.

1732 J. Macky Journey through Austrian Netherlands (ed. 2) vii. 85 A great Piece of the Holy Cross.

1751 J. Bartram Observ. Trav. from Pensilvania 67 A great hill, cloathed with large Magnolia..and chesnut oak.

1801 A. Walker Syst. Familiar Philos. (new ed.) II. xi. 204 The sandy soil and deserts on the south of this great sea, receive immense heat from the sun.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna x. xxiii. 223 The great fountain in the public square.

1846 in W. Evans & T. Evans Friends' Libr. X. 117/1 The wind being high, the waves were great in the channel.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 98 The charge of his great diocese was committed to his judges, Sprat and Crewe.

1884 R. Jefferies Red Deer 33 Heath-poults, the female of black-game, fly like a great partridge.

1905 Westm. Gaz. 20 May 3/3 That great sky close-hung with stars.

1914 M. Morrison tr. G. Hauptmann Weavers v., in K. Francke German Classics XVIII. 95 Look at that great maypole of a woman leadin' on in front!

1961 N. Juster Phantom Tollbooth x. 119 There were at least a thousand musicians ranged in a great arc before them.

1995 P. Gregory Respectable Trade ii. 37 Mehuru kept watching for a chance to order the whole line of them to run—run in a great line toward the marketplace of the town.

2011 K. Rhienhart It wasn't Me i. 20 Papa, Papa, come quickly and see, there is a great lump of ceiling and it has fallen down into the kitchen.

b. Preceding a partly synonymous adjective, passing into a simple intensifier. Frequently in great big. Now also preceding an intensifier, as bloody. Now colloquial.

ΚΠ

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1932) III. l. 19234 (MED) He was boþe blak & long, a gret large berd, his nese was wrong.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 130 When he sawe greate wyde gates..where as the toune was but a litle preaty pyle.

1592 L. Andrewes Wonderfull Combate 92 All the glorie of them, is called but a great big fanne, or pompe.

1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum iii. vi. 347 This great Virginian plant..riseth up with a great thick round reddish stalke.

1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 10 A great fat man,..his face not so black as to be counted a Mollotto.

1715 M. Davies Εἰκων Μικρο-βιβλικὴ 249 I saw once in a Barn a Weasel and a great hugy Rat engage.

1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. i. 8 A great over-grown, lank-hair'd, chubby boy.

1793 J. Thelwall Peripatetic 16 At one time there were Giants in the world: great tall men, a vast deal larger than we are.

1817 T. Herbert Too Much Way of World i. 23 They cram'd me down in a great big hole, your honour.

1837 Country Misc. Nov. 259 One of them was a Little, Small Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great Huge Bear.

1871 Punch 7 Jan. 1/2 One of them held up a great large doll.

1907 L. Mott To Credit of Sea viii. 264 My cruise on the great damned ocean is p'utty nigh over.

1961 L. P. Hartley Two for River 94 It was a great big thing, the size of a small haystack.

1984 W. Gibson Neuromancer (1989) i. ii. 35 Great bloody postwar political football, that was.

2012 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 15 Jan. (Travel section) 9 We woke to rain and it had been coming down ever since, great thick sheets of the stuff.

c. Following a partly synonymous adjective, esp. huge, or an intensifier, as bloody. See also whacking great at whacking adj., zonking great at zonk v. Derivatives. Now colloquial.

ΚΠ

c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 169^v (MED) Þe woundis ben deedly þat ben huge greete woundis.

a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) sig. E.ii An hundred hugie great temples he built.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. S5^v Huge great yron chests and coffers strong.

1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum iii. ix. 352 Seldome bigger then a large great egge set in the same cup or huske.

1688 tr. G. Tachard Voy. to Siam (new ed.) ii. 64 They have there also..huge great Apes that comes sometimes in Troops..into the Gardens of private Persons.

1749 Philos. Trans. Abridged 1665–1700 (Royal Soc.) (ed. 5) 2 391 Huge great Pieces of the Mountain fell into this fiery Lake.

1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions (ed. 2) III. liv. 64 Pictures on the one side, and a damned great lumbering building..on the other.

1802 T. Burnet Poems on Var. Subj. 29 A band of huge great grenadiers,..attackt me with protended spears.

1845 tr. M. J. E. Sue Temptation vii. 15/1 Rumphius was also furnished with a nose of great length,..thick great eyebrows, and the awkwardest walk you can well imagine.

1867 G. M. Baker Amateur Dramas 131 Then keep your blasted great hoofs off my corns.

1904 Theosophical Rev. Dec. 319 Great flying creatures—huge great fishes—so new and wonderful I can't explain.

1945 M. Lowry Let. 14 May in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 474 People have built a bloody great babel in our old bedroom.

1975 N. Luard Travelling Horseman iii. 81 A damn great Perspex-faced wall map of London.

2006 Daily Tel. 14 Sept. 24/6 There were huge great fells and dells.

4. Larger than others of the same kind or group; largest of a group or class.

a. In the names of plants and animals distinguished by their larger size from similar ones of the same name. Cf. greater adj. 4c.See also Compounds 1g.great black-backed gull, moonwort, mullein, ragweed, reed warbler, etc.: see the second element.

ΚΠ

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxvi. 86 Genim..eac gagel & cneowholen, singrenan, eolonan, redic, wealwyrt, þa greatan netlan, wermod, eorþgeallan.

eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. viii. 312 Nim þas wyrte:..fica perfica, se fula wermod, sio greate banwyrt, acleaf.

lOE Recipe (Vitell. C.iii) in T. O. Cockayne Leechdoms, Wortcunning, & Starcraft (1864) I. 376 Nim datulus þa wyrt.., þæt is on ure geþeoda þæt greata crauleac.

a1400 J. Mirfield Sinonoma Bartholomei (1882) 16 Consolida media, grete dayeseghe.

c1400 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 64 [Campana] þe grete wodebelle.

c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 15 The Dare & þe greyt Roche... Þe greyt cheven... Þe gret Trowt.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 227/2 Great hasyll nutte, aueleine. Great hounde, alant.

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.iiij^v Hieracium is of two kyndes. The one is called in latin Hieracium magnum. It may be called in englishe greate Haukweede.

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. F.viij^v Particalis salix is the greate Wylowe tree.

1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 99 The great Horn-Owl or Eagle-Owl.

a1722 J. Quincy tr. Dispensatory Royal Coll. Physicians London (1727) 284 Great vervain Mallow.

1756 J. Hill Brit. Herbal ii. 420 Great Hercules Allheal.

1813 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. (ed. 4) II. 273 The black or great ostrich.

1832 E. Lankester Veg. Substances Food 188 The Great Cat's-Tail is a perennial reed..a native of Britain.

1858 H. N. Humphreys Butterfly Vivarium viii. 147 There is not a more genial and pleasing sign of opening summer than the first appearance of the Great White Butterfly.

1882 Garden 4 Feb. 71/1 The Great St. John's Wort.

1917 E. E. Shaw Garden Flowers Autumn III. 119 As Great Lobelia is a swamp plant, it naturally does best when it is placed in bog gardens or some other really moist place.

1922 Boys' Life June 8/3 He surprised a great blue heron, fishing along the water's edge.

1981 Science 2 Jan. 18/1 Great wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella) and mealworm larvae..were only slightly affected by exposure to the ash.

2006 Field Guide Birds N. Amer. (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 5) 104 Smaller Double-crested Cormorant has orange throat pouch..; note also Great Cormorant's larger, blockier head and heavier bill.

b. Anatomy and Zoology. Forming names of parts of the body that are the largest of a class, group, or series of structures, or the larger of two such structures, or the larger division of a structure. Cf. greater adj. 4a.See also Compounds 1f.

ΚΠ

eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) lxxv. 86 Gif mon ða greatan sinwe forslea, gif hie mon gelacnian mæge, þæt hio hal sie, geselle XII scillinga to bote... Gif ða smalan sinwe mon forslea, geselle him mon VI scillinga to bote.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. xlix. 399 Þey beþ inorischid and ifedde in þe neþir grete bowelles.

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 3^v Allux, a grete too.

1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo Most Excellent Wks. Chirurg. i. vi. f. 177^v/1 The great focille is y^t, which susteineth the arme.

1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 997 The great Trochanter..the lesser Trochanter. These two processes are ioyned together by a line which buncheth out behind.

1734 Physical Ess. Parts Human Body & Animal Econ. 215 As for the great Pectoral Muscle we soon can prove it to be of no use in Respiration.

1842 E. Wilson Anatomist's Vade Mecum (ed. 2) 352 The Great Cardiac Vein commences at the apex of the heart.

1857 W. R. Bullock tr. P. Cazeaux Theoret. & Pract. Treat. Midwifery (ed. 2) 27 The great pelvis has a very irregular figure, and forms a species of pavilion to the entrance of the pelvis.

1900 tr. E. W. von Brücke Human Figure (new ed.) 109 The insertion of the great rhomboid muscle (M. rhomboideus major).

1935 L. D. Luard Horse ii. 10 The weight of the fore part of the body is supported from the underside of the shoulder blade by the great Serratus Thoracis muscle.

1982 G. Bosse tr. P. Huber Cerebral Angiography (rev. ed.) 218/1 Other inferior cerebellar veins run below the great horizontal fissure.

2004 M. Gertsch ECG xi. 182/2 A 54-year-old colleague told the author about a slight ‘pulling’ pain localized to the region of the left great pectoral muscle.

c. Of a specified part of a building, or a particular building, monument, square, etc., in a town or locality: main, principal (usually by virtue of being the largest). See also great house n. Cf. grand adj. 7c.Cf. also use in place names, distinguishing them from others nearby having identical names with Little, as Great Malvern, Worcestershire, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, Great Snoring, Norfolk, etc. On the history of such names see note in etymology section. Similarly in street names and names of geographical features, as e.g. Great Portland Street, London, the Great Ouse (river) in eastern England, the Great Orme (headland), Llandudno Bay, Conwy, Wales.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [adjective] > main part

greata1387

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 395 (MED) Whan he sigh first þe grete halle of Westmynstre, he seide þat it was to lite by þe halvendel.

1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 174 To þe dores yn þe halle and to þe Entrynge of þe grete Chamber.

c1450 (?a1300) Stations of Rome (Calig.) 24 Fowr & twenty gret ȝates þer be, Pryncypall ouur oþur, y tell þe.

c1453 Brut (Harl. 53) 558 Þe gret hall..was ryolly hanget with cloþes of gold and of Arras.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxliij^v The Dukes of Norffolke and Suffolk, led hym into the great chamber again and the kyng created hym, Duke of Richemond and Somerset.

1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 385 William Rufus builded the great Hall there [sc. at Westminster], about the yeare of Christ, 1097.

1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. ii. 103 If the great Doore be Arched with some braue Head, cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch.

c1720 N. Dubois & G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture II. xv. 29 The great rooms are arch'd with a Fascia.

1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto v. 177 I saw upon the uppermost banister of the great stairs a hand in armour.

1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall VI. lxviii. 506 Mahomet the second performed the namaz of prayer and thanksgiving on the great altar, where the Christian mysteries had so lately been celebrated.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I i, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 239 You torch-bearers advance to the great gate.

1873 Jrnl. Amer. Geogr. Soc. N.Y. 1872 3 277 This headland, which rises 760 feet above the great plaza of the city, looks from below like a high, abrupt hill.

1900 Church Times 2 Feb. 119/3 Canon Gore will lecture on the Apostles' Creed..in the Great Hall of the Church House.

1936 Stage June 62/3 Every cobblestone and pilaster of the great square is authentic.

2000 C. Christie Brit. Country House in 18th Cent. 182 At the foot of the great staircase was the sub-hall.

d. Of a letter: capital. Cf. big adj. 4b. Now archaic or historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [adjective] > large or capital

great1481

capital1584

big1688

majuscule1701

uncial1712

semi-uncial1742

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 12 A marble stone polyshed as clere as ony glas and theron was hewen in grete lettres in this wyse coppe chanteklers doughter..lyeth hier vnder buryed.

1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Miv^v They affyrme it to be a muche great offence, if one doe write, MAGISTER NOSTER otherwyse than with great letters.

1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus H 1 b I began to sweare all the crisse crosse row ouer, beginning at great A, litle a, til I cam to w, x, y.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xx. f. 155 6. collums, euery front or head whereof is noted with three great letters, D.M.S. signifying degrees, minutes and seconds.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. v. 86 Thus makes shee her [printed het] great P's.

1634 H. Peacham Gentlemans Exercise (new ed.) 16 Pensills of Broome, with which they shadow great letters with common Inke in Coppy bookes.

1774 D. Garrick Let. 3 July (1963) III. 945 Shall I tell you of a very small..fault, that you commit?—It is writing many insignificant words with a Great Letter.

1809 Educ. Poor xxviii. iv. 323 She then gave them a card, with the great letter A drawn out upon it.

1837 in J. B. Ker Ess. Archæol. Pop. Phrases, & Nursery Rhymes (new ed.) II. 289 Great A, little A, Bouncing B. The cat's in the cupboard, And she can't see.

1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth III. x. 214 Few minds are big enough to be just to great A without being unjust to capital B.

1926 C. M. Cox et al. Early Mental Traits 300 Geniuses 576 Before he had regularly learned to write, he amused himself by copying the figures in Æsop's Fables, contriving to reproduce in great letters the names of his subjects.

1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) ii. 71 One great volume,..which had on its first page my house as its title in great letters.

a. Of a woman or female mammal: pregnant; far advanced in pregnancy. Usually (and now only) with with (occasionally also †of) a child, young, etc. Cf. big adj. 6a. See also great ewe n. at Compounds 1e. Now somewhat archaic.Originally a spec. use of sense A. 2b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective]

greatc1175

with childc1175

with childc1300

baggeda1400

bounda1400

pregnant?a1425

quicka1450

greaterc1480

heavyc1480

teeming1530

great-bellied1533

big1535

boundenc1540

impregnate1540

great-wombeda1550

young with child1566

gravid1598

pregnate1598

pagled1599

enceinte1602

child-great1605

conceived1637

big-bellieda1646

brooding1667

in the (also a) family way1688

in the (also that) way1741

undelivered1799

ensient1818

enwombeda1822

in a delicate condition1827

gestant1851

in pod1890

up the (also a) pole1918

in a particular condition1922

preg?1927

in the spud line1937

up the spout1937

preggy1938

up the stick1941

preggers1942

in pig1945

primigravid1949

preggo1951

in a certain condition1958

gestating1961

up the creek1961

in the (pudding) cluba1966

gravidated-

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2479 Ȝho wass waxenn summ del græt. &..wass wiþþ childe.

c1300 St. Michael (Laud) l. 141 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 303 A womman grete with childe cam In atþen ende.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 453 His wif..thanne was with childe grete.

a1425 Long Charter of Christ, C Text (Royal 17 C.xvii) (1901) l. 84 Vergyn mary..gret with chyld.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccxvij/2 To whom her husbond answerd..dame..thou art grete and the perylles of the see ben wythout nombre, thou myghtest lyghtely perysshe.

1560 tr. Albertus Magnus' Bk. Secretes sig. A.iiii^v Geue it to a bytche, or to another beast, & it shall be greate with a yonge one in the owne kynde, and shall bringe forth the byrth in the owne kynde.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalm vii. 13 in Compl. Wks. (1923) III. 411 [Variant reading.] Great of child.

1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Hord, a Cow great with Calfe.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 24 Dolphins..go great 10 months.

1648 A. Ross Mystagogvs Poeticvs (ed. 2) viii. 155 Being great of Paris, she dreamed that she had a burning firebrand in her belly.

1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 55 Shee chanc't to be with Child,..and being very great, and that her time was come to be delivered.

1744 S. Johnson Acct. Life R. Savage 3 The Child, with which she was then great.

1769 in D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Scots Songs 104 O silly lassie, what wilt thou do? If thou grow great, they'll heez thee hie.

1801 Asiatick Researches (London ed.) 6 517 An unwary traveller, riding upon a mare great with foal, stumbled into it.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in Poems (new ed.) II. 50 She [sc. a sow]..Lay great with pig, wallowing in sun and mud.

1904 Hymns Anc. & Mod. No. 55 A maiden pure and undefiled Is by the Spirit great with child.

1983 R. Curtis & R. Atkinson Black Adder in R. Curtis et al. Blackadder: Whole Damn Dynasty (1998) 87/2 Three months later, I was great with child.

2009 D. Hardy Lovers' Knot 294 She was..sleek and fat like a brood mare or a cow great with calf.

b. figurative and in figurative contexts. With with, †of.

ΚΠ

1546 J. Bale tr. John Frederick I in tr. J. Jonas True Hystorie Christen Departynge M. Luther f. 32^v The blasphemouse Pope and Emproure haue now conceyued myschefe, they trauayle all great with iniquyte.

1566 in J. Fowler tr. P. Frarinus Oration against Vnlawfull Insurrections Protestantes Table sig. Kiv^v Caluin in his chamber fiue yeres taught a Nonne Tyll she was great with Gospell and swolne with a sonne.

1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iii. sig. D4^v My heart is great of thoughts.

1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. iii. sig. H^v Art not great of thanks To gratious heauen?

1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. sig. G The Asse is great with child of some ill newes.

1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xxi. 95 I am great with woe, and shall deliuer weeping.

1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick Ep. Ded. sig. A4^v The smattering..Soul of Lapsed man..often taking shews and shaddows for substances, gets the minde great of Distemperature.

1868 W. C. Bennett Contrib. Ballad Hist. Eng. 144 O my land, my own land, Earth is great with nations sown By you.

1914 T. S. Moore Sea is Kind 97 To-day is great with Yesterday's child To-morrow.

a1948 R. Benedict in M. Mead Anthropologist at Work (1959) vi. 476 Though you grow great with god, desire shall be A song you know not.

2000 C. Houselander & T. Hoffman Child in Winter 91 The whole world is great with child, and still we are not prepared for childbirth.

6. Of the heart, soul, speech, etc.: (originally) full of emotion or an emotional quality, as courage, anger, or pride; angry, grieved; proud, arrogant; (now) filled or bursting with emotion, significance, etc. (cf. sense A. 5b). great of heart: courageous, noble (now archaic and rare). Cf. great-hearted adj., and also sense A. 18b. Now literary.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > [adjective] > full of or affected by emotion > of the heart

fullOE

greatc1225

heart-quaking1623

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 210 [Þ]e reue feng to rudnin igrome of great heorte.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 254 Of alle cuðe sunnen as of prude. of great oðer of hech heorte.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12622 We habbeoð writen ibroht þe word swiðe grate [c1300 Otho grete].

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6314 Edmond..is grete herte wiþ drou & ensentede to is red.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2859 Þe Sarsyns þanne on him fulle, alle wiþ herte grete.

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 126 The wise Sarra þat made no gret ansueres vnto her chambrere.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 960 They wente betynge hym... But he seyde never a worde as he whych was grete of herte.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxvii. 357 He [sc. Jesus] spake neuer, by nyght ne day, No wordes greatte.

?1536 tr. Erasmus Serm. Chylde Jesus ii. sig. B.vi Bearing ourselfes bold of this grace, let vs with a great hert and stomacke enterrpryse y^e studie to folow y^e chylde Iesus.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 185 Than thelamon..spake Grete wordis..all in grym yre.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 229 My heart is great, but it must breake with silence.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. ii. 108 The heart: who great and pufft vp with this retinew, doth any deed of courage.

1608 J. Dod & R. Cleaver Plaine Expos. Prov. xi–xii 6 So standeth the case with all proud persons, theire great heart doth threaten some greate mischiefe to bee nigh vnto them.

1784 in G. Caw Poet. Museum 27 Dickie's heart it grew sae great,..That ne'er a bit o't he dought to eat.

1832 W. Motherwell Jeanie Morrison 79 Oh! say gin e'er your heart grows grit Wi' dreamings o' langsyne?

1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish iii For he was great of heart, magnanimous, courtly, courageous.

1869 Le M. Hunt Peeps at Brittany i. iii. 76 Trying to frighten their listeners into heaven by thundering two of the few words great with import.

1881 Friend (Honolulu) Mar. 19/1 The young pastor's heart grew great with hope, and longing, and tender desire.

1915 C. W. Brackett Jocelyn 74 Her soul is great with words unsaid and with songs she has never sung.

1941 A. G. Daniells Christ our Righteousness ii. 26 God's messages and providences are always great with meaning.

2010 C. Kelly tr. J.-J. Rousseau Emile i. 89 His heart great with sighs he does not dare to breathe.

7. Of an animal or (occasionally) a person: full-grown; grown up. Now chiefly in Hunting, of animals (esp. buck or male deer) above a particular age.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > family unit > [adjective] > mature

ripec1325

greata1375

flight-ripe1398

well-moutheda1425

staggy1933

the world > people > person > adult > [adjective]

mucha1154

of (formerly also at, to) agec1300

perfect agec1384

full-growna1393

ripea1393

greatc1515

adult1531

maturate1556

mellowed1575

mellow1592

full-aged1596

mature1609

timed1611

grown-upa1640

adulted1645

grown1645

upgrown1667

matured1805

coming of age1858

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 215 So komes þer a werwolf..grimly after a gret hert.

c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 15 For the cheven chobe..with a lyne of vj herys. For þe trowyt..and þe greyt cheven..ix herys. For þe gret Trowt..with a lyne of xij herys.

1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. biij^v/1 He ete..a quarter of moton, or ij hennes, or a grete ghoos.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) v. 9 We be grete ynow to be made knyghtes.

a1547 in Gentleman's Mag. (1813) May 427 Grene Gesse from Ester till mydsomer y^e pece, vjjd. Gesse grett from mydsomer tell shroftyde y^e pece, viijd.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Great Buck, the Sixth Year. Great Hare, the Third Year and afterwards.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. 128 The buck is..called..the fifth [year], a buck of the first head; and the sixth, a great buck.

1857 Fraser's Mag. Aug. 211/2 A buck of the first head came out of the grove near to the nearest old or Great Buck.

1929 Boys' Life May 64/4 Putting her on the track, he would count on her bringing the great buck round to him.

2004 C. Boddington Fair Chase in N. Amer. xi. 154 Expect a chance at one great buck in a week's hard hunting.

8. (a) (Of flowing water, a river) swollen with rain or snow melt, in high flood (now English regional (northern)); (b) (of the sea) having large waves, running high. Eng. Dial. Dict. (at cited word) records sense (a) as still in use in north Yorkshire in 1905.

ΚΠ

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 158 (MED) This ȝere were so grete wateres þat þei broke down walles in Temse and oþir places, ouyrcured þe londis, and kyllid many bestes.

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) f. 70^v A citie called Uendebone, situate vpon a ryuer,..and beinge in wynter, and the waters great, & very weate wether.

c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 8 The governour..remanit..on the syid of Twead, becaus the wattir was greit.

c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1850) I. 236 Seing thay wantit boites, and culd not ryd the water, being great.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 3 We had a very great Sea from the West.

1692 A. Symson Large Descr. Galloway (1823) 30 A rivulet called Pinkill Bourn, which is sometimes so great, that [etc.].

1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) II. 252 There is no possibility of landing on account of the great sea.

1888 R. L. Stevenson in Scribner's Mag. Dec. 701/2 The ninth dawn was cold and black, with a great sea running, and every mark of foul weather.

1969 P. O'Brian Master & Commander vi. 175 Stephen heard him say, ‘There's a hellish great sea running tonight.’

2003 E. D. Ziebach Second Head of Chocalata v. 40 The crew strained in the blowing gale looking on each wave for the orange life preserver that held their friend, but the wind and the seas were too great.

II. Senses relating primarily to quantity or degree.

9. Considerable in degree, intensity, or extent.

a. Of qualities, emotions, behaviour, effects, events, etc.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense A. 15b(b).

ΚΠ

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xlii. 106 Of gealadle, sio biþ of þære geolwan, cymeþ great yfel; sio biþ ealra adla ricust.

lOE Royal Charter: Cnut to Old Minster, Winchester (Sawyer 976) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 51 Þet syndan hamsocne and forsteallas and myndbræcas and ælces wytes smales and greates.

a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 231 (MED) He nam him to rede þat heom wolde ȝearceon anæ grate laðienge and þider ȝeclepien all his underþeod.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13174 Þæ andswarede þe kaisere mid grættere [c1300 Otho grettere] wræððe.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7730 Suiþe þilke [read þikke] mon he was, & of grete strengþe.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 222 He mai habbe grat merite ase to þe zaule.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14219 His kin..for þair frend gret murning made.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 251 Som gret myschaunce.

?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 302 Feyned religious..amortisen many grete lordischipis bi..gret ypocrisie.

1450 W. Lomnor in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 36 Wretyn yn gret haste at London.

a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 1102 She deide for gre [te] louyng.

1506–7 Old City Acct. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. (1886) 43 171 To the gertte coost & damage of all the suters befor named & to ther grett hyndranse.

?1521 J. Fisher Serm. agayn Luther sig. Aii^v To y^e graete trouble & vexacyon of his chyrch.

1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. xii. 198 If this Law were obserued the people shold be eased of great expenses, iudges & iustices of great trauel.

1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 298 He is likewise commended for a picture of spindle worke, wherein the threads of every spinning woman seem to make very great haste.

a1644 F. Quarles Shepheards Oracles (1646) x. 117 There's great talk about A strange predictious Star.

1714 T. Hearne in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 355 I will take great care of them.

1779 F. Hervey et al. Naval Hist. Great Brit. III. v. ii. 413 Between forty and fifty of them [sc. mortars]..began in the night to play upon the citadel, and continued it four days with great success.

1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 81 The Bishop..whose great popularity at Tours..made him a person of much consideration.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ii. 42 Great ignorance is the fruit of great poverty.

1891 F. W. Blackmar Spanish Inst. Southwest xi. 238 To the invaders the Indian question was one of great importance.

1924 E. M. Forster Passage to India ix. 106 This is a great relief to us, it is very good of you to call, Doctor Sahib.

1960 C. C. Gillispie Edge of Objectivity xi. 79 He placed great emphasis on comparative analysis.

1992 Afr. Amer. Rev. 26 31/1 The shock is too great for Paul D, and he accuses her of overloving.

b. With regard to action or movement: of considerable physical force; strong, vigorous, powerful, violent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > of action: involving or requiring vigour > carried out or proceeding with vigour

stiffc1250

busyc1275

greatc1275

sternc1275

smart?a1400

stark1489

thronga1525

vigorous1524

stout1582

intensive1605

spiritful?1611

warm1627

intense1645

mettlesome1645

spirited1670

mettled1682

sturdy1697

energetic1700

vivid1702

robustful1800

toughish1840

lively1844

full out1920

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1142 Moni greatne dunt..þolede ich on folde.

1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) i. iii–v. sig. aiij Hys enemyes..dyd a grete bataylle vpon his men.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxi. 382 Huon, who was lyger and light, lept by the syde of the serpent and gaue hym a great stroke.

1584 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 82 The Earle..up with his fiste and gave the poore man a great blow upon the face.

1650 Perfect Diurnall No. 4. 40 This is not much unlike that great blow of Gun-powder at Torrington in the West; where 80 Barrels of Powder were fired in the Church by the Enemy.

1706 G. Farquhar Recruiting Officer iii. i. 29 He entertain'd me with a fine Story of a great Fight between the Hungarians, I think it was, and the Irish.

1775 N. Cresswell Jrnl. 5 July (1925) 71 There was a great Battle fought here.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 119 At Naseby took place the first great encounter between the royalists and the remodelled army.

1898 A. Wilberforce Great Battles all Nations II. xxiii. 497 (heading) The great fight off Copenhagen.

1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore iii. 81 If you should see that damned loblolly-boy, give him a great kick, will you.

1996 S. Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 187 Wi a gryte yark o his hurdies an a skelp o his flippers, Zeffirino brakk frae the sea tae fob.

2011 M. Midkiff (title) The great collision: a unidirectional model of the universe.

c. Of weather or other natural phenomena (as fires or outbreaks of infectious disease): severe, violent, and (sometimes) of long duration; (of rain, snow, etc.) heavy.Frequently in the names of specific events, as Great Frost (cf. quot. c1683), Great Plague (cf. quot. 1776); cf. also Great Famine n. at Compounds 1e, Great Fire n. at Compounds 1e. Cf. sense A. 15b(b).

ΚΠ

c1300 St. Bridget (Laud) l. 38 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 193 So gret rein ore louerd to eorþe sende Þat hire cloþes al wete weren.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxiv. 1008 Þe tendre leues þerof... Beþ constreigned in wynter wiþ grete froste [L. gelu & pruina] and wiþ smale.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 388 That we may frely passen forth oure wey Whan þ^t the grete shour is goon awey.

c1410 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Harl. 7334) (1885) §2783 Þe ydel man excuseþ him in wynter by cause of þe grete colde. And in somer by enchesoun of þe grete hete.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 251 Som gret myschaunce or gret disese.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1192 Ful eke of wyndowes As flakes falle in grete snowes.

a1500 Walter of Henley's Husbandry (Sloane) (1890) 47 (MED) Sowe your wyntur corne tymely, so þat your lande may be sadid & your corne rotyd afore þat grete wyntur com.

1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 320 The great heates are abated.

1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. 6 One ship over-beares the other, that is, was able in a great gale of wind, to carry out more sayles then the other.

c1683 (title of ballad) A true description of Blanket Fair upon the river Thames in the time of the Great Frost.

1706 tr. L. Liger Compl. Florist in tr. F. Gentil Le Jardinier Solitaire 167 Fowls are apt, after a great Drought, to welter in the Ground, or Dust, to cleanse their Feathers.

1729 W. Mackintosh Ess. on Inclosing Scotl. 273 Whether the Ices, covering these Abysses, keeps them [sc. fish] undisturbed from the Motion and Agitation so great Storms occasion.

1776 tr. J. Ihre Lett. in tr. U. von Troil Lett. on Iceland (1780) 305 The close of the thirteenth century, when the black death or the great plague..checked the progress of poetry.

1814 Let. 22 Sept. in T. Bowdler Short View Life & Char. Lieutenant-General Villettes (1815) 72 If a great avalanche happens, they go to the place, even at the hazard of their own lives.

1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 Sept. 8/2 A great fire broke out..in the extensive tannery works.

1929 H. W. Haggard Devils, Drugs, & Doctors iv. 66 In 1773 a great epidemic of puerperal fever more than decimated the lying-in hospitals of Europe.

1958 New Scientist 5 June 105 (caption) Clearing Tunbridge Wells three hours after the great hailstorm of 6 August 1956.

2009 N. Rothwell Red Highway 153 Finlayson was travelling at the height of a great heatwave, which devastated the wildlife of the Centre.

d. Of the voice, sound, etc.: loud; full, resounding; very noisy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective]

loud971

stithc1000

strongOE

greata1375

stiff1377

wrastc1400

boistousc1430

stourc1440

big1549

routing1567

thundering?1576

full-mouthed1594

thunderous1606

tonitruous1606

thundery1608

trump-like1609

full-mouth1624

voluminousa1635

rousing1640

altisonous1661

lusty1672

tonitrual1693

rending1719

trumpet-like1814

foudroyant1840

clarion1842

trumpeting1850

trumpet-toned1851

loudish1860

tonitruant1861

tonant1891

thunderful1898

high1923

wham-bam1960

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1827 (MED) Þei þat misseden here mete wold make gret noyse, & record it redeli in rome al a-boute.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) 2 Esdras viii. 6 Esdras blesside to the Lord God with a gret vois.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 2171 (MED) Now rist..So gret bray, so gret crieyng..Þe þonder ne had nouȝth ben herd.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John xviii. 40 The Iewes..with a great lowde voyce cryed [etc.].

1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 6 Sa gret vproir, tumult, and terrible clamour.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. iii. lx. 129 To masker their troubled heads the more, hee assaileth them with a great shout and maine violence.

1730 H. Fielding Tom Thumb ii. ii. 9 A Noise, Great as the Kettle Drums of twenty Armies.

1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 312 Makes a great scream when taken.

1834 W. H. Ainsworth Rookwood II. iii. v. 344 My father..Was a merchant of capers gay, Who cut his last fling with great applause.

1870 Harper's New Monthly Mag. May 859/2 A great cry of joy went up.

1918 G. Lee Diary 30 Mar. in Home Fires Burning (2006) 250 We jumped out of bed, startled from sleep by a great crash.

1953 J. Krumgold …& now Miguel vii. 101 By the time I got out to the barnyard it [sc. a tractor] started up with a great roar.

2006 S. Cooper Victory 31 My father gave a scornful snort, and let go a great fart for good measure.

†e. Of the pulse: of normal strength or duration, strong, full; (also) excessively strong or forceful. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xxiii. 124 On hatte a greet [L. magnus] puls whanne he sprediþ in lengþe and brede and depnes of þe veyne. And þis puls grete and strong [L. fortis et grossus] comeþ of þe strengþe of þe spirit.

1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) i. ii. f. 2 Pulse great and full.

1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. xvi. 19 Ther pulse is great, and stryketh seeldome.

1634 ‘Philiatreus’ Gen. Pract. Med. sig. C3 The pulse great and strong is a token of force, on the which is builded the hope of recoverie of the health.

1697 J. Pechey Plain Introd. Art Physick 107 There are such great Differences of the Pulse among Authors, that it is impossible to distinguish them; wherefore I shall only set down those that are useful in Practice, and these Differences are four, great and small, strong and weak, equal and unequal, frequent and rare.

1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 27 The Pulse is called great, high, or a full Pulse.

1747 tr. J. Astruc Academical Lect. Fevers 23 This rapid motion of the humours, produces heat and rarefaction of the blood, dilates the vessels, and gives rise to a full and great pulse.

1801 W. C. Brown tr. G. Borsieri de Kanifeld Inst. Pract. Med. II. 116 Violent headach, ardent heat, a strong great pulse, excessive thirst, and internal heat, as they give reason for suspecting inflammation, so do they seem to indicate bleeding.

1823 Encycl. Britannica XVII. 495/2 A great pulse shows a more copious afflux of the blood to the heart, and from thence into the arteries; a little pulse the contrary.

f. Of knowledge, experience, ability, influence, etc.: considerable in range or extent; thorough; wide.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > extensive or on a large scale > specifically of people or their faculties

largec1440

great?1473

extensivea1631

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 7^v They of Crete seeyng þ^e right grete wysedom of their kyng, assemblid to gyder dyuerce tymes & named hym a god.

1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. A.iii Men of great knowledge and experience.

1624 N. De Lawne tr. P. Du Moulin Elements Logick 176 A man of great capacitie.

1670 A. Wood Life 12 Nov. He had, in his great reading, collected some old words for his use.

1736 H. Fielding Pasquin v. 61 Places, requiring Learning and great Parts.

1779 S. Johnson Waller in Wks. (1787) II. 235 Waller had a brother-in-law..who was a clerk of the Queen's council, and..had a very numerous acquaintance, and great influence, in the city.

1810 H. J. Todd Inq. Origin Paradise Lost in S. Johnson & R. Chalmers Wks. Eng. Poets VII. 326 Milton was an universal scholar, as famous for his great reading as for the extent of his genius.

1869 C. Darwin Origin of Species (ed. 5) xiii. 515 Professor Häckel..has recently brought his great knowledge and abilities to bear on what he calls phylogeny, or the lines of descent of all organic beings.

1904 Collier's 7 May 5/2 From the English idea of a college president, Mr. Butler would not be called a man of great learning.

1961 J. Gunston Profit from Sheep i. 11 Great experience of local conditions and practice is the only real guide to the proper management of mountain sheep.

2008 F. Garrett Relig., Med. & Human Embryo in Tibet 160 Despite their great travels,..individuals possess an inherent relationship with a certain region.

10.

a. Measurably large; large in terms of quantity or extent.

(a) Of a collective: made up of a large number or quantity; consisting of many members.

ΚΠ

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 155 Ane heorde of heorten swiðe greate [c1300 Otho grete].

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 616 Þe quene..gret ost made & strong.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1213 (MED) Þan ride to-gedere a gret route of rinkes ful nobul.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 20^v Comyn to þe kyng in companies grete Mony stith man.

1576 W. Lambard Perambulation Kent 217 So haue we testimonie of three great armies that haue mustred at it.

1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. 10 b There flocked a great throng of souldiers about him.

a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) i. x. 124 Locusts..in great swarms shall disperse themselves over the face of the whole earth.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 202. ⁋5 There was a great crowd in my Antichamber, who expected Audience.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200. ⁋6 A back room, where he always breakfasted when he had not great company.

1807 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (ed. 4) I. i. v. 102 In the three great groups of islands which have been noticed, vice appears to be a most prominent feature.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 106 To raise a great army had always been the King's first object.

1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Sept. 8/2 A great gathering of Oddfellows was held last evening.

1920 C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson xxvi. 267 After..the great herd had bedded down.

1960 Mariner's Mirror 56 102 The great collection of relics from ships wrecked in Scilly..consists principally of fiddleheads, figureheads..nameboards and sternboards.

2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) xxvii. 235 A great band of bruised thunderheads garnering together over a grey and swollen sea.

(b) Of a thing, quality, etc., capable of being measured or quantified: measurably large; large as a proportion of a whole.See also great part (of) at part n.¹ 3b, a great deal at deal n.¹ 3a.

ΚΠ

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. xii. 731 Þey hadde a grete partie of Asia vndir here lordeshepe.

1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 6 Þe processe in gret part ther-of is fal<se and vn>trewe.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 130 How necessarie it is þat the kynge haue grete possescions.

a1500 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Adv.) (1810) l. 124 (MED) A marchande..had greyt rentes be yere.

?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. a.iv Great store, of butter, chese, and woll.

?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xvii. sig. E iij ^v And yet in conueying of waters any great distance, very experience wil bewray an error.

1658 Bp. J. Taylor Let. 21 June in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 5 Her duty to you..does..make a very great part of her religion to God.

1687 Cynthia 121 With great speed we boarded our Enemies.

1724 J. Swift Let. to Shop-keepers of Ireland (new ed.) 5 We are at a great Distance from the King's Court.

1787 A. Young Jrnl. 28 May in Trav. France (1792) i. 11 The stone drawn up by lanthorn wheels of a great diameter.

1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. v. 344 We derive a great portion of our pleasures from the mere beauties of nature.

1870 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 15 37 The great difference which he supposed to exist between the bottom of the sea and the surface of the land.

1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. iv. 149 Amory ‘ran it out’ at a great rate, bringing the most eccentric characters to dinner.

2001 G. D. Sharp in B. A. Block & E. D. Stevens Tuna ix. 367 This bycatch, although not great in weight, turns out to be huge in terms of numbers of individuals.

ΚΠ

1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 Greet noumbre of men armed.

1454 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Cleo. F.v) (1790) *16 (MED) Soo greet a nombre of people..must be abregged and reduced to a resonnable..felisship.

a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ (Harl. 3909) (1926) l. 8919 (MED) The space that betwene is..of as grete widenes i-wis as is vche heuen of quantite.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. iij Her heire hangyng doune to her backe, of a very great length.

1584 R. Hakluyt Let. 7 Jan. in D. B. Quinn et al. New Amer. World (1979) III. 272/1 Perosse... Sawe great quantities of buff hides which they brought home.

1607 T. Cony Household-bk. in Archaeologia (1794) 11 31 All this great total sum I Thomas Cony do confess, that in my very conscience it is too little valued.

1671 R. Boyle Three Tracts iii. 16 Sometimes at the Bottom of the Deep waters there seem'd to be a stagnation of the Sea for a great depth.

1721 D. Spence Arithmetick Compendiz'd (new ed.) iii. 9 When in Addition of divers Denominations the Sums in one Column..amount to a great Total..it will be fit that you put a Point at a certain Period.

1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 381 They carry to China great quantities of blackwood.

1813 R. B. Hoppner tr. I. F. Kruzenshtern Voy. Round World I. i. 28 (note) La Perouse has adopted this great width of the straits of Sangar after the Dutch captain Vries.

1844 J. H. Stocqueler Hand-bk. India 250 A few of the streets in the European town are of great dimensions.

1901 H. Paasch From Keel to Truck (ed. 3) 81/1 Web-plate, term given to a plate of great breadth and thickness.

1950 R. M. Bourne in J. J. Murray Ess. Mod. European Hist. 104 A great number of wealthy merchants..were asking the Queen to remove him.

2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 284/1 Bernard Heuvelmans also cites the great length of squid arms found in whale stomachs.

b. Of material things: a great number or quantity of; a great deal of; many, much. Now rare except in extended use in great smoke n. at Compounds 1e.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective]

mickleeOE

wideOE

largec1300

greata1325

muchc1330

mightyc1390

millionc1390

dreicha1400

rudea1450

massive1581

massy1588

heavy1728

magnitudinous1777

powerful1800

almighty1824

tall1842

hefty1930

honking1943

mondo1968

the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective]

feleOE

felefoldc1000

manifoldOE

unfewc1175

mucha1225

many one?a1300

greata1325

manyc1450

numerous1622

maint1706

right smart1825

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > great (of quantity/amount)

greata1325

no smalla1450

round1596

vengeance1602

main1609

vast1637

any1758

right smart1825

high-level1860

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > much/a great amount/quantity of

mickleeOE

muchc1200

greata1325

felea1400

muchee1722

queer1865

lotta1870

mucho1870

lotsa1890

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 853 Wunded ðor was gret folc and slagen.

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) viii. l. 284 Ful gret [e] blood shad in that mortal fiht.

1543 Chron. J. Hardyng f. xxiiii^v Greate people dyed.

1638 H. Adamson Muses Threnodie 50 Many to ground were born, great bloud was shed, He was the prettiest man that fastest fled.

1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 134 Great Dust they raised.

1771 R. Sanders Compl. Eng. Traveller 117/1 A gentleman being up in his study saw great smoke proceeding from the rope yard.

1893 F. Scrimshaw Dogs & Fleas 55 The dogs of the Majority were very happy, and took a day off..to bark and stand on their heads and burn fuel and make great smoke and stench.

1921 Proc. 10th Ann. Congr. National Safety Council 443 There was great smoke and severe heat.

c. With the. That constitutes more than half, larger, as the great body (of), the great part (of), etc. Cf. greater adj. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority

the more partOE

the best part ofOE

(the) more parta1350

(the) most parta1350

(the) most part alla1350

(the) most party1372

for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387

the better part ofa1393

the mo?a1400

most forcea1400

substancea1413

corsec1420

generalty?c1430

the greater partc1430

three quartersc1470

generalityc1485

the most feck1488

corpse1533

most1553

nine-tenths?1556

better half1566

generality?1570

pluralityc1570

body1574

the great body (of)1588

flush1592

three fourths1600

best1601

heap1609

gross1625

lump1709

bulk1711

majority1714

nineteen in twenty1730

balance1747

sweighta1800

heft1816

chief1841

the force1842

thick end1847

a1450 Complaint J. Brome in Warwickshire Antiquarian Mag. (1869) 4 181 (MED) The same persons..toke and bare away dyuers godes..yn rifelyng the said hous the grete part of all that nyght.

c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 9 King Arthur..conquerid the gret part of the regions be west of Rome.

1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. iv. vii. f. ccvi^v Such holy doctours and sayntes, as are well acquaynted wyth Chrystes phrases and parables, and in the studye therof, haue spent the great parte of all theyr lyues.

?1567 Def. Priestes Mariages (new ed.) 79 Thei haue so bewitched the people, yea, the greate part of the wise of the worlde.

1588 E. Aggas tr. F. de La Noue Politicke & Mil. Disc. 380 The great bodie of that battell wherein they were, being at the first onset ouerthrowne..yet stood they fast in the place where they had bene aranged.

1668 D. Lloyd Memoires 365 The great part of the Peers..withdrew to weaken those designs.

1700 S. Clark & E. Veale Poole's Annot. upon Holy Bible (ed. 4) II. Jeremiah xxxi Which promise the Apostle..proveth to have been by God made good, notwithstanding the rejection of the great Body of that People.

1761 J. Freinsheim tr. Livy Rom. Hist. I. i. ix. 23 The great part are hurried away, without any distinction, by those into whose hands they sell.

1798 Monthly Mag. Apr. 258/2 Is it not also evident, that the great proportion of every burthen must rest upon labour?

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 159 To no such plan could the great body of Cavaliers listen with patience.

1872 C. Rhodes Let. in B. Williams Cecil Rhodes (1921) iv. 29 You must not however think that every diamond one finds is a beauty, the great proportion are nothing but splints.

1905 G. K. Chesterton Heretics 106 The great part of the..reproaches directed against the Omarite morality are..false and babyish.

1961 E. F. Jacob Fifteenth Cent., 1399–1485 vi. 275 The great body of cases coming before the official in the fifteenth century was concerned with matrimony, probate and testamentary bequests.

2000 Independent 18 Nov. (Mag.) 19/1 The great proportion of the brassicas are large, coarse crops to be grown in the vegetable garden or on the home farm.

†d. Scottish. Used postpositively. Equal to the specified unit or quantity in Flemish groats, as shilling great, pound great. Cf. sense B. 6. Obsolete.As a money of account, the ‘shilling’ was equal to 12, and the ‘pound’ to 240, Flemish groats. Cf. a shilling of groats at groat n. 1, a pound of groats at groat n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific Scottish

poundc1400

shilling great1474

society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other specific European

shilling great1474

cent1816

grano1858

dinar1882

para1885

single European currency1950

Euro1971

EUR1996

mark1997

1474 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 34/1 Johne..sall..pay for ilk pund grete sevin nobillis.

1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 48 A pound grete Moneye of flaundres.

1518 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 94 Tua s. grett Flandris money.

1527 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 119 Gilbert Menzeis, provest, tua lib. grit.

1546 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 234 Ane Flemis ell of welwet cost xi s. grit.

1578 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 65 Quhill the sowme of twentye foir pundis greit be payit to him.

1590 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 351 That..the said conseruatour vplift of ilk refuisar..fourtie schiliingis grite.

11. Of long duration; lasting, or having lasted, a long time.

a. Of a period of time.

ΚΠ

c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 903 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 315 (MED) Sche fil to grounde, And lai aswoue a wel gret stounde.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 22 (MED) So fer bare a woulfe þe hede, & kept it a grete while.

a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) l. 1667 (MED) Þare he lifed a grete sesowne With rotes and raw venysowne.

a1530 T. Lupset Treat. Charitie (1533) f. 27^v Ye will saye that my lady princes hath lyen a great whyle atte Eltham, and yet her grace hath not lien there one yere.

1578 B. Garter Receyuing Queenes Maiestie Norwich sig. Aiii^v The acclamations and cries of the people..ratled so loude, as hardly for a great time coulde any thing be hearde.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 105 Like poyson giuen to worke a great time after.

1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 3 Saxo making mention of such a Country a great while before.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 128. ⁋7 I..have for a great while entertained the Addresses of a Man who I thought lov'd me more than Life.

1778 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Mar. 231 A great period in the system of probationary creatures will succeed the general resurrection, and that period..will terminate the day of trial to all the children of Adam.

1826 J. Galt Last of Lairds xiv. 129 It must be a great while since ye were at a practeesing, for really ye're very stiff in the joints.

a1856 H. Miller Pop. Geol. (1860) 20 The great period during which the little annelide or sand-boring worm was the sole tenant of this wide earth..has passed.

1900 Colliery Engineer Dec. 229/1 The eruptions must have been vast and continued at intervals for a great period of time.

1983 J. Blake Royal Seduction xix. 382 It was no great time since he had been shot in No Man's Land.

1996 City Paper (Baltimore) 16 Oct. 41/1 Once in a great while punk rockers come along who understand the ‘roll’ half of the ‘rock-and-roll’ equation.

b. With reference to the age of a person, building, etc. Frequently modifying years.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [adjective]

greata1398

the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [noun]

eld971

old agec1330

agec1380

last agea1382

oldc1385

aldereldea1400

winterc1425

vilessec1430

annosityc1450

senectute1481

the black ox1546

golden years1559

years1561

great1587

afterlife1589

setting sun1597

antiquity1600

chair-daysa1616

the vale of yearsa1616

grandevity1623

green old age1634

eldship1647

senioritya1688

the other side of the hill1691

the decline of life1711

senectude1756

senility1791

senectitude1796

post-climacteric1826

Anno Domini1885

senium1911

golden age1946

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. iii. 1114 Ȝif þey be ygelded and passeþ in gret age, þanne here hete fayleþ by double cause.

c1500 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 112 Into a gret age when ye be crept,..Be lyberall of the good that ye haue kept.

1587 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnius Herbal for Bible xlviii. 238 When a man is stricken in great yeers, the delights of this life be loathsome and vnpleasant vnto him.

1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 489 That he should in so great yeares be set vpon by two of his owne sonnes.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 108 His great yeares were more propense to ease then tumult.

1654 P. Heylyn Theologia Veterum vii. xi. 260 The Feast of holy Thursday, of the Lords Ascension, is of as great Antiquity as eminencie in the Christian Church.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. v. §2 The great age of some men in ancient times, who are supposed to have lived 1000 years.

1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 71 There was also one Laurentius in the Parish of Waes..who arrived at a great Age.

1774 D. Henry Hist. Acct. Voy. Eng. Navigators I. 226 The King himself is a man of great years, and hath an hundred wives.

1819 J. Storer Hist. & Antiq. Cathedral Churches of Great Brit. IV. Worcester: p. (g) The crypt or croft furnishes the most unquestionable evidence of the great antiquity of this building.

1863 Zoologist 21 8521 There are..one or two much larger than any roe heads of Scotland: I believe they are mostly of great age.

1906 H. J. Elwes & A. Henry Trees Great Brit. & Ireland (1907) II. 325 I have certainly seen oaks felled which, though of great age and completely hollow, were supported in their original position by a mere shell.

1952 A. MacLeish Let. 26 July (1983) 359 I loved your tall ladies of great years and limber tongues.

1996 J. Lanchester Debt to Pleasure (1997) 55 They were (are) a pair of brothers of very great antiquity.., full of unpredictable, unrefusable kindnesses.

12. Modifying a noun denoting a family relationship (now usually only those of grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece).

a. Directly modifying such a noun: showing the same family relationship at one remove in generation. For the main uses see Compounds 1d; also great-grandfather n., great-grandmother n., great-grandparent n., great-grandsire n.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [adjective] > by specific degree

great1436

removed1502

once removed1601

1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We by th'avys of..our grete ouncle that Cardynel [Beaufort]..have notable purveyd [etc.].

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. i. f. lxxviij And the Mule ansuerd, my grete fader was an hors.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries xv. f. cxcvj^v After the kynge was dead the gouernement was committed to Iames Hamelton Erle of Arrayne, whiche was the kinges greate cosyn.

1592 in Of Good & Perfect Remembrance: Bolton Wills & Inventories (1987) 101 I geve unto everye one that I Am great father unto 4 d Apec.

1609 T. Pickering tr. W. Perkins Christian Oeconomie v. 31 The great grand-vncle by the mothers side, or great grand-mothers mothers brother.

1689 in W. H. L. Melville Leven & Melville Papers (1843) 251 We..wish you may live to see your grat-grand-bairns.

1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell i. 2 Another of the Kettlewell's, a Merchant of good Credit,..who was..Great Grand Uncle to our Mr. Kettlewell.

1769 Hist. Amintor & Teresa 64 The great grand-mamma, good Christiana.

1808 W. Scott Mem. Early Life in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1839) I. 5 William Scott of Raeburn, my great-grand-uncle.

1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 133 A doting, scolding great-grandmama.

1865 Harper's Young People 7 Apr. 366/1 A great-cousin of mine.

1922 M. Pedler Moon out of Reach 55 One day I shall do something which will make the burden too heavy to be shunted on to great-grandmamma!

1994 D. Healy Goat's Song (1995) 159 That same Father Pat was my great grand-uncle.

2011 Daily Tel. 17 Mar. 15/5 Rose was a much-loved wife, mum of four, nan to 10 grandchildren and great-nanny to three great-grandchildren.

b. Modifying such a noun already modified by great (one or more times): showing the same family relationship at one additional remove in generation.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [adjective] > distantly

removed1502

great1549

distant1671

far-away1817

far-off1828

far1859

shirttail1875

1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. 1 Tim. i. f. iii^v A perplexe ordre of pedegree rehearsed from grandefathers, great grandefathers, and great great grandefathers.

?1649 tr. H. Wotton Panegyrick King Charles 33 Your great great-grandfather Henry the seventh.

1747 Scots Mag. Mar. 146/2 At his death he was grandfather to 56 children, great-grandfather to 19, great-great-grandfather to 11, and great-great-great-grandfather to 4.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I lvi. 31 Her great great grandmamma.

1823 J. G. Lockhart Reginald Dalton I. ii. ii. 213 That old body that says she is Shakespeare's great-great-great-great-great-great-grand-niece-in-law.

1826 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1827) II. 899 The infant's godfathers..were..his great-great-great-great uncle..and..his great-great-great uncles. His godmothers..were..his great-great-great-great aunt;..his great-great-grandmother; and..his great grandmother.

1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 705 Can we conceive a man marrying the great-great-niece of his own brother-in-law?

1896 Westm. Gaz. 3 Oct. 7/2 A great-great-granddaughter of the author of the ‘School for Scandal’.

1926 W. R. Inge Lay Thoughts 181 Its great-great-grand-offspring.

2008 New Yorker 4 Feb. 22/2 Yeboah's royal lineage comes from his great-great-grandmother.

III. Having significant effects, importance, distinction, etc.

13. Of things, places, actions, events, etc.

a. Of considerable importance, significance, or distinction; important, weighty; distinguished, prominent; famous, renowned; impressive. Also in weakened sense: highly commendable, praiseworthy (passing into sense A. 22).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > of high or great importance

worthlyeOE

mickleeOE

greatc1225

right hand?c1225

solemna1387

materialc1475

superior1526

grand1542

weighty1558

main1581

pregnant1591

pregnate1598

materious1611

moliminous1642

momentous1656

magic1696

all-important1748

big1748

eventful1756

colossal1775

bread and butter1822

bada1825

key1832

all-absorbing1834

earth-moving?1834

earth-shaking1835

earth-shatteringa1859

high-ranking1874

beaucoup1917

major league1951

earth-stopping1956

crucial1957

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 47 (MED) Ȝe beoð mit to-swollen nawt wið wit ah wið wind of ane wlonke wordes þet þuncheð so greate ant beoð godlese.

c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218 Þis is þe miracle þet þet godspel of te dai us telþ, ac great is þe tokningge.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 240 Þe mayster..to him zede þet he hedde grat þing y-do.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1629 Of gret effect men write yn place lite.

1442 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 251 (MED) The grete causes the whiche drowe, meved, and stured you..for to leve the said cloyster.

?1510 T. More tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. a.ii They be born to the accheuing of some gret thing.

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Magnus Magnum facere, to doe some great mattier.

1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lxix, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. E4 Theyr great deeds and valarous emprize.

a1639 D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 90 Great matters..could not but be full of great difficulties.

1675 H. Neville tr. N. Machiavelli Prince xvii, in tr. N. Machiavelli Wks. 222 Instances of Hannibal's great Conduct.

1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal II. i. ii. 10 I dream'd..that I saw you at court, on some great occasion.

1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 3 These little things are great to little man.

1821 Ld. Byron Let. 13 Dec. (1831) II. 390 O talk not to me of a name great in story.

1828 C. Lamb Vision of Horns in Elia 2nd Ser. 45 This shows that use is a great thing.

1840 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) II. 315 I do not think anything great of the Continental churches, as you seem to think, or of the Roman Catholics at home.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 469 The executive government could undertake nothing great without the support of the Commons.

1865 Ld. Tennyson Captain 19 He..Hoped to make the name Of his vessel great in story.

a1891 J. R. Lowell Old Eng. Dramatists (1892) iii. 76 There is the same confusion at times of what is big with what is great.

1921 Herald & Presbyter 12 Oct. 9/1 The great matters of faith are put distinctly and forcefully.

1971 Italica 48 38 Where a joust is boys' play, great deeds and eternal fame are the affairs of heroes.

2004 T. C. Johnson Educ. & Social Change in Liberia 128 Like all other great questions of national survival and historical continuity, this question is a strategic one that demands a critically reflective approach.

b. Of a nation, city, etc.: important, powerful, famous, (and usually also of considerable physical or numerical size).

(a) Generally, with common nouns.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > [adjective] > types of land or country

merryOE

greatc1325

homeless1725

less developed1857

Bongo Bongo1932

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7806 He wende him in to france..Þe grete cite of medes suþþe afure he sette.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. ii. 691 Þe erþe is yhiȝte with so many grete citees and bowrys.

c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 2 He..toke londe nygh to a gret citee that was called Couleigne.

1574 J. Studley tr. J. Bale Pageant of Popes f. 43 It is manifest to all the world, that Rome had the soueraignitye and Empyre of all the world, and that it was then the great Cittie.

1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 231 Hee could not fiddle; but he could make a small Towne to become a great Citie.

1722 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. 7 The Quakers..are become a great people.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 24 La Motte avoided the great towns.

1803 W. Wordsworth in Morning Post 17 Sept. i. xvii When I have borne in memory what has tam'd Great nations.

1869 A. J. Russell Red River Country xxv. 110 Mere fertility of soil never made a country great in history.

1905 Forum Apr. 598 The city, aside from being a great industrial..centre, enjoys..a high moral record.

1938 C. Hunt You want to be Journalist? iii. 29 It is when staff increase—on county papers, dailies published from the great cities, London nationals—that specialisation develops.

1940 H. Bolitho Amer. Expects 158 In London or Paris..the diplomats from the Argentine and Japan, from Italy and France, have their little courts, but they are drowned in the spacious life of a great capital.

2004 Univ. Oxf. Bot. Garden News Summer 3/1 Exploitation saw botanic gardens and economic botany as central to the manipulation of the rest of the world by the Great Nations of Europe.

(b) attributive. Chiefly poetic. With proper names.

ΚΠ

c1330 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Auch.) (1952) l. 85 He hoteþ quicliche al his men Trussen to grete Faacen.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1474 His lettres come Jn to þe cite of grete Rome.

a1500 (?c1450) Bone Florence (1976) l. 1584 (MED) Emere..broght hym fro hys strenkyþfull stedd To grete Rome agayne.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 25 Grete Troye was vp tild with mony toures vmbe.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. x. 9 Great Troy is ours.

1696 E. S. Rowe Wish 15 in Poems on Several Occasions Still my muse despairs to do great Athens right.

1731 S. Boyse Transl. & Poems 125 Great Carthage rises from Oblivion's Womb.

1820 E. B. Barrett Battle of Marathon i. 15 Say, shall great Persia, next to Rome most dear To Venus breast, shall Persia learn to fear?

1846 New Monthly Mag. May 107/1 Great Constantinople's empress Has departed from her home.

1901 R. Allen Siege Peking Legations ix. 291 One could fancy the Emperor..saying in his heart, like Nebuchadnezzar: ‘Is not this great Peking, which I have built by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’

1957 H. Agar Price of Power v. 112 The outside world..could not be blamed for wondering whether the whole of great America was cowering before an evil fear-monger.

2003 A. M. Martin tr. K. K. Pavlova in M. Siefert Extending Borders Russ. Hist. 67 It was fine for Pushkin to exclaim with poetic rapture,..: ‘Burn, great Moscow!’

(c) the Great, following a place name. Now archaic and literary.For a different use in Britain the Great see quot. ?a1400 at Britain n.² etymology, and discussion of Great Britain there.

ΚΠ

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xvii. 5 Babilon the greet [L. magna], modir of fornycaciouns, and of abhomynaciouns of erthe.

1507 A. Chertsey tr. Honorius Augustodunensis Lucydarye (de Worde) sig. D.iv Mayster frome whens came the fyrst ydolatres My chylde they were fyrst founde in abell the whiche is now called babylon the grete.

1611 Bible (King James) Rev. xviii. 2 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of deuils.

1644 J. Boden Alarme beat vp in Sion 3 Rome the great is fallen, is fallen.

1791 Consolatory Let. Rev. J. Clayton 21 Where is that foot, so adventrous, as even to go in quest of the spot where Babylon the Great once stood?

1859 J. W. Blakesley Four Months in Algeria xiii. 387 The time when Carthage the Great was destroyed.

1929 H. A. R. Gibb tr. Ibn Battuta Trav. Asia & Afr. iv. 157 Our entry into Constantinople the Great was made about noon or a little later.

1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xv. 303 Being 'im young an' im spirit hot, Babylon de Great look good to 'im.

(d) Esp. in great power (often in plural).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation

potentate1624

power1658

great power1660

world power1855

1660 G. Bridges tr. Duc de Rohan Divers Politique Disc. vi. 32 in tr. Duc de Rohan Memoires France and Spain are the two great Powers of Europe.

1735 Visct. Bolingbroke Diss. upon Parties (ed. 2) 11 They, who are eager..to sacrifice her Commerce, by intangling Her..with the other great Powers of Europe.

1807 in Hansard Parl. Deb. (1812) VIII. 308 France is a great power on the continent, England is a great power by sea.

1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. ii. 21 All States except the five great Powers are exempt from the duty of watching over the general safety.

1919 Contemp. Rev. July 41 A small nation which possesses petroleum, or forests, or ‘strategical position’ is..deliberately hunted to death by a Great Power or a Group of Great Powers.

1955 Times 11 May 10/3 Moscow invariably speaks of a meeting of the Great Powers rather than the four Powers.

2008 Daily Tel. 26 May (Business section) b4/1 For 700 years Ireland was Britain's outer defence..against the great powers of continental Europe.

c. With the. Most important of its kind; pre-eminent; chief, main. Earliest in Great Day n. 1 (see also sense A. 13d).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective]

firsteOE

headOE

highOE

greatc1350

upperestc1374

chief1377

singular1377

principala1382

royalc1425

cardinal1440

pre-eminenta1460

praisea1475

main1480

maina1525

primary1565

captain1566

arch1574

mistressa1586

capital1597

topless1609

primea1616

metropolitan1635

transeminent1660

whole1675

uppermost1680

primus inter pares1688

topping1694

Sudder1787

par excellence1839

banner1840

primatial1892

c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 51 (MED) Þe grete day of wraþþe is comen, & who may stonde?

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 4 The grete Senne original..In Paradis it was mystymed.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 505 Þere was som Epistel hem by-twene, That wolde..wel contene Neigh half þis bok of which hym lyst not write. How sholde I þanne a lyne of it endyte? But to þe grete effect þan sey I þus.

1533 T. More Apologye vi. f. 45 In suche maters thys is the great questyon in dede.

1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. v. §7 This..was the great rule the Jews went by.

1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens 175 Their Doctrine..is at this day the great Theme of our Schools.

1756 J. Hanway Ess. Tea xvii, in Jrnl. Eight Days Journey 297 Gain is the great object of our pursuit.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 3 We have been able to scan a few of the secondary causes..of nature, and think we are thus prepared to form some feeble notion of the First Great Cause.

1894 J. Fiske Hist. Amer. 342 Not Congress, but the ‘squatters’ were to be the supreme authority on the great question.

1947 Pop. Mech. Oct. 264/2 The great advantage is that there is no lost motion.

2012 S. Ball Livable Communities for Aging Populations i. i. 3 Longevity was the great gift of the twentieth century.

d. Of times, days, etc.: having important results; critical. Cf. Great Day n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > making greater in importance > made greater in importance

uphovenc1175

uplifteda1300

uplift1303

greata1400

stately1586

aggrandized1790

weighted1879

high-level1909

a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 88 Þat dredful day..Whanne thou schalt come to iuge the world..a gret day and riȝt biter.

1587 J. Harmar tr. T. de Bèze Serm. xxii. 300 This great day which hath brought this spouse vnto vs comming in person and declaring vnto vs clearly and particularly, the whole counsell of God his father touching our saluation.

1672 J. Crowne Hist. Charles VIII iii. 30 In this great hour shall France or Naples fall.

1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i. 148 That minute sure was lucky. Oh 'twas great.

1779 H. Walpole Let. 5 June (1904) X. 421 There are great moments when every man is called on to exert himself.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 35 The great day of the Exclusion Bill.

1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. v. xvi. 286 It is one of the great moments in the ascensive work begun by Stephen.

1902 J. K. Bangs Emblemland 124 That'll be a great day.., when we Earth people have our air-ships and go off exploring the Universe.

1940 H. Bolitho Amer. Expects 181 It is a great hour of self-discipline, care and thought, to hold the attention of the tremendous audience, without a scraping foot or a tell-tale figure creeping out.

1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 22 Dec. c1/2 It may not have been a great moment in the history of art, but it did hit a note of human reality.

14. Of a person or (less commonly) an animal or personified thing: exceptional in ability or achievement; outstanding in the activity, field, or context specified; eminent, important. Later also in weakened sense: having considerable knowledge of a subject or skill in doing or dealing with something.

a. attributive.

(a) Modifying an agent noun or equivalent.Passing into sense A. 15b(a).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > specifically of person

wenlichc1200

greatc1300

sovereignc1330

singular1485

supreme?1611

superstar1915

c1300 St. Clement (Laud) 255 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 330 Gret clerk was þis olde Man; he desputede wel faste A-ȝein þe þreo breþren with gret reson.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 1163 A worthi clerc, a Surgien And ek a gret Phisicien, Of al that lond the wisest on.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 665 Þe grete clerk Innocent.

c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 118 In the cyte off Arge ther dwellyd a gret phylysophyr.

1539 J. Gough tr. J. Le Maire Abbreuyacyon Gen. Councellys sig. F.iii^v He was a great warriour & a good man of armes, for he droue the sarasyns out of Calabre.

1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias lxiii. f. 129^v Two horses out of Persia, the which were great runners.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iv. ii. 10 A great scholler.

1666 App. upon Capt. Everards Epist. 39 in M. Poole Nullity Romish Faith Gods Spirit is the great helper and assistant by which [etc.].

1718 Free-thinker No. 53. 1 The Great Poet and the Great Painter think alike.

1798 A. Barnard Let. 6 June in W. H. Wilkins S. Afr. Cent. Ago (1901) 156 A young lady, like a great general, is nothing without a proper staff.

1842 Merry's Museum 4 49/1 Frogs are the best of all four-footed swimmers; they never deign to walk or run; but they are great jumpers.

1876 M. M. Dodge Theophilus & Others 126 Come with me to the chief domain of the great magician, he who fills the thousand lamps which Aladdins uncounted are now rubbing in bewildered delight.

1913 E. G. Lawrence How to master Spoken Word 299 Burke..was a great constructor of speeches.

1956 Virginia Q. Rev. 32 221 ‘He told me he was a great criminal,’ Henry said... ‘Swiped some peanuts when he was a kid, I suppose?’

2011 S. T. Bailey Gauntlet Runner xv. 181 He..turned out to be a great guard dog for the family.

(b) colloquial. Modifying a generic noun or indefinite pronoun, with for. A person who likes or supports something very much, or who practises something often; a devotee, champion, or admirer of something; now chiefly in a great one for (cf. one pron. 12a).

ΚΠ

1646 T. Edwards Gangræna: Pt. 1 66 (margin) Many Sectaries to blast my preaching and writing from doing good, have given out falsly to many, that I was a great time server, and a great man for the Bishops and their wayes.

1687 T. Grantham Presumption No Proof Pref. p. vii Dr. Hammond was a great Man for Infant-sprinkling, yet he rejects this Fable of Mr. Firmin's.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. i. 7 Sir Richard Wigmore, a great man for hunting, and for all such sports, to which King James was out of measure addicted.

1778 W. Moorhouse Faith in God 32 The pharisees were great men for praying, but their hearts were gone after other things.

1837 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. xiii. 120 Most of the women had gone to meetin (for they were great hands for pretty sarmons).

1845 H. Milton Lady Cecilia Farrencourt I. iii. 75 She's a great one for fidelity, and all that sort o' thing.

1885 M. S. Tiernan Suzette xxv. 240 Then Innis said, that in old times they rewarded slaves for saving life by giving them their freedom—Innis is a great girl for freedom.

1918 Metropolitan July 12/1 The English are great ones for football.

1957 J. Kirkup Only Child ix. 127 Isa was a great one for the proprieties.

2011 J. Dailey Bannon Brothers vii. 114 My dad was a great one for documenting everything.

b. predicatively.

(a) With preposition, as in, as, with, etc., introducing a subject, skill, activity, or place of activity, means of activity, etc. Also (colloquial) with at.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > at something spec.

goodeOE

great1552

singular1606

hot1845

a whale on1893

smoking1934

tasty1974

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > intellectual command, mastery > [adjective]

well-learedeOE

well-learned1425

ripe1458

well-informeda1500

well-studied1530

travailed1551

great1552

learned1556

well-read1574

long on1875

1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Kiij I harde ones a Doctor of Diuinitie, whiche was not so great in knowlege as he was in title.

1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f.115^r Melchior Guillandin Beruce, a man great in science and doctrine.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xiii. 290 Teucer..is great in fights of stand.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 3 Great on the Bench, Great in the Saddle.

1708 B. Farrow Pract. Expos. Catech. Church Eng. v. 33 He is great in Counsel, and mighty in Working.

1742 London Mag. June 289/1 He was great in the Field and in Council.

1761 J. Mills tr. J. B. L. Crevier Hist. Rom. Emperors X. Index Julius Severus..he was not less great as a magistrate, than as a commander.

1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 344 The very air of the south of France is almost a specific for it [consumption], to say nothing of the faculty there, who are peculiarly great in this malady.

1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 113 At the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great.

1848 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. (rev. ed.) vii. viii. 417 Your weighty men, though slow to devise, being always great at ‘negativing’.

1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 30 Great in council and great in war.

1894 Forum (U.S.) May 304 Pindar..said no one was great who was not great with his hands and feet.

1946 Rotarian Mar. 30/3 Great as a journalist, too.

1966 C. Keil Urban Blues Introd. 26 As far as he and his women are concerned, he spends his money freely, dresses well, and is great in bed.

1986 B. Dennen in B. Young et al. Wanna Play?! 27 She's great at games She always wins I'd like to kick her in the shins.

2012 in J. MacNutt Angels are Real vi. 121 A family there owns a big dog that has always been great with children.

(b) spec. Outstanding as a performer in a play, opera, etc., as a character in a play, etc., on a musical instrument, at a dramatic genre, etc.

ΚΠ

1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle IV. ciii. 112 In Pierre he is great, in Othello excellent, but in Zanga beyond all imitation.

1774 ‘J. Collier’ Musical Trav. 9 He is great on the violoncello.

1824 Edinb. Dramat. Rev. 4 Feb. 127 Mr. Calcraft is truly great in the part of Edgar.

1854 Dwight's Jrnl. Music 23 Dec. 92/2 Johanna Wagner was great as Eglantine.

1872 Dublin Univ. Mag. Oct. 381/1 Striking his forehead with his clenched hand, and throwing himself into a tragic attitude (he was great at tragedy, was Mr. Trump).

1908 Manch. Guardian 13 Nov. 14 Dr. Richter is not great in Berlioz as he is in Bach and Beethoven.

1948 Classical Jrnl. 43 389/2 The artist great in tragedy must subvert himself or turn himself inside out in order to execute great comedy.

1959 H. Traubel & R. G. Hubler St. Louis Woman vi. 60 I appeared with great artists such as..Hans Kindler, great on the cello.

2012 T. Clark Hollyweird 35 ‘You were great as Don,’ I said, not wanting him to diminish his debut role.

(c) colloquial. With on. Knowledgeable about or experienced in, conversant with; interesting or informative on the subject of. Also: (in weakened sense) very interested in or occupied with.

ΚΠ

1826 Mirror 9 Sept. 148/1 My companion broke out as follows: (he was great on bores)—‘The excellence of the gun I now hold, my dear sir, is such, [etc.].’

1857 J. G. Holland Bay Path 232 in R. H. Thornton Amer. Gloss. (1912) I'm great on cutting hair. I don't suppose there's anybody in the settlement can shingle like me.

1878 R. Jefferies Gamekeeper at Home i. 12 He is very ‘great’ on dogs.

1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xxvii. 323 They are also great on fur caps, and one may sometimes meet a man wearing a cap worth as much as all the rest of his clothes put together.

1919 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 341/1 I don't care much for nouns, but I'm great on verbs—active verbs in the present tense.

1964 Life 17 Apr. 45/1 (advt) If you're great on fun…get a kick out of music, ball games, or just a news broadcast, there's a Philco radio tailored for you.

2009 P. Theroux Dead Hand (2010) xvii. 245 Ever read Nirad Chaudhuri?.. He's great on Calcutta.

15.

a. Modifying an agent noun or equivalent: in the habit of performing the specified action often or intensively; (esp. with reference to ownership of property, employment of others, etc.) that is what is specified on a large scale.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree

greatc1300

no smalla1450

spacious1600

immense1631

far gone1829

strong1897

c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 677 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 319 He schal beo..Of nesche her and no-þing crips, gret slepare and slovȝ þar-to.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xvi. 312 He is a greet spender of his lordes good.

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 341 An housholdere, and that a greet was hee.

a1500 Merchant & Son 7 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 133 He was a grete tenement man and ryche of londe and lede.

a1500 Disciplina Clericalis in Western Reserve Univ. Bull. (1919) 22 43 We have but litel brede and our felaw is a grete eter.

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) f. 164^v Epimenides..was .x. yere a great worshypper of the goddis, yet he was banysshed frome Athenes for the loue of women.

1575 tr. L. Daneau Dialogue Witches iv. sig. F.v Satan of his owne nature is a great lyer, yea the father of lyes.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. iii. 83 I am a great eater of beefe.

1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 323 To marry so great an inheritrix.

1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 21 I inten to practise riding to keep you company who is so grat a hors woman.

1706 A. Pope Let. 10 Apr. in Corr. (1956) I. 16 The great dealers in Wit.

1771 A. Young Sylvæ in Farmer's Lett. (ed. 3) I. 453 (note) If he gets by a larger tenure, it must arise from some overplus in the terms of the bargain. Here the great owner is overreached, or in other words, the Landlord.

1807 W. Thackeray Rep. in 5th Rep. Select Comm. Affairs E. India Company (1812) 988 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 377) VII. 1 If great landlords are better than small, on account of the capital, government must be the best of all.

1870 W. Arnot in A. Fleming Life (1877) x. 442 They are great introducers, hand shakers, questioners.

1894 Season 10 No. 9. 36/2 For great dancers plain satin shoes are the most economical.

1922 G. S. Hall Senescence iii. 123 He is a great dreamer and forgets where he puts things.

1956 N. Algren Walk on Wild Side i. 4 They had seen how the great landowner, the moment he got a few black hands in, put up his feet on his fine white porch and let the world go hang.

2010 Argus (Irel.) (Nexis) 10 Aug. He cycled daily even into his eighties, and was a great walker.

b. That is an extreme or outstanding example of what is specified; especially remarkable. In later use also (colloquial) used simply as an intensifier.

(a) Modifying the designation of a person.Cf. sense A. 14.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree > entitled to designation in high degree

fullOE

muchc1275

greata1398

very1712

veritable1862

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. i. 1097 Somme beþ grete glotouns [L. magne auiditatis].

?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 81 Men ben grete foolis þat bien þes bulles of pardon so dere.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cxl. [cxxxvi.] 391 A Scotte (who be great theves) had stollen hym awaye.

1622 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 306 Sir Anthony Magnie, a great papist.

1646 T. Edwards Gangræna: Pt. 1 66 (margin) Many Sectaries..have given out falsly to many, that I was a great time server.

1688 W. Sherlock Vindic. Preservative against Popery ii. ii. 70 The Pope is a great Cheat for selling Pardons for ten and twenty thousand Years, if no man be in danger of lying one thousand Years in Purgatory.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 202 One Mrs. Steward, reckoned a very great beauty.

1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World iii. 80 When we came into the channel, our Pilot seem'd to be as great a stranger to it as myself.

1768 A. Portal Indiscreet Lover ii. 34 What do you laugh at, you great Oaf?

1799 Witch, & Maid of Honour II. 42 She is a stirring girl, and is a great help indeed.

1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales II. xxx. 258 A great scoundrel.

1849 J. P. Townsend Rambles & Observ. New S. Wales 168 Oh, you great fool! we came out here because we could not help it; but you..were lagged with your own consent!

1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb ix. 69 The dominie's nae gryte deykn at the common coontin' 'imsel'.

1919 Everybody's Mag. Jan. 51/3 She ran away with her tenor, the great love of her life, Nicolini.

1959 Kenya Nat. Assembly Official Rec. 24 Nov. 4/2 He has been a great servant to this country.

2012 Independent 10 Mar. 49/4 He..was a great fan..of both Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.

(b) Modifying the designation of a thing, quality, etc.Not always clearly distinguishable from senses A. 9a, A. 10a(c).

ΚΠ

1440 R. Repps in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 22 Our lordes..haue take the seide cite of Arflet, the qwych is a gret juell to all En[g]lond and in especiall to our cuntre.

1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace ii. xxv. f. 103 In the olde tyme it was a great abhomynacyon,..yf clarkes, namely, preestes, or bysshops, had taken harnes or weaponed them selues.

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 102 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) A Borsolder over them, should be not onely a great indignitie, but also a danger.

1612 J. Day Davids Desire 25 Variety of houses in every age hath been a great salue for this soare.

1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 93 They are persuaded 'tis a great preservative of health.

1749 London Mag. Aug. 383/1 It was a great pity, that people as bad as himself, should be allowed to swear mens lives away, for the sake of the reward.

1792 J. Émïn Life & Adventures Joseph Émïn 330 I will carry it to my wife as a great rarity.

1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 15/2 In this state it is a great dainty for those who disregard a pungent and fetid smell.

1866 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 292 Great shame—put him in pop—gentleman's son.

1898 M. Marchesi Marchesi & Music vii. 75 It was not the hostile party alone, but a whole series of mishaps which contributed to the great fiasco of my opera.

1949 M. Muggeridge Affairs of Heart iii. 47 Even the atomic bomb..may prove a great deception, only serving to radio-activate yet another attempt to re-define human rights.

1972 Country Life 28 Dec. 1783/2 The great rarities in this sale were two Dutch engraved Newcastle glasses of the mid-18th century.

1995 Garden Nov. 682/2 It is a great shame that the pot-plant trade, almost without exception, fails to provide a cultivar name on the label.

2011 S. Daitch Paper Conspiracies 202 Marie Antoinette..declined to buy the necklace, but through a great con, her name became linked to it.

16.

a. Of a person (or family): of high social or official position; of high birth or rank; having much wealth or power; occupying a position towards the top of a hierarchy. Now chiefly historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > exalted in rank

higheOE

stern of slatec1300

greatc1325

differentc1384

excellentc1400

haught1470

upper1477

elevate?1504

of sort1606

sublime1606

eminenta1616

exalted1623

elevated1665

uppish1797

ranking1847

high-up1848

high-ranking1850

superimposed1861

salt1868

top-ranking1936

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10111 (MED) Þe king..spousede..An grete erles doȝter.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 256 (MED) Senekes zayþ þet þer ne lackeþ to greate lhordes bote zoþ ziggeres.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12063 Þe gret lauerdinges.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 122 The payment off the wages and ffees off the kynges grete officers.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 135 Ich be a yoman..of the kyng..Sond from a greatt lordyng.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xxii. 59 b Which is not to be reputed as spoken of the women of bare estate or condition, but likewise of the great and notable dames.

1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 266 Let him liue about great persons and his best discourses will be lye-blowne with tales of honour.

1634 W. Habington Castara ii. 47 That Kings, to ballance true content, shall say; Would they were great as we, we blest as they.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 81 Dishes..much esteemed, and sought for by the Great Ones.

a1678 Countess of Warwick Autobiogr. (1848) 13 He was descended from a very great and honourable family.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 2. ⁋3 I avoid speaking of Things which may offend Great Persons.

1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. xiv. 334 The secrets of grit folk..are just like the wild beasts that are shut up in cages.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. x. 562 The great man, at whose frown, a few days before, the whole kingdom had trembled.

1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 181 Mr. Dickson was a great man in Sparston.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 651/2 Badly received by the great aristocratic family of the Walid-sidi-Sheikh, he re-entered Morocco.

1912 C. S. Churchill Let. 14 July in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) iv. 68 They want them to..touch their caps & drop curtsies when the great people go by.

1970 A. Aspinall Later Corr. George III V. Introd. p. xlii Ryder gently hinted that the part he was proposing to take was not the most fitting for a great aristocrat.

2000 D. Gemmell Hero in Shadows 81 Sly Red had been using her hour of daylight to practice the movements she had observed among the great ladies of the capital.

b. In official titles: highest in rank or authority, chief, head. Now chiefly historical.Cf. grand adj. 5, high adj. 9a, Compounds 1c.See also Great Master n., Great Chamberlain (of Scotland) at chamberlain n. 2a, Lord Great Chamberlain n. at lord n. and int. Compounds 2, and other titles listed at Compounds 1e.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > superior

greata1382

higha1400

seniora1513

superordinate1615

high-ranking1850

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxv. 25 He shal dwelle þere to þe tyme þat þe grete prest [L. sacerdos magnus]..deyȝe.

1456 T. Bekington Let. in G. Williams Mem. Reign Henry VI (1872) II. 163 (MED) William Merquas, Erle of Soffolch and Penbrok, grett chamberlayn of Inglond.

1526 in M. Livingstone Reg. Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum (1908) I. 522/2 To the Kingis grete custumaris of Edinburgh.

?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Dii The great chamberlayn, le chambrier.

1547 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 248 Grit admirale of Scotland.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 70 Great Marshall to Henry the sixt.

1707 London Gaz. No. 4322/2 His Grace made a Visit to the Great Pensionary.

1755 J. Spotiswood Acct. Relig. Houses Scotl. in R. Keith Large New Catal. Bishops Scotl. 267 This Order was first composed of eight Languages or Nations; whereof the Grand Prior of France is Great Commendator, the Prior of Auvergne is great Marshal, the Prior of the Isle de France is great Hospitalier,..the Prior of Arragon is Great Conservator, the Prior of Germany is Great Bailiff, the Prior of Castile is Great Chancellor, and the Prior of England is Great Turcopolier, or Colonel of the Cavalry.

1848 Secret Societies, Templars 244 The Great-priors, Great-preceptors, or Provincial Masters..of the three Provinces of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and Antioch.

1908 J. M. Bulloch Gay Gordons 49 The second [Morsztyn girl]..married Casimir Louis Bielinski, Great Marshal of the Crown of Poland.

1985 N. Schuster in Y. Y. Haddad Women, Relig., & Social Change v. 94 She was constantly being invited to court to discuss literature and trade compositions with Emperor Xiao-wu, the Great Preceptor Si-ma Dao-zi..and court scholars.

2001 B. Noak in K. A. E. Enenkel et al. Recreating Anc. Hist. 353 Van den Bosch's sharp attacks against the Great Pensionary after the latter's death in 1672..have become familiar.

c. Relating to a high social or official position; conferring high status or considerable power.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > relating to person of rank or importance

worshipfula1375

greatc1390

c1390 (?c1350) St. Euphrosyne 5 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 174/1 (MED) A wyf he tok of grete blode.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 596 Þou maist aske wiþouten blame Whi god him ȝaf so greet a name.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 133 To hym fallen alle þe grete marriages off his lande, wich he mey dispose as hym liste.

1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxiii. f. 77 Such a man is neither mete to be a nigh counsailour, nor to say the truthe in any great office.

1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) (heading) Of great Place.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 427 When any of great place dyeth.

1709 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 197 He being not of great Birth, as appears from his arms.

1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Characters 2/2 This was considered a great marriage for Golaum Doast, the Munchi being descended from a family of Cids.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xi. 24 The great office of Groom of the Stole.

1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 7 They were going to a very great house.

1911 H. Craik Life Ld. Clarendon II. xxiii. 232 Too proud to be a courtier, and too sensible of the responsibility of great lineage and high station to be a rebel.

1949 Life 7 Feb. 61 In my long political experience I had held most of the great offices of State.

2001 Tulsa (Oklahoma) World (Nexis) 18 May Oswald, a modern-day bum of a stepfather who entertains those around him with tales of his being a former plantation owner, a man of great birth.

17. With a personal name or unique designation: usually combining other senses, as pre-eminent, admirable, famous, illustrious, exceptional in ability, achievement, or personal qualities, but sometimes simply as a conventional honorific epithet.

a. Of God or a god. Cf. sense A. 17c(a).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > [adjective]

holyc825

divinec1374

greatc1380

sainta1400

divinelyc1400

deific1490

ethereala1522

deifical1563

godly1582

numinous1647

numinal1652

deiform1654

deical1662

sacred1697

theistic1854

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 867 (MED) Þe grete god þe helpe & spede & kepe þe fram þy fos!

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 765 ‘I graunt,’ quod þe grete God; ‘graunt mercy,’ þat oþer.

c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 193 Þat grete god Amon.

a1500 (a1400) Ipomedon (Chetham) (1889) l. 395 Grette god kepe the in hele.

1549 T. Cooper Lanquet's Epitome of Crons. ii. f. 19^v The great lorde shall appere in erthe as a man.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III v. viii. 8 Great God of heauen saie Amen to all.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 82 By great Mars the Captaine of vs all.

1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xii, in Poems 6 While the Creator Great His constellations set.

1710 L. Welsted Poem to Memory Mr. Philips 11 Great Jove reward you, Sirs.

1761 Library Aug. 254 May the great Allah grant thee health and serenity of mind!

1792 W. Jones et al. Diss. & Misc. Pieces Asia I. 340 Janaca, whose daughter Si'ta' was the constant, but unfortunate wife of the great Ra'ma, the hero of Va'lmic's poem.

1820 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 81/2 Is thy strength exhausted too, Great Thor?

1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxxiv. 1 Great Diana protecteth us.

1898 A. Conan Doyle Trag. Korosko vi. 156 That we should go cheerfully whither the Great Hand guides us.

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xix. 363 They should be alive and frisky, and acknowledge the great god Pan.

1965 Negro Digest Apr. 32/2 [Teilhard de] Chardin believes that man was planned by the great Creator.

2010 M. Perko & H. Shahinian Khamsin xiii. 84 He prayed to the great Allah, his most merciful.

b. attributive. Chiefly poetic. With personal names of famous figures. Cf. sense A. 17c(b).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > saint > [adjective] > great

greata1616

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 497 Also þat tyme deide Iohn de temporibus, þat..hadde i-be a squyer wiþ the grete Charles.

a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 219 (MED) Boneface, þe ferþe pope fro grete Gregorie.

1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel (vii.) f. 98 The leoparde or spotted panthere..signifieth the kingdom of great Alexander.

1594 S. Daniel Cleopatra v. ii, in Delia (new ed.) sig. N2 Brighter then the Sunne, Glittering in all its pompous ritch aray, Great Cleopatra sate.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 55 From heart of very heart, great Hector welcome.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. i. 154 To keepe our great Saint Georges Feast withall.

1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 589 The Roman Legions and great Cæsar found Our Fathers no mean Foes.

a1770 M. Akenside Pleasures Imag. in Poems (1772) iii. 188 From those brave tribes Chaonian or Molossian whom the race Of great Achilles governs.

1807 J. Belfour tr. T. de Yriarte Music iv. 110 Great Cyrus' faith and bravery set forth.

1825 S. Morrison Curraghmore 16 Great Scott and Southey, here with Bloomfield come.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women vi, in Poems (new ed.) 123 Those melodious bursts, that fill The spacious times of great Elizabeth With sounds that echo still.

1914 G. B. Shaw (title) Great Catherine: a thumbnail sketch of court life in St. Petersburgh in the 18th century.

1959 L. Lockert tr. Sertorius iii, in Moot Plays Corneille 216 I still ask if mine eyes have not deceived me When I within these walls behold great Pompey.

1996 A. Makkai tr. A. S. Horvát in In Quest of ‘Miracle Stag’ iii. 68 Great Saint John the Baptist urged workers to be thrifty.

c. the Great used postpositively.Recorded earlier with place names: see sense A. 13b(c). [This use, which is paralleled in all the modern European languages, is inherited from the similar application of classical Latin magnus, ancient Greek ὁ μέγας.]

(a) Chiefly literary. Following a name of God or a god.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [adjective] > specific epithets for persons of rank

goodOE

worshipful1398

the Greata1413

the Grand1426

honourablea1440

Right Honourable?1449

granda1460

Hon'ble?1541

Hon.1587

Right Hon.1587

Rt. Hon.1660

magnificent1717

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 1230 As wysly helpe me god þe grete. I neuere dide a þing with more peyne.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. Vrania in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. 534 O! shall we neuer hear you sing the glory Of God, the great, the good, the iust, the holy?

1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) lxxx. i Shepherd of Souls, the Great, the Good.

1806 Balance & Columbian Repository 8 Apr. 105/3 Decrees of fate, Bind all the gods, e'en Jove the Great.

1840 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights II. x. 108 By Allah the Great, the God of Moosa and Ibráheem, I have had no knowledge of that which thou mentionest.

1889 Overland Monthly July 76/2 The god of battles,—the god of our forefathers,—Thor the Great.

1951 C. Fremantle & A. Fremantle tr. O. Englebert Lives Saints 166 For having infringed our holy laws and refused to sacrifice to Diana the Great, this man is condemned to be stoned.

2008 B. F. Ndi Gods in Ivory Towers 8 But God the Great will wonders do!

(b) Following personal names of historical, mythological, or legendary figures, chiefly monarchs and popes, often serving to distinguish them from others of the same name.Cf. the Grand at grand adj. 2.

ΚΠ

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 6155 In al hast, Agamenoun þe grete..Made a trompet to schipward to blowe.

c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 56 Aristotill seide to Alexander the grete: [etc.].

1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. bij/2 Thys noble Charlemayn otherwyse called Charles the grete.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 159^v Agomynon the gret.

1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Ded. sig. aaij That mightie kyng..Alexander the great.

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 136 It pleased them to thinke me worthie of Pompey the great .

1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. i. 5 The famous Canon of the General Councel of Ephesus, which Gregory the Great reverenced as one of the four Gospels.

1696 M. Geddes Church-Hist. Ethiopia 416 St. James the Great, the Patron of Spain and Portugal.

1723 A. de la Mottraye Trav. II. iii. 127 Drinking her Health under the Title of Anne the Great.

1758 W. Dobson (title) The Prussian campaign, a poem celebrating the atchievements of Frederick the Great, in the years 1756–57.

1805 J. Sansom Lett. from Europe II. xix. 22 The absolvatory penance of grievous Sinners..was commuted with courtly indulgence, by Leo the Great.

1833 Penny Cycl. I. 294/2 Alexander III., commonly called the Great, son of Philip II. king of Macedon.

1854 R. W. Fraser Turkey xvi. 217 The young monarch..was understood to possess a considerable degree of likeness to Mohammad the Great, the conqueror of Constantinople.

1894 A. E. Waite (title) The hermetic and alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombast, of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great.

1929 G. P. Merrill Minerals from Earth & Sky ii. iv. 204 The large gem given by Gustavus III of Sweden to Catherine the Great.

1962 C. L. S. Linnell Norfolk Church Ded. 16 There are also three dedications for St. Gregory the Great.

2000 J. Mann Murder, Magic, & Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 135 These were probably friends of Alfred the Great.

d. In exclamations, expressing surprise, amazement, annoyance, admiration, etc., as Great Caesar!, Great God!, Great Jove!, etc. Formerly also in euphemistic variant † Great Sun! (for Great God!) (obsolete). See also Great Scott int.Cf. use in other exclamations not using names, as great grief! at grief n. 8a, great guns! at great gun n. 3, great heavens at heaven n. Phrases 3b, great snakes! at snake n. 1c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > exclamation of emotion [interjection]

goodness1623

agad1672

Godsokers1672

Oh dear!1694

law1763

lud1767

Dear me!1773

Lor1776

dear knows!1805

Great God!1819

Great Scott1852

Jehoshaphat1857

lors1860

Great Sun!1867

Great Caesar!1870

gracious me!1884

my (giddy, sainted, etc.) aunt!1886

snakes1891

lieber Gott1898

my gosh!1920

cor1931

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > exclamation of wonder [interjection]

ahaa1400

ocha1522

heydaya1529

ah1538

ah me!a1547

fore me!a1547

o me!a1547

gossea1556

ay me!1591

o (also oh) rare!1596

law1598

strangec1670

lack-a-day1695

stap my vitals1697

alackaday1705

prodigious1707

my word1722

(by) golly1743

gosh1757

Dear me!1805

Madre de Dios1815

Great Jove!1819

I snum1825

crikey1826

my eye1826

crackey1830

snakes1839

Great Scott1852

holy mackerel!1855

whoops1870

this beats my grandmother1883

wow1892

great balls of fire1893

oo-er1909

zowiec1913

crimes1929

yowa1943

wowee1963

Madre mia!1964

yikes1971

whee1978

chingas1984

1707 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs ii. 129 Great God! on what a slender Thread Hang everlasting Things!]

1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. ii. 11 Great God! that such a father should be mine!

1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Athens II. 567 Great Jove! a grateful spectacle—if thus May it be said unsinning.

1865 Memphis (Tennessee) Daily Argus 19 Nov. 3/2 Great Caesar!

1867 tr. Finette vii. 82 ‘By the great sun!’ he cried, ‘that is spoken like a lady.’

1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-snaps 269 Great Caesar! Who are heathen, if the makers of this bread are not?

1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. viii. 164 Great sun! I think I see it now.

1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly II. xiii. 195 Great Jehoshaphat!..can't you see when a gentleman is on the stump?

1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat vi. 81 Great Cæsar! man,..you don't mean to say you have covered over carved oak with blue wall-paper?

1920 E. M. Dell Top of World iv. viii. 504 ‘Donovan and I deceived Burke. He supplied the money and I put it back.’ ‘Great Jove!’

1953 J. Thurber Let. 7 Dec. (2002) 604 He..gripped my arm, and said, ‘Great God, Jimmy, this is my 59th birthday’!

1984 T. Southern in Evergreen Rev. 98 154/1 ‘What in great devil!’ exclaimed the Plimp, startled into annoyance by the abruptness of my outcry.

2010 Sherbrooke (Quebec) Record (Nexis) 12 Oct. 6 He constantly screamed ‘Great Caesar's Ghost’.

18.

a. Of a person: having the highest qualities of mind, character, or conduct; of the most admirable kind; in later use often implying magnanimity and integrity. Esp. in great man and (in later use) great woman.

ΚΠ

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 144^v (MED) Þer is anoþer maner of curyng rupturez shewed to me bi a grete man in grete secretenesse.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 372 Þe bischope trowed in verite Þat a grete man þe childe suld be.

1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon Treat. House Holde f. 63 He may be called a very great man in dede, the whiche doth very greatte actes, more by prudence and wisedome, than through the strength of his body.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiii. 612 He was a greate man, full of godlynes and vertue, and woonderfull to all men.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. iv. 9 + 45 Rightly to be great, Is not to stirre without great argument, But greatly to find quarrell in a straw When honour's at the stake.

1614 T. Lodge tr. Seneca Of Consol. to Marcia iii, in tr. Seneca Wks. 712 But if thou fashion thy selfe according to the example of this great woman, which is more milde and moderate, thou shalt not vaile bonnet vnder thy sorrow.

1675 W. Cave Apparatus i. p. xix, in Bp. J. Taylor & W. Cave Antiquitates Christianæ More concerning this great and good Man,..if the Reader desire to know, he may [etc.].

1686 W. Sherlock Serm. Funeral B. Calamy 28 When we speak of so great a man, it is below his Character to mention such things as would be thought considerable Attainments in meaner persons.

1719 N. F. Haym Brit. Treasury I. 99 Several Authors speak of this great Woman, and particularly Lucian.

1792 E. Burke Let. 29 Feb. in Corr. (1968) VII. 83 He is a great man, eloquent in conception and in Language.

1819 Plough Boy (Albany, N.Y.) 6 Nov. 178/2 Here also are deposited the remains of Elizabeth, the only great woman that ever governed in Great Britain.

1861 J. Pycroft Ways & Words 19 We may call all men Great who have succeeded in stamping their character on the generations among which they lived.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 75 The truly great man is not a lover of himself but of justice.

1935 Z. Gale in C. P. Gilman Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman p. xxxvii One of the great women of the two centuries, she has the supreme reward of standing, in the mind of to-day, for that for which she has striven.

1965 R. H. Van Gulik Willow Pattern xiv. 106 She..sought to escape from her sorrow by telling herself that her husband was a great and good man.

2001 J. Gough Juno & Juliet ii. li. 168 Their mother was English, well French-English, a Hampstead Huguenot, great woman altogether, anyway.

b. Of the soul, ideas, etc.: of a noble or elevated nature, lofty, magnanimous. Cf. sense A. 6.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > [adjective] > high-minded or magnanimous

athelmodc1275

freec1380

worthya1393

great-heartedc1425

noble1447

magnanimec1475

greata1500

haught1530

magnanimous1547

heartya1555

high-minded1556

noble-natured1576

generous1581

noble-minded1586

liberal-minded1592

ingenious1597

ingenuous1598

large-hearted1607

noble-tempered1654

big-hearted1711

broad-hearted1719

megalopsychic1896

big1910

a1500 Let. Alexander l. 261 in Mediaeval Stud. (1979) 41 129 (MED) But my knyghtis wern of grete soule [L. Militibus meis ingentes erant animi] whatsumever wounderful to whiche, and feelyng of victories, with their strengthis thei overcam it and put it vnderfoote.

1575 G. Fenton Golden Epist. f. 129^v Loue alwaies enabling his subiects to high actions, & raising their thoughtes to great purposes.

1596 M. Drayton Tragicall Legend Robert Duke of Normandy sig. B8^v The very height to which great thoughts aspire.

1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. ii. 75 His soule more great and noble than the whole world.

1658 E. Reynolds Comfort & Crown of Great Actions 23 Faith..undertaketh the most honorable things, eyeth great objects, pursueth great ends.

1727 J. Gay Fables I. xvii. 57 Great souls with gen'rous pity melt.

1739 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière Feasts of Versailles in Molière Wks. X. 187 Her great Heart, fond of the publick Good, Gives her a generous Contempt of Dangers.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 185. ⁋12 Nothing can be great which is not right.

1807 tr. J.-F. Marmontel Mem. (1st Amer. ed.) I. vi. 157 He has cultivated but few of those studies that elevate the soul, and fill the imagination with great objects and great ideas.

1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) iv. 77 Great is song Used to great ends.

1884 (title) Great thoughts from master minds.

1897 H. Drummond Ideal Life 107 Great living is being appreciated for its own sake.

1920 Yale Rev. 9 205 He has touched shoulders with great intentions, walked alongside historic presences.

1951 E. Corle Gila ii. x. 106 Had he been born a Hindu or a Jew he would have preached differently, but he still would have had a great soul.

1997 J. Weatherford Hist. Money ii. 44 This language proved capable of conveying great ideas far beyond the needs of simple market exchange.

19.

a. With with. Much in use or request; in considerable favour; very popular.

(a) Of people. Frequently and now chiefly in great with God.When used of personal relationships sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense A. 19b.

ΚΠ

a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 49 (MED) He was so gret wyth þe Emperour.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 68 She was grete wyth the quene and wel belouyd.

1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. cxix The saynte was greate with God when he was a lyve, as it appereth by the myracles which God shewed for him, he must therfore be greate now say they.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 426 I am in favour, or I am great, or in conceyte with a person.

1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 64 It is his desire also that they should become great or in fauour with God in heauen.

1685 E. Stillingfleet Origines Britannicæ iv. 190 This St. German was so great with Hilary, Bishop of Arles, that [etc.].

1710 B. Jenks tr. R. F. R. Bellarmino Ouranography iii. ix. 125 Be sure, none so Great, as they that are Great with God.

1812 H. Weber Tales of East II. 418 I removed thither, because I had a relation there, whom I loved very well, and who was very great with the king of Moussel's grand visier.

1903 Christian Work & Evangelist 12 Dec. 827/2 Richard Owen was a great preacher, a successful evangelist, because he was great with his God, and successful at the throne of grace.

2011 P. Standún Godfool ii. 8 Jesus..wanted us to be great with God.

(b) Of things, esp. words.

ΚΠ

1627 H. Burton Baiting Popes Bull 67 Apostolike is a great word with you, and serueth at all turnes.

a1687 Duke of Buckingham Key to Rehearsal in Misc. Wks. (1705) II. 12 A great Word with Mr. Edward Howard.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 263 You was a great many Wenches, was you not, my Dear? for that's a great Word with her.

1848 Mammoth (Hopedale, Mass.) 12 Jan. 54/1 Then give us ‘Multum in Parvo,’ said I—that being a great phrase with him.

1870 Rep. Commissioner Police Metropolis 48/2 He slept the previous night at Watford (a great place with casuals).

1919 H. M. Krammer With Seeing Eyes vii. 118 ‘I'm telling the world,’ was a great expression with the Yanks.

1976 S. Beckett That Time 12 Turning-point that was a great word with you before they dried up altogether always having turning-points.

2009 T. Denault Jacques Plante (2010) xiv. 142 The mask was a great thing with everybody when he went those eighteen straight games without a loss.

b. Of two persons: having a very close, friendly, or intimate relationship (frequently with together). Of one or more persons: very close, friendly, or intimate with another. Now chiefly Irish English.In earlier use sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense A. 19a(a).Apparently not directly connected with great friend n. at Compounds 1e.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective]

holdc893

friendOE

fellowly?c1225

couthlyc1275

friendfulc1379

amiablea1382

commonc1384

queema1400

lovely1409

acquaintablea1425

familiarc1425

great1483

friendlikea1500

towardly15..

amicable1532

friendable1569

amical1580

graceful?1593

accostable1611

amicous1676

lovable1691

clever1758

unchilled1794

tosh1821

mately1822

1483 Vulgaria abs Terencio (T. Rood & T. Hunte) sig. niij They are grete or homely to gydre.

1516 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. ix. 19 My Lord Cardynall & S^r Will^m Compton be marvelous gret.

1669 S. Pepys Diary 16 Jan. (1976) IX. 417 The Duchess of York and the Duke of York are mighty great with her.

1691 Lady Russell Let. 5 Feb. (1826) 231 The dean and he are not great; that is, I mean the dean is not his creature.

1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iii. ii Awa, awa! the deil's owre grit wi' you.

a1726 J. Vanbrugh Journey to London (1728) iii. i. 35 I love her dearly already, we are growing very great together.

1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil ii. vii. 286 As great as the Devil and Dr. Faustus.

1727 J. Swift Horace Imitated in J. Swift Misc. Last Vol. iii. 39 My lord and he are grown so great, Always together, tête à tête.

1799 T. Moore Let. 14 Nov. in Mem. (1853) I. 96 Johnson and I got very great: he is to introduce me to Colman, the manager and author.

1860 J. F. Campbell Pop. Tales West Highlands II. xix. 17 Your father and I were very great with each other.

1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness (at cited word) Oor lad an your's is varry greeat just noo.

1899 F. H. Groome Gypsy Folk Tales 268 So him being sweet upon a daughter at this big hall, her and Jack got very great together.

1910 P. W. Joyce Eng. as we speak it in Ireland xii. 268 Tom Long and Jack Gogarty are very great.

1962 S. Ennis tr. P. Sayers Old Woman's Refl. x. 69 It was a sister of Kate's was married to Owen, and that made them very great with each other.

1996 S. Moylan Lang. Kilkenny 142 Didn't he get great with this one an' marry her?

20. Of things. Very effective or productive in the context specified or for the use or result specified.

a. attributive. Modifying an agent noun or equivalent.

ΚΠ

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliii^v O glorie, glorie, thou arte none other thynge to thousandes of folke, but a great sweller of eeres.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 91^v The fruite is yellowe..: the kernelles, like the kernelles of a Peare, a great resister of poysons.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 272 It [sc. aloe] is..a great healer.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. v. 233 Peace is a great maker of Cuckolds.

1709 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 86. 233 Modesty..is..the great Guardian of Innocence.

1743 H. Fielding Journey from this World to Next i. xxi. 183 The Lenitive which..softens every other Calamity; I mean that great Reliever, Hope.

1801 H. More Let. in J. Aitken Eng. Lett. XIX Cent. (1946) 52 I have instituted..friendly benefit societies for poor women, which have proved a great relief to the sick and lying-in.

1832 T. Moore Wks. VIII. 108 (note) Eclipses and comets have been always looked to as great changers of administrations.

1879 G. J. Holyoake Hist. Co-operation in Eng. II. xviii. 299 Tradesmen..fear that the railroad (the great bringer of business) may injure them.

1924 Rotarian Aug. 74/1 They had a great treatment for the national rash.

1956 Bull. Atomic Scientists May 157/1 The threat of the A-bomb has not proved to be a great persuader in the political-psychological cold war.

2003 S. Belber Death of Frank i. 13 Love is the great mender, the great builder of bridges.

b. predicatively. With preposition, as in, as, for, etc.

ΚΠ

1791 Presbyterio-Catholicon 73 It is great in pulling down and bringing to ruin.

1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. ii. ii. 79 She..could get along very nearly as fast with the wind a-head, as when it was a-poop—and was particularly great in a calm.

1853 Anglo-Amer. Mag. May 528/2 This treatment is great for giving a fellor (goose he meant) a great liver.

1913 L. Chadwick Baseball Joe at Yale vii. 61 ‘It's made of cheese, isn't it?’ ‘And other stuff. Great for making you dream.’

1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 5- e (advt.) Our all polyester knit shirt is great for leisure suits.

2007 It's Fate Apr. 17/3 Dong Quai..is a marvellous all rounder and great as a tonic after your period at any age.

†21. Distinguished or grand in appearance; imposing. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > proper pride or self-respect > [adjective] > dignified

estatelyc1374

burlya1400

portlyc1484

stately1496

great1547

stateful1604

commandinga1616

stately1725

presidential1804

dignifieda1812

splendid1833

1547 J. Wilkinson tr. Aristotle Ethiques xix. sig. E.iij Making costly apparell and other greate apperaunce, and thynke there by to be exalted.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xi. 46 Certayne monumentes of olde walles beyng of great apparence [Fr. de grand apparence].

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 56 They wear this Cap..with a Handkerchief of fine stuff, wrought with flowers of Gold and Silk, which makes them look Great.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 222 Such Dido was; with such becoming State, Amidst the Crowd, she walks serenely great [L. se laeta ferebat].

1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxviii. 101 I shall have the Chariot to carry me home to you. Tho' this will look too great for me.

1851 Friend 11 Apr. 245/2 If parents were concerned to teach their children, and..were less concerned to deck and set them off, and provide things to make them look great in the world.

1861 C. J. Hempel tr. F. Schiller Compl. Wks. II. 588 A portrait-painter may treat his subject in a common, and likewise in a great manner.

22. colloquial (originally U.S.). As a general term of approval: excellent, admirable, very pleasing, first-rate. Cf. sense A. 13a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]

faireOE

bremea1000

goodlyOE

goodfulc1275

noblec1300

pricec1300

specialc1325

gentlec1330

fine?c1335

singulara1340

thrivena1350

thriven and throa1350

gaya1375

properc1380

before-passinga1382

daintiful1393

principala1398

gradelya1400

burlyc1400

daintyc1400

thrivingc1400

voundec1400

virtuousc1425

hathelc1440

curiousc1475

singlerc1500

beautiful1502

rare?a1534

gallant1539

eximious1547

jolly1548

egregious?c1550

jellyc1560

goodlike1562

brawc1565

of worth1576

brave?1577

surprising1580

finger-licking1584

admirablea1586

excellinga1586

ambrosial1598

sublimated1603

excellent1604

valiant1604

fabulous1609

pure1609

starryc1610

topgallant1613

lovely1614

soaringa1616

twanging1616

preclarent1623

primea1637

prestantious1638

splendid1644

sterling1647

licking1648

spankinga1666

rattling1690

tearing1693

famous1695

capital1713

yrare1737

pure and —1742

daisy1757

immense1762

elegant1764

super-extra1774

trimming1778

grand1781

gallows1789

budgeree1793

crack1793

dandy1794

first rate1799

smick-smack1802

severe1805

neat1806

swell1810

stamming1814

divine1818

great1818

slap-up1823

slapping1825

high-grade1826

supernacular1828

heavenly1831

jam-up1832

slick1833

rip-roaring1834

boss1836

lummy1838

flash1840

slap1840

tall1840

high-graded1841

awful1843

way up1843

exalting1844

hot1845

ripsnorting1846

clipping1848

stupendous1848

stunning1849

raving1850

shrewd1851

jammy1853

slashing1854

rip-staving1856

ripping1858

screaming1859

up to dick1863

nifty1865

premier cru1866

slap-bang1866

clinking1868

marvellous1868

rorty1868

terrific1871

spiffing1872

all wool and a yard wide1882

gorgeous1883

nailing1883

stellar1883

gaudy1884

fizzing1885

réussi1885

ding-dong1887

jim-dandy1888

extra-special1889

yum-yum1890

out of sight1891

outasight1893

smooth1893

corking1895

large1895

super1895

hot dog1896

to die for1898

yummy1899

deevy1900

peachy1900

hi1901

v.g.1901

v.h.c.1901

divvy1903

doozy1903

game ball1905

goodo1905

bosker1906

crackerjack1910

smashinga1911

jake1914

keen1914

posh1914

bobby-dazzling1915

juicy1916

pie on1916

jakeloo1919

snodger1919

whizz-bang1920

wicked1920

four-star1921

wow1921

Rolls-Royce1922

whizz-bang1922

wizard1922

barry1923

nummy1923

ripe1923

shrieking1926

crazy1927

righteous1930

marvy1932

cool1933

plenty1933

brahmaa1935

smoking1934

solid1935

mellow1936

groovy1937

tough1937

bottler1938

fantastic1938

readyc1938

ridge1938

super-duper1938

extraordinaire1940

rumpty1940

sharp1940

dodger1941

grouse1941

perfecto1941

pipperoo1945

real gone1946

bosting1947

supersonic1947

whizzo1948

neato1951

peachy-keen1951

ridgey-dite1953

ridgy-didge1953

top1953

whizzing1953

badass1955

wild1955

belting1956

magic1956

bitching1957

swinging1958

ridiculous1959

a treat1959

fab1961

bad-assed1962

uptight1962

diggish1963

cracker1964

marv1964

radical1964

bakgat1965

unreal1965

pearly1966

together1968

safe1970

bad1971

brilliant1971

fabby1971

schmick1972

butt-kicking1973

ripper1973

Tiffany1973

bodacious1976

rad1976

kif1978

awesome1979

death1979

killer1979

fly1980

shiok1980

stonking1980

brill1981

dope1981

to die1982

mint1982

epic1983

kicking1983

fabbo1984

mega1985

ill1986

posho1989

pukka1991

lovely jubbly1992

awesomesauce2001

nang2002

bess2006

amazeballs2009

boasty2009

daebak2009

beaut2013

1818 [implied in: A. Royall Let. 19 Feb. in Lett. from Alabama (1830) 102 There's to be the greatest doins that ever was heard on. (at greatest adj.)].

?c1834 [implied in: J. Wetherell Adventures (1953) 41 Six dozen lashes on his bare posteriors. Great. (at great int.)].

1839 F. Marryat Diary in Amer. II. 225 The word great is oddly used for fine, splendid. ‘She's the greatest gal in the whole Union’.

1857 C. E. De long Jrnl. 4 July in Calif. Hist. Soc. Q. (1930) 9 151 Had a great time.

1868 G. Wilkes in H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. Introd. p. xviii At the end of a few years [he] gave a great animal to the country in place of what had been only a good animal before.

1895 Daily News 18 Oct. 3/2 Amphora and..Attainment, the two top weights in the Orleans Nursery, ran a great race.

1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous i. 5 Say, wouldn't it be great if we ran one [sc. a boat] down?

1913 Techn. World Mag. Mar. 19 ‘That's great!’ cried one of the ‘vaudevillians’, clapping his hands appreciatively.

1949 Boys' Life May 7/1 Could you go with us? It'd be great if you could, hunh?

1968 Listener 26 Sept. 423/2 Gary's mum's bread pudding is great.

1988 InfoWorld 20 June 81/1 If you are a serial multitasker, this software is just great.

2000 J. Goodwin Danny Boy vi. 123 It was a great party. Loads of drink, plenty of drugs and lots of totally wasted girls.

IV. Expressing relative or indefinite size.

23. Relatively large; having (more or less, or a specified) size, thickness, bulk, extent, or number.

ΚΠ

1381 [implied in: Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 74 Mak þereof [sc. of pork, spices, and eggyolks] a farsure formed of þe gretnesse of a onyoun. (at greatness n. 5)].

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 5236 Hij maden fyres vertuous Fyue hundreþ, vche gret als an hous.

a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 158 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 133 (MED) Wynde it to balles as grete as apples.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 278 A ȝerde mai growe so greet, and be so stiff in his strengþe þat men shal not wriþe it.

a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 359 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 310 A stafe, A fyngur gret, two wharters long.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 131 Anaximenes the rhetorician had a panche as fatte and greate as he..was hable to lugge away with all.

1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 5 Let him take thereof in hys mouth so great as a small beane.

1572 L. Mascall Bk. Plant & Graffe Trees Exhort. sig. C.iij It shall be good to strike downe to the bottom of euery hole two short stakes as great as your arme.

1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum viii. xiii. 898 This greatest kinde..hath a root sometimes as great as ones arme.

1728 R. Bradley Dict. Botanicum Malus, vel Pomum adami... The Leaves are fair and large, almost as great as those of Citron or Lemon-Tree, pounced with Holes in the like Manner.

1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxxix. 459 We cannot therefore suppose the distances of the atoms of matter in general to be so great as the hundred millionth of an inch.

1870 T. L. Phipson tr. A. Guillemin Sun iii. 123 If all the planets known, together with their satellites, were fused together into one globe, we should find that the volume of the Sun was still 600 times as great as this agglomerated mass.

1937 Pop. Mech. Oct. 488/1 Estimated mileage of the plane is slightly more than 6,600, although the air-line distance is not that great.

1971 J. E. Meade Controlled Econ. xxiii. 358 Even if the elasticities of supply and demand for the product are not so great that the tax revenue is actually reduced, [etc.].

2007 in J. A. Smith Handbk. Managem. Accounting (ed. 4) b. vii. 118 Does the rival have any strategic value to its parent company?..What is this value and how great is it?

B. n.

†1. Thickness; great size, magnitude; loudness. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun] > great thickness

thicknessc1000

greatnessOE

greatc1175

crassitudec1420

crassity1656

c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 22 Wæron heo [sc. the rods] togadere iwæxene & hæfden ane ælne iwæxen on lenge & oðre on græte.

c1300 St. Laurence (Laud) 93 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 342 Blod orn bi is limes a-doun, boþe in lengþe and in grete.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxi. 1386 Armonica distingueþ grete and smale in sounes, and hihe and lowe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 8244 Þat was þe stauin for to strenthe, And knaw þe wax of gret and lenthe.

1629 G. Chapman tr. Juvenal Fifth Satyre in Iustification Nero 20 Before him see a huge Goose-liuer set; A Capon cramb'd, euen with that Goose for great [L. anseribus par altilis].

a. With the and singular agreement. That which is great (in various senses); great things, aspects, qualities, etc., collectively.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important

muchity1534

importance1570

something1582

significancy1656

thing1748

great1787

important1824

big stuff1883

big whoop1988

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 233 Alse schal þe schriueð him. efter þe greate schuuen vt þe smelre.

c1300 St. John Evangelist (Laud) 386 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 414 To holden up his folie smale þingues he nam, Aftur þe smale he tok þe grete and strong þef he bi-cam.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 81 Servauntes..þat conneþ nouȝt knowe and makeþ non difference bytwene þe smale and þe grete [?a1475 anon. tr. a grete thynge from a lytelle].

a1425 ( H. Daniel Liber Uricrisiarum (Wellcome 225) 55 Throgh þe seve is þe clene separat & divysed, þe small fra þe gret, þe clene fra þe foule, & þe coveabyll fra þe uncoveabyll.

1538 M. Coverdale tr. M. Luther Expos. Magnificat sig. D.v Yf they dyd prayse God in the leest, they shuld haue abundauntly the greate.

1675 S. Loveday Alarm to Slumbring Christians 264 If we cannot do the great if we do the less, it shall be rewarded.

1712 tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Longinus's Treat. on Sublime xxvii. 69 in tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Wks. II. The Great is of it self, and by its Character of Greatness, slippery and dangerous.

1787 G. Canning in Microcosm No. 30. ⁋7 Uniting the great and sublime of epic grandeur with the little and the low of common life.

a1800 W. Cowper Yardley-Oak in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1804) III. 412 Comparing still The great and little of thy lot.

1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1887) vi. 25 To exclude the great is to magnify the little.

1847 R. W. Emerson Uses Great Men in Wks. (1906) I. 274 The search after the great is the dream of youth.

1864 L. Aikin Mem. 157 The same misapprehension everywhere of the grand for the great.

1918 G. Ferrero Europe's Fateful Hour i. 41 The difference between the colossal and the great is both intellectual and moral.

1961 V. Vycinas Earth & Gods iv. 135 The decline of the great is the beginning of the small which stays small even though it may ‘progress’.

2001 A. Solomon Noonday Demon (2002) viii. 295 He [sc. Marsilio Ficino] believed that melancholy..is the manifestation of our yearning for the great and the eternal.

b. With plural agreement. Persons who are great (in various senses); esp. with reference to social status, frequently in great and small (also small and great at small n.² 4). Now usually with the.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people

greata1325

principalsa1425

the great and the good1624

constellationa1631

grand1667

Pleiad1856

prominenti1927

tycoonery1956

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2892 Hem-seluen he..holden ðe tigeles tale, And elten and eilden grete & smale.

c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 100 Heil þou..Kyng of gret and smalle.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2830 By þe grete, poer folk ben greuyd.

c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. l. 250 By gouernanmce [read gouernaunce] of grete and of good age.

a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 96 All spake of hym, bothe grete & smalle.

1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 79 To the tombe where they did heare this wonder straunge was donne, The great, the small, the riche, the poore, the yong, the olde, With hasty pace do ronne.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 180 So as the great, may have no greater hope of impunity.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 97 Quacking Mountebanks are admitted in the Bed-chambers of great & small.

1757 T. Gray Ode I iii. iii, in Odes 11 Beneath the Good how far—but far above the Great.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 208 The houses and society of the great.

a1791 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 77 He..has sae mony taking arts Wi' Great an' Sma'.

1834 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) I. ii. 19 Supported by the great and the many.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 161 The masques which were exhibited at the mansions of the great.

1886 Kappa Alpha Jrnl. Mar. 5 The ploughman with the millionaire, scholars, workmen, high and low, great and small, came at their country's call.

1916 A. Goodrich Sign of Freedom viii. 102 The stage was Matt Brierly's passion, and his attitude toward its great was one of frank worship.

1955 C. S. Lewis Surprised by Joy vi. 88 They had all the flattery, unofficial influence, favor, and privileges which the mistresses of the great have always enjoyed in adult society.

1992 J. Critchley Floating Voter (BNC) 19 An annual opportunity for the spear-carriers and party bit-players to travel to a seaside resort out of season to spend a few days in the proximity of the great.

†a. With the and of. The main point or part; the essence; the general drift or gist (of a story). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] > gist

great1340

gist1820

flower1837

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 245 Þe laste yefþe and þe meste and þe heȝeste is þe ȝefþe of wysdom... Þis is þet greate of perfeccion, þe ende of contemplacion.

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 222 Of your compleynt seith to me the grete.

c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf. 16) (1879) Prol. l. 574 That thou reherce of al hir lyfe the grete.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 315 The grete of this mater longeth vn-to hym.

b. A large part or amount (of). Cf. sense A. 10a(b).Some later examples may show errors for a great deal of.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount

felec825

muchc1230

good wone1297

plentyc1300

bushelc1374

sight1390

mickle-whata1393

forcea1400

manynessa1400

multitudea1400

packc1400

a good dealc1430

greata1450

sackful1484

power1489

horseloadc1500

mile1508

lump1523

a deal?1532

peckc1535

heapa1547

mass1566

mass1569

gallon1575

armful1579

cart-load1587

mickle1599

bushelful1600–12

a load1609

wreck1612

parisha1616

herd1618

fair share1650

heapa1661

muchness1674

reams1681

hantle1693

mort1694

doll?1719

lift1755

acre1759

beaucoup1760

ton1770

boxload1795

boatload1807

lot1811

dollop1819

swag1819

faggald1824

screed1826

Niagara1828

wad1828

lashings1829

butt1831

slew1839

ocean1840

any amount (of)1848

rake1851

slather1857

horde1860

torrent1864

sheaf1865

oodlesa1867

dead load1869

scad1869

stack1870

jorum1872

a heap sight1874

firlot1883

oodlings1886

chunka1889

whips1888

God's quantity1895

streetful1901

bag1917

fid1920

fleetful1923

mob1927

bucketload1930

pisspot1944

shitload1954

megaton1957

mob-o-ton1975

gazillion1978

buttload1988

shit ton1991

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1932) III. l. 27622 (MED) For he hym Markede with swich a myht, that a gret of his flesch he smot down ryht.

1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Diall Princes f. 107/2 Haue no respecte to y^e litel which we do offer; but to y^e great, which (if we were able) we would giue.

1636 D. Lupton Emblems of Rarities 186 They conquered a great of Europe, and did occupy many Citties in Asia.

1724 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1900) XXXVI. 337 Mackey's sloop sunk at Boston, & spoild a great of our English goods.

1800 Brit. Critic Dec. 676 My strong chest, in which I kept not only my own, but a great of money belonging to others.

1847 J. R. M’Culloch & D. Haskel M’Culloch’s Universal Gazetteer I. 42/2 There remains still farther to the southward a great of unknown territory.

1900 Rep. Comm. War Office Contracts 412/2 There has been a great of discussion about this.

1982 Kenya Nat. Assembly Official Rec. 7 Apr. 843/2 There is a great of violence in this country.

2011 G. Dickie Little Brackens Island xi. 242 That little construction project took a great of imagination and time.

4. A large thing. Chiefly in the proverb (now U.S. regional and rare) many (a) small makes a great and variants (cf. many a little makes a mickle at mickle pron. 4).

ΚΠ

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2366 (MED) Many smale makeþ a grete.

1557 W. Barker tr. St. Basil of Caesarea Exhort. to Younge Kynsemen sig. C.vii Many a litle maketh a gret, as a mighty flod, of a smale fountayne.

1592 W. Wyrley Lord Chandos in True Vse Armorie 82 No earthly great, but wasted is with time.

1626 W. Vaughan Golden Fleece iii. x. 64 As the..Prouerbe implieth, many a small makes a great, and mountaines were made of small motes or atomes.

1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 9/1 in Lex. Tetraglotton (1660) Many small make a great.

1782 J. Elphinston in tr. Martial Epigrams Comm. 512/1 Democritus..had nothing left for his Great Cause, but Earth: which, by deep investigation, he found to consist, as of smalls all greats, of infinitely little, next to indivisible particles called (in Greek) Atoms.

1853 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 19 Feb. 126/2 Most of us have formed in our minds a standard of a great and a small in mere surface dimensions.

1870 J. J. Sylvester Laws of Verse 114 The doctrine of limits and of infinitely greats and smalls.

1953 C. I. Keelan in Streamlining Office Equipm. & Services Amer. Managem. Assoc. Office Managem. Ser. No. 135. ii. 27 I have often been asked if it is worth while to make such small savings. Remember that many a small makes a great.

1992 W. Mieder et al. Dict. Amer. Prov. (1996) at Small Many small makes a great. Rec. dist.: Ky., Tenn.

5. A great, eminent, or distinguished person; (in later use frequently) an eminent or leading figure in a specified field (frequently in plural in the greats of). Also: a person styled ‘the Great’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun]

kingeOE

master-spiritc1175

douzepersc1330

sire1362

worthya1375

lantern1382

sira1400

greatc1400

noblec1400

persona1425

lightc1425

magnate?a1439

worthyman1439

personagec1460

giant1535

honourablec1540

triedc1540

magnifico1573

ornament1573

signor1583

hero1592

grandee1604

prominent1608

name1611

magnificent1612

choice spirita1616

illustricity1637

luminary1692

lion1715

swell1786

notable1796

top-sawyer1826

star1829

celebrity1831

notability1832

notoriety1841

mighty1853

tycoon1861

reputation1870

public figure1871

star turn1885

headliner1896

front-pager1899

legend1899

celeb1907

big name1909

big-timer1917

Hall of Famer1948

megastar1969

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2490 (MED) When wyst þe grete Þat gode G[awayn] watz commen, gayn hit hym þoȝt.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 177^v While this gode was in gederyng the grettes among.

1610 G. Marcelline Triumphs King James 64 Hee is The Great of Greats, the Chiefest and the most Great of all.

1635 G. Hakewill Apol. (rev. ed.) iv. xi. 538 So have wee had three Greats, not in name only but in deed, such as were Constantine the great..and Charles the great.

a1649 W. Drummond Poems (1656) 167 Till thou the greatest be amongst the Greats.

1770 Bibliotheca Hagana Historico-philologico-theologica III. 216 Duties of the Greats [published title Great], by D. Dodd. D. D. 1769.

1829 S. Morgan Bk. Boudoir II. 179 The greats are fond of presents.

1858 H. C. Fish & D. W. Poor Select Disc. A. Monod, Krummacher, Tholuck, & J. Müller 16 Bossuet, Fénélon, Flechiere, or Bourdaloue—the so-called ‘greats’ of the Roman Catholic Church in France.

1912 E. Pound in Poetry Oct. 7 You also, our first great, Had tried all ways.

1947 R. de Toledano Frontiers of Jazz xvi. 176 The passing of another one-time great.

1963 J. Walsh Shroud (1964) viii. 73 Statues and paintings of the greats of French science and literature.

1996 A. Ghosh Calcutta Chromosome (1997) xi. 68 Manson's one of the all-time greats; he's lived in China so long he can skin a python with chopsticks; he's the guy who wrote the book on filaria, the bug that causes elephantiasis.

2012 M. T. Burton Devil's Odds xvi. 160 Men like the Medicis and their sort... Who wrote poetry and painted and patronized such greats as Petrarch and Botticelli.

†6. Scottish. A groat. Cf. sense A. 10d. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > coin of 4d > groat

groat1362

great1473

chekasyde1543

flag1567

gunhole groata1577

Harry groat1641

1473–4 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 48 Gevin to Androu Mowbra for xxx gret of money of Flandris,..lxvj li. xiij s. iiij d.

1480–1 in J. Fullarton Rec. Burgh Prestwick (1834) 29 Wrangwisly he helde ane Inglis grete of xvj^d fra him.

1506 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 55 Ane hundreth gret..payit to the said schireff,..cclxvj li. xiij s. iv d.

1508 Rentale Dunkeldense (Adv. 34.1.1) f. 45^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Grete Twa burdis of beltis of welwois, the price sex schillingis aucht greit.

1541 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 517 Ane herald to be sent to the king of France for doun-getting of the gryte.

1593 Edinb. Test. XXV. f. 190, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Grit Thrie pund of flachtit caddes at v s. vj grit.

1625 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 198 Ane..impost of all guides imported..fra the..Law Cuntreyis,..ane pak towes, thrie grit,..ane poik vneoun seid, thrie gritt.

7. Music. = great organ n. at Compounds 1e.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > partial organ > specific

choir organ1606

chair-organ1636

swelling organ1712

swell1822

pedal organ1829

great1833

solo organ1843

récit1851

1833 W. Taylor Ann. St. Mary Overy 124 Couplet movements unite the Swell and Great.

1909 F. F. Harker Stainer's Organ 27 The occasional use of the Great without the Swell coupler..will be found to produce a very pure and ‘fresh’ effect.

1997 B. Owen Registration Baroque Organ Music iv. xviii. 195 The standard organ layout was a small-to-moderately sized three manual, with full compass Great and Choir, short compass Swell, and usually no Pedal.

2009 Cathedral Music May 34/1 Each note on the Great and on the Swell has two pallets, one for reeds and one for flutes, resulting in action which is quite firm.

8. colloquial. An ancestor one degree further removed upwards from that previously stated or understood from the context. Often with repetition of great.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > [noun] > distant relative

Scotch cousin1776

great1841

1835 E. M.Potts Moonshine III. App. 302 (note) So rapidly do generations accumulate, that I must hereby authorise the reader to put as many great-greats [to the word ‘grandmother’] as he pleases.]

1841 H. Miller Old Red Sandstone iii. 39 A grandfather removed..to a remote degree of consanguinity, by the intervention of a few hundred thousand great-greats.

1881 M. H. Mathews Dr. Gilbert's Daughters xii. 171 I knew your grandfathers and grandmothers down to the great-great-great-greats!

1905 Mrs. H. Ward Marriage of William Ashe i. ii. 33 ‘We—you and I—are a little bit cousins too, aren't we?’.. ‘Was our “great-great” the same person?’ he said, laughing.

1907 A. Quiller-Couch Major Vigoureux xxii Your grandfathers and grandmothers, and right back into the greats and great-greats.

2008 C. Congdon et al. Open Road Anthol. in A.-A. Hansel & J. F. Dubiner Humana Festival 2007 322 My great-great-greats lived in Georgia since the time of their great-great-greats.

9. British colloquial (originally and chiefly Oxford University). In plural. Originally: the final examination for the degree of B.A. (cf. earlier great go n. 2). At Oxford now: spec. the final examination for honours in classics, philosophy, and ancient history (‘literae humaniores’). Also: the subjects or courses leading up to such an examination. Cf. small n.² 11. Science Greats: (formerly, at Oxford) a B.A. in science; (outside Oxford) a B.A. (actual or proposed) combining science and arts subjects. Cf. modern Greats n. at modern adj. and n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations

fellowship examination1787

collections1799

responsions1810

response1813

little go1816

great go1820

Previous Examination1824

school1826

smalls1836

senate-house examination1837

tripos1842

honours examination1851

biennial1853

great1854

moderations1857

Mods1858

professional1890

Trip1909

previous1950

society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations > at specific university

May examination1848

May1852

great1854

honour moderations1877

honour mods1877

additional1882

Divvers1905

1854 ‘C. Bede’ Further Adventures Mr. Verdant Green (ed. 2) xi. 95 The little gentleman was going in for his Degree, alias Great-go, alias Greats.

1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. x. 163 In our second term we..begin to feel ourselves at home, while both ‘smalls’ and ‘greats’ are sufficiently distant to be altogether ignored.

1875 Ulula (Manch. Gram. School) June 264 J. D. Wilde, of B. N. C, is in the Schools for Classical Greats; L. Fletcher, of Balliol, and R. R. Corkling, of Magdalen, for Mathematical Greats; J. Richmond, of Merton, for Science Greats.

1884 G. Allen Strange Stories 175 Since I have begun reading philosophy for my Greats.

1921 M. Diver Far to Seek iii. x. 228 Was this the same Dyán who had ridden and argued and read ‘Greats’ with him only four years ago?

1948 Observer Profiles 157 Winchester, a Balliol scholarship, Classical Greats,..a Balliol Fellowship in Ancient History.

1956 New Scientist 22 Nov. 13/2 For what future would these pupils be preparing? For specialised work at the universities..; certainly for a ‘Science Greats’ if such a course were introduced.

1980 J. M. Ziman Teaching & Learning about Sci. & Society vii. 117 The concept of a ‘Science Greats’, a genuinely transdisciplinary general education, is strong as an ideal in the educational philosophy of the STS [sc. Science, Technology, and Society] movement.

2010 Cathedral Music May 29/2 After Christ Church, Oxford, where he read Greats..he furthered his musical studies at the Royal College of Music.

C. adv.

†1. To a great extent, in a great degree; extensively, exceedingly; highly; much, very; = greatly adv. 1.

a. Modifying verbs. Obsolete.With quot. a1325 cf. sense C. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb]

stronglyeOE

felec950

strongeOE

highlyOE

highOE

greatlya1200

stourlya1225

greata1325

dreec1330

deeplya1400

mightya1400

dreichlyc1400

mighty?a1425

sorec1440

mainlyc1450

greatumly1456

madc1487

profoundly1489

stronglya1492

muchwhata1513

shrewlya1529

heapa1547

vengeance?1548

sorely1562

smartlyc1580

mightly1582

mightily1587

violently1601

intensively1604

almightily1612

violent1629

seriously1643

intensely1646

importunately1660

shrewdly1664

gey1686

sadly1738

plenty1775

vitally1787

substantively1795

badly1813

far1814

heavily1819

serious1825

measurably1834

dearly1843

bally1939

majorly1955

sizzlingly1956

majorly1978

fecking1983

a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 2468 (MED) As þe apostles stode..In þe temple..hit gan to þondri grete.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7233 (MED) Þare es nan sa gret mai greif Als traitur dern and priue theif.

c1450 (?a1370) Wynnere & Wastoure (1990) l. 224 Thoo þat spedfully will spare and spend not to grete, Lyve appon littill-whattes I lufe hym the bettir.

c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 501 In beldinge of tombes þei trauaileþ grete To chargen her chirche-flore.

1609 S. Rowlands Dr. Merrie-man 6 Horses that labour great, Are cast in ditches for the Dogges to eate.

b. Modifying adjectives and adverbs. Obsolete (English regional in later use).Cf. adjectival use at sense A. 3b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very

tooc888

swith971

wellOE

fullOE

rightc1175

muchc1225

wellac1275

gainlya1375

endlyc1440

hard?1440

very1448

odda1500

great1535

jolly1549

fellc1600

veryvery1649

gooda1655

vastly1664

strange1667

bloody1676

ever so1686

heartily1727

real1771

precious1775

quarely1805

murry1818

très1819

freely1820

powerfula1822

gurt1824

almighty1830

heap1832

all-fired1833

gradely1850

real1856

bonny1857

heavens1858

veddy1859

canny1867

some1867

oh-so1881

storming1883

spanking1886

socking1896

hefty1898

velly1898

fair dinkum1904

plurry1907

Pygmalion1914

dinkum1915

beaucoup1918

dirty1920

molto1923

snorting1924

honking1929

hellishing1931

thumpingly1948

way1965

mega1966

mondo1968

seriously1970

totally1972

mucho1978

stonking1990

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Susanna 4 Now Ioachim..was a greate rich man.

1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 6 Thys yere was a grete dere yere.

1580 E. Spenser in E. Spenser & G. Harvey Three Proper & Wittie Lett. 5 I doubt not but you haue some great important matter in hande, which al this while restraineth youre Penne.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 379 Say that he thriue, as 'tis great like he will [etc.] .

1711 Fingall MSS in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 138 Athlone..being the great-important pass into the province of Connaught.

c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) Great, very; as ‘great much’, very much.

1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 75 Great likly, very likely. ‘Ay, ay, great likly, great likly’.

1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Great-likely,..very likely, almost certainly.

†2. In or into large particles or pieces; coarsely, roughly. Also: vulgarly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > lack of refinement > [adverb] > coarsely

swinelyeOE

greata1425

swinishly1542

coarsely1678

coarse1680

crudely1881

swinely1881

crassly1883

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [adverb] > unmannerly > roughly or with lack of refinement

homelyc1390

rudelyc1405

greata1425

swinishly1542

clubbishly1548

carterly1556

homelily1556

brutishly1580

loutishly1580

boorishly1605

brutely1605

inurbanely1610

mechanically1613

porterly1659

coarsely1678

coarse1680

brutally1824

vulgarly1831

crudely1881

cubbishly1883

yobbishly1984

a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 75 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 115 Perboile erbis & hewe hem grete, & cast hem in a pot.

?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 435 Take onyons and mynce hom grete.

?a1475 Noble Bk. Cookry in Middle Eng. Dict. at Gret Tak the swet brothe of a capon..put ther to saige cut gret.

a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 1789 ‘Fole,’ he sayd, ‘þou bourdist grete’.

†3. Loudly; = greatly adv. 2. Obsolete.Cf. quot. a1325 at sense C. 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adverb]

loud971

bremeOE

strongly1340

sternly?a1400

lustilyc1400

great1534

vociferously1637

stentorophonically1693

thunderously1842

full blast1936

1534 T. Elyot Castell of Helthe ii. xxxv. f. 52 Nothynge dothe profite vnto helthe of the body, but to inforce hym selfe to synge greatte, for therby moche ayre drawen in by fetchyng of breath, thrustyth forth the breast and stomacke.

?1562 W. Ward tr. R. Roussat Most Excellent Bk. Doctour & Astrologien Arcandam sig. R.iiij^v The antiuocates, that is to saye, they that speake great at the fyrst and smale at the laste, and haue a sharpe voyce are full of wrath.

1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 204 He speaketh of the Lord as of a magnificent and maiestical prince, speaking great, like the sound of thunder.

†4. In a manner befitting or characteristic of a great person; nobly. Cf. greatly adv. 3. Obsolete.Frequently with verbs that can take an adjective complement (esp. live: see live v.¹ 4), in contexts where a conjoined adverbial suggests interpretation as an adverb.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adverb]

micklelyeOE

worthlyeOE

noblelyc1300

lordlya1398

greatlya1400

kinglyc1425

princely1548

lordlikea1555

princelike1567

majestically1577

kinglike1582

elevatedly1593

great1616

grandly1647

augustly1649

magnificently1660

grand1729

lordfully1836

queenly1840

exaltedly1852

regally1852

nobilmente1899

1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes cxvii, in Wks. I. 807 To liue great, was better, then great borne.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 279 To pay their Respects to their Governor in Chief, who receives them very great.

1699 M. Lister Journey to Paris (new ed.) 105 He lives great, and has a House which joins upon the King's Library.

1728 J. Swift Let. 16 July (1741) 113 I never knew him live so great and expensively.

1759 T. Stephens Castle-builders Ded. p. xi Some had rather live Great, than die so.

1800 Baretti's Dict. Spanish & Eng, & Eng. & Spanish (new ed.) Triunfar,..to live great or extravagantly.

1874 Mich. Freemason Jan. 332 He lived great and died great—and he is buried great.

†5. Arrogantly, presumptuously, proudly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > [adverb]

sideOE

highOE

proudlyOE

proudc1384

moodilyc1400

highlya1425

orgulousa1470

strutlyc1480

orgulouslya1500

loftily1548

stoutlya1554

state1579

garishly1593

pridefullya1600

aloft1613

great1625

pridinglya1677

Olympically1839

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) xxviii. 152 When he had carried the Consulship for a Friend of his, against the pursuit of Sylla and that Sylla did a little resent thereat, and began to speak great, Pompey turned vpon him againe.

1699 T. Cockman tr. Cicero Offices i. xxxix. 130 'Tis a very unbecoming thing for a Man to Talk great of himself in Discourse.

1704 B. Mandeville Typhon 28 Don't mince the matter, rattle 'em off; And to be sure talk great enough: Tell 'em they're Mortals, and what odds There must be between them and Gods.

1733 E. Budgell Bee IV. 33 The Officers of the Confederate Army continue to speak very great.

6. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). In a highly satisfactory or successful manner; excellently, very well. Frequently with do, go.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adverb]

fairlyOE

goodlyc1275

finec1330

properlyc1390

daintily?a1400

thrivinglya1400

goodlily?1457

excellent1483

excellently1527

excellently1529

curiously1548

jollilyc1563

admirably1570

beautifully1570

singularly1576

bravelyc1600

famouslya1616

manlya1616

primely1622

prime1648

eximiously1650

topping1683

egregiously1693

purely1695

trimmingly1719

toppinglya1739

surprisingly1749

capitally1750

brawly1796

jellily18..

stammingly1814

divinely1822

stunningly1823

rippingly1828

jam up1835

out of sight1835

first-rately1843

first rate1844

like a charm1845

stunning1851

marvellously1859

magnificently1868

first class1871

splendidly1883

sterlingly1883

tip-top1888

like one o'clock1901

deevily1905

goodo1907

dandy1908

bonzer1914

great1916

juicily1916

corkingly1917

champion1925

unbeatably1928

snodger1946

beaut1953

smashingly1956

groovily1970

awesome1984

1916 Everybody's Mag. Dec. 704/2 When they come home, the queen thought they done great.

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §261/6 Successfully, big, great, swimmingly, with kites flying.

1976 Business Week 22 Nov. 64/2 Everything else we have is going great.

1991 M. Dorris & L. Erdrich Crown of Columbus v. 92 You're doing great, almost in transition.

2011 J. McCullough On Other Hand 86 They behaved great this morning.

D. int. colloquial (originally U.S.).

Expressing approval or satisfaction.

ΚΠ

?c1834 J. Wetherell Adventures (1953) i. 41 Six dozen lashes on his bare posteriors. Great.

1899 W. J. Kountz Billy Baxter's Lett. 41 Wasn't it immense where the main lady spurned the leering villain's gold and exclaimed, with flashing eye, ‘Rags are royal raiment, when worn for virtue's sake!’ Great!

1967 Listener 12 Oct. 465 Great! I see a great headline.

1969 D. Francis Enquiry v. 66 ‘We're going down to the yard.’ ‘Great,’ said Roberta... ‘I'll come too.’

2004 Metro (Toronto) 2 Nov. 17/1 If you're fortunate enough to have a stationary bicycle, treadmill or elliptical machine at home, great!

Phrases

P1. Phrases showing the adjective.

a. For the many uses in prepositional phrases, as at (a) great expense, by the great horn spoon, in great measure, of great reputation, on a great suddenty, to a great nicety, upon a very great sudden, with great advice, etc., see generally the first noun. For many other phrases see the most prominent or least variable element, whether verb (as to carry a great stroke, to exercise the great horse, to go a great way towards, to join the great majority, to make a great account, to run a great horse, etc.) or noun (as to go a great length, to be in great mind, to make great play of, to keep in great suspense, to lie in great wait, etc.). For uses with no great (as to have no great opinion of, no great shakes, no great thanks, etc.), and with anticipatory it (as it was great beauty, it is great marvel, it stands to great reason, etc.), see the noun. See also as great as inkle-weavers n. at inkle n. Compounds 2, etc.

b. In various proverbial uses.

(a) great boast and small roast: see roast n. Phrases 3.

(b) great cry and little wool: see cry n. Phrases 1.

(c) great oaks from little acorns grow: see acorn n. 2c.

(d) a great rooser was never a good rider: see rooser n.

(e) time is a great healer: see time n., int., and conj. Phrases 6b.

(f) great minds think alike: see mind n.¹ 21c.

(g) it's a great life if you don't weaken: see life n. Phrases 9f.

P2. The noun in prepositional phrases.

a. See a great adv.

†b. in great. [Compare French en gros in a large quantity, in gross (c1200 in Old French), German im Grossen (c1800), Dutch in 't groot on the whole, mostly (late 17th cent.).]

(a) In total; in all. Also all in great. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > in all or altogether

by numbera1375

in numbera1375

in allc1380

first and lastc1390

all wholea1393

in companya1393

in sum1399

full and whole1402

in great1421

whole and somec1425

in (the) whole1432

one with another1436

in (the) hale1437

all in great1533

up and down1562

one and other1569

in (the) aggregate1644

all told1814

1421 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1710) X. 162 (MED) The said Ambassiatours shall..profre hym that Some in grete.

1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. Pref. sig. Bbv In that parte also the man bryngeth in two placys all in great, which he hathe pyked out..amonge all my bokes.

(b) = by the great at Phrases 2c, in various senses. Also occasionally in the great, (Scottish) in greats. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in large quantities

by (also at, in) wholesale1417

in great1447

by greatc1475

by the whole1592

by the yard1845

in block1870

in bulk1908

like peas1959

1447–8 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) ii. 92 (MED) Theire custumes..iiij d. of every pipe..that is there y-boghte to be solde ayen yn grete or retaill.

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 32 Thinketh not..that it sufficeth to biholde and thinke the sinnes in gret.

1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 126 For binding and dressing of thre smalle bookes..price in grete vj s. viij d.

c1530 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. v–vii. 52 b The publycans bought in greate y^e emperours tribute.

1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 833/2 The labourers would in no wise labour by the daie, but all by taske & in great.

1598 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 168 That na inhabitant..gadder the same [victuall] in gryt, and keip the same to ane darth.

1631 in Burgh Laws Dundee (1872) 5 July For selling of salt in greats.

1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) i. 155 Before I come to the particulars of what I saw in Florence, I will consider it in great, and then come to the Detail of it.

1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. II. xv. 186 Every thing is bought in the great, and paid for at once.

1790 J. Bentham Wks. (1838–43) X. 233 Accustomed to view things in the great, this virtue, if it be one, costs me no less, perhaps, than most people.

1792 E. Burke Let. Nov. in Corr. (1968) VII. 301 For want of ever dealing in the Great, they do not know, that, tho' Multitudes may be deluded, they never can be bribed.

1842 A. Vavasour My Last Tour vi. 50 Taking the subject in the great, it is for the general good that the English should travel and sojourn, a little while, on the Continent.

(c) On a large or larger scale, esp. in comparison with something with the same proportions but smaller. Also occasionally in the great. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > large [phrase] > on a large scale

in folio1590

in large?1601

in great1635

1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 7 I shall endeavour to limme her soule in little (since in great neither my time, nor ability will let me).

1652 H. Cogan tr. M. de Scudery Ibrahim ii. iii. 49 Having demanded of this pretended Painter, whether he could work in great, as well as in little.

1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode Ep. Ded. sig. Biii Being that in Little, which your Lordship is in Great.

1699 R. Burthogge Of Soul of World in Coll. Scarce & Valuable Tracts (1748) II. 234 The World itself is, after a Sort, an Animal in great.

1769 J. Watt in Q. Rev. (1858) 104 433 The necessary experience in great was wanting.

1795 J. Bentham Wks. (1838–43) X. 307 The Duke..gave him orders for making some [baggage-wagons] in the great [from a small model].

(d) In large letters. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase]

in greata1642

a1642 J. Suckling Poems 11 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) Not a man in the place But had discontent writ in great [1648 at large] in his face.

c. by the great, (earlier) †by great (obsolete).

†(a) As a whole, all together. Also: in large quantities or numbers. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase]

more and lessa1400

by greatc1475

of greatc1503

more and min1578

as a whole1643

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in large quantities

by (also at, in) wholesale1417

in great1447

by greatc1475

by the whole1592

by the yard1845

in block1870

in bulk1908

like peas1959

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > in/into one place, company, or mass [phrase]

in oneOE

on heapa1000

at oncea1300

to heapa1300

in (or a) gatheringc1540

into one1577

by great1579–80

c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 33 (MED) Ȝette aȝte he thritte powunde bi grete.

1579–80 T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (1676) 925 Not..to carry away their dead bodies by great altogether, but every city one after another.

1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme iv. sig. H Doe they not thriue best, when they vtter moste, and make it away by the great?

a1627 J. Fletcher & T. Middleton Nice Valour i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ttt3^v/1 Bastinadoes by the great.

1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. ii. i. 14 Death did at length so many slain forget; And lost the tale, and took 'em by the great.

a1754 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. (1755) IV. 237 They are apt to swallow every thing by the great which they see in print.

†(b) spec. Of buying and selling: in bulk, wholesale. Cf. by gross adv. at gross n.⁴ 1, in gross at gross n.⁴ 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb]

heap-mealc897

by greata1513

in gross1538

by wholesale1592

full tide1709

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxiiii/1 All thyng that was solde by retayle the seller shuld pay y^e Exaccion, & that whyche was solde by great, the byer shulde paye the sayde exaccyon.

1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. F4 ^v A Merchant..that sells commodities of good cheere by the great.

1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Staple, any Towne..appointed for Merchants..to carrie their..commodities vnto, for the better sale of them to other Merchants by the great.

a1634 J. Day Parl. Bees (Lansd. 725) f. 34 Yo^w..bought wax and Hony vp byth Great.

1634 H. Peacham Gentlemans Exercise (new ed.) i. x. 38 A friend of mine was notably cozened in a bargaine of timber hee bought by the great, in a mistie morning.

1707 G. Miège Present State Great Brit. I. ix. 137 The Fishmongers of the Town buy it up by the great, and afterwards sell it by retail.

1728 tr. R. Aubert de Vertot D'Aubeuf Hist. Knights of Malta I. vii. 400 He sold by retail what he had bought by the great, and employed the produce of it in keeping his mistresses.

(c) spec. Of work: at a fixed price for completion of the whole task or for each piece. Now historical and rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > payment > [phrase] > specific payment per job

by the great1523

at the great1699

bob a job1944

1523 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/4) Paied to a carpenter by grete for mendyng of Myster Collettis house.

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 54^v To let out thy haruest, by great or by day, let this by experience, leade thee awaye. By great will deceiue thee, with lingring it out: by day will dispatch, & put all out of dout.

1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (1588) iv. iv. 471 If any Artificer or Labourer..taking any worke by the great.

1635 Sir E. Verney in F. P. Verney et al. Mem. Verney Family Civil War (1892) I. 128 If you fiend him fidle about his woarke, agree with him by the great.

1659 T. Willsford Architectonice 3 When bricks are deare, and lime is cheap, the workman by the Great will use more morter.

?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 55 Many workmen had rather agree by the Great, and find all materials, than for workman-ship only.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 505. ¶7 I..interpret by the Great for any Gentlewoman who is turned of Sixty, after the rate of half a Crown per Week.

1744 R. North & M. North Life Sir D. North & Rev. J. North 242 To..keep Hirelings in Garrets, at hard Meat, to write and correct by the Great.

1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret i. 3 I have contracted to physic the parish-poor by the great.

1814 Encycl. Londinensis XII. 7/1 Labourers taking work by the great, and leaving the same unfinished..are to suffer one month's imprisonment.

1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 ii. 404 [In Lincolnshire] In harvest..the cutting is done ‘by the grate’...Hay-mowing, corn-cutting, &c., are commonly executed by the ‘grate’.

1862 Mrs. Grote Coll. Papers 158 [Buckinghamshire] Piece-work or ‘by the grate’.

1893 N. Ponce de León Technol. Dict. II. 738/2 Trabajar, to do task work, to job, to work by the great.

2000 R. G. Wilson & A. L. Mackley Creating Paradise v. 148 It was Lord Cardigan's practice to employ few regular full-time men, instead contracting for nearly all work ‘by the great’, a fixed price being agreed with individuals or groups of men.

†d. of great: in its entirety. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase]

more and lessa1400

by greatc1475

of greatc1503

more and min1578

as a whole1643

c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xxv/2 A duelling hous is hired of gret and aftir leten..to sondry folk..the hirer in gret..shall offir to god..for the rent of all.

†e. at the great: at a fixed price for completion of the whole task or for each piece; = Phrases 2c(c). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > payment > [phrase] > specific payment per job

by the great1523

at the great1699

bob a job1944

the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > all collectively en masse

in generala1393

in gross1508

by the lump1522

in universal1532

at large1598

in the lump1624

in (the) massa1631

at the great1699

by or in (the) slump1795

en masse1802

in a slump1827

en bloc1861

in block1870

in (the) aggregate1973

1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) To take Work at the great, or a great, Entreprendre un Ouvrage.

P3.

the great and the good n. (also the great and good, the good and the great, the good and great) [after ancient Greek καλοί τε κἀγαθοί] now usu. ironic (with plural agreement) distinguished and worthy people generally or collectively.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people

greata1325

principalsa1425

the great and the good1624

constellationa1631

grand1667

Pleiad1856

prominenti1927

tycoonery1956

1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον ix. 456 Pallas, and potent Iuno, he despis'd, Leauing the good, and great, to chuse the faire.

1667 J. Caryll Eng. Princess ii. vi. 22 Let all in Heaven and Earth, who sacred be, The great, and good, be Witnesses for me.

1683 A. Littleton tr. Plutarch Life Pericles in J. Dryden et al. tr. Plutarch Lives I. 541 Fellows..who..with their reproaches and evil speeches sacrifice the reputations of their Superiours, the Great and the Good, to the envy and spite of the Rabble.

1696 T. Sprat Disc. Ld. Bp. of Rochester to Clergy 33 Has it not been always found, by Experience, that a flattering Tongue is so far from increasing the Virtues of the Good, and the Great, that it rather serves to deprave the real Worth they might have before?

1715 A. Pope Let. 16 Jan. in Corr. (1956) I. 274 I think nothing more honourable, than to be involved in the same fate with all the great and the good that ever lived; that is, to be envy'd and censur'd by bad writers.

1724 L. Welsted Epist., Odes &c. 56 When to the Shades the Great and Good are born, The Shades rejoice, the while the Living mourn.

1746 M. Clancy Hermon Prince of Choræa v. i. 88 The good, and great Are Heav'n's peculiar Care.

1790 A. Christie Let. 20 May in R. Price Corr. (1994) III. 295 You..had mett with more solid and universal applause, from the Good and the Great, than falls to the lot of most, even the best of Men.

1821 Brit. Critic Aug. 122 The work which they effected far exceeded in virtue the sober and solemn act of the good and great.

1854 G. Bancroft Hist. Amer. Revol. III. xxvii. 552 Franklin when he died, had nations for his mourners, and the great and the good throughout the world as his eulogists.

1906 Christian Reg. (Boston) 17 May 543/2 The great and good who have spent their opening manhood at Oxford.

1938 A. E. Bostwick in E. G. Lockhart My Vocation 218 When one has not only his own ideas to purvey but those of the good and great of all ages.

1964 S. Brittan Treasury under Tories ii. 58 The book of the ‘Great and the Good’..is the list of worthy, public-spirited citizens from whom members of Royal Commissions and other government Committees are chosen.

1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 40 The kind of ex-public schoolboy who..did some drug-impaired carpenting or gardening for the good and the great.

2011 Independent 24 May 32/2 But no measure of woe will ever prevent the great and the good of the small-cap sector having a good old knees-up.

b. U.S. colloquial. no great: not a great deal, not or nothing much; also used adverbially. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1761 J. Rowe Let. 4 May (1903) 393 I Really Loose no Great by their being taken.

1777 J. M. Hadden Jrnl. & Orderly Bks. (1884) 17 July 486 Our men being in confusion, and made no great of a Battle.

1810 E. Fisher Memoirs 44 It matters no great with me which way things go while I remain.

1854 ‘O. Optic’ In Doors & Out (1876) 186 I've got consider'ble, but I don't care no great about sellin' it.

1885 A. Gray Lett. (1893) 772 No great to see, except a spick and span new Hotel.

1890 Harper's Mag. Apr. 715/1 I wa'n't no great of a boy, an' let little things wear on me.

1890 Harper's Mag. Dec. 146/2 I hadn't been round no great in New York, an' there ain't no general store there.

1904 National Mag. July 409/1 She don't care no great about the sufferings o' humans.

1912 A. T. Slosson Local Colorist 129 I never was no great of a walker.

1920 C. B. Hawes Mutineers vii. xxix. 245 We ain't got no great to give.

Compounds

C1. Compounds of the adjective.

†(a) In adverbial relation to present or past participial adjectives or to verbal nouns, as great-born, great-doing, etc. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xii. 5 Syngeth to the Lord, for gret doendely he dide.

?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. vii. l. 1522 But ȝoure glorie..how myche conteinþe it in largesse and in greet doynge [L. magnificum]?

c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 24 (MED) Tak a halpenyworth of grete groun mustarde.

a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 1155 He was grete born[e].

1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 66 There is nothing more allied to faction then for a great-begotten to prevaile in governement before his time.

1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 39 Some great-borne Frenchman.

1711 Fingall MSS in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 137 His great-triumphing army.

1832 J. Hogg in Fraser's Mag. Nov. 454/1 Flora is a great-born lady, and doubtless the daughter of a king.

1851 T. A. Buckley tr. Homer Iliad ii. 28 Great-counselling Jove.

1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice III. App. 207 Prince Arthur..is more especially the magnificence, or literally, ‘great doing’ of the kingdom of England.

(b) In complementary relationship to past participial adjectives.

great-grown adj. now literary rare

ΚΠ

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) iv. 30 Na our grete growin men, na men our fat.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vii. 117 He helde a shorte grete growen spere, sharp grounden.

1596 M. Drayton Mortimeriados sig. P3^v The tree which serueth for a shade, Whose great growne body doth repulse the wind.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) iv. x. 31 Away..And take the great-growne Traytor vnawares.

1751 J. Cleland Mem. Coxcomb iii. 327 Men are only great grown children.

1836 T. Wyse Educ. Reform ii. 434 The child strikes at what is nearest, and revenges on chairs and tables blows he has inflicted on himself. So is it with the great grown child, uncivilised man.

1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. II. v. 13 Shall wend, with them, now great-grown, Sigamer; Who newly, of Heremod, received manly arms.

1933 J. G. Underhill tr. L. F. de V. Carpio King, Greatest Alcalde ii, in B. H. Clark World Drama 108/2 For love is born of a great-grown desire.

† great-made adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 148 All great made Dogs for the Wolfe and such like beastes.

1608 J. Day Law-trickes sig. D^v You are a priuate bit, Kept for some great made Diues.

a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) v. 13 Oft have I seen encreasing riches grow To be their great-made Owners overthrow.

(c) In complementary relationship to present participles, as great-looking, great-tasting, etc.

ΚΠ

1857 R. B. Hayes Diary 7 May (1922) I. 514 Mr. Everett is an erect, well-formed, middle-sized man..handsome, but not great-looking.

1860 G. W. Thornbury Turkish Life & Char. 47 Constantinople,..that great-sounding, many-memoried word.

1928 G. H. Ruth Babe Ruth's Own Bk. Baseball vii. 103 I've seen some great looking kids come up to the big leagues.

1989 Bon Appétit Sept. 101/1 Finally, great-tasting smoked sausage that's 90% fat free.

2005 Ebony Sept. 64 Try a great-smelling deep-conditioner that instantly detangles, smoothes and moisturizes your hair.

b. Forming parasynthetic adjectives and derived nouns.

(a)

great-armed adj.

ΚΠ

1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 36 Hir pendant feathers, shorte, and great armed, large wide foote, with slender stretchers and talons.

1799 R. Southey Poems II. 95 I wish It were a great-arm'd chair!

1874 Proc. Celebration Centenary R. Tannahill p. xiii, in R. Tannahill Poems & Songs Both sides of the avenue are sheltered by great-armed trees.

1921 R. H. Gabriel Evol. Long Island xvi. 176 The beautiful hills of Shelter Island, topped with a great-armed windmill.

2009 K. Whitfield In Great Waters xix. 200 Out in the bay, the deepsmen seemed vast, long-bodied like horses and great-armed like blacksmiths.

great-boned adj.

ΚΠ

c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 139 Gret bonyd.

1556 T. Hill tr. B. Cocles Brief Epitomye Phisiognomie xxxii. sig. E.ii^v The armes croked, in respecte of the stature, or greate boned, declare those persons to be vnthankeful, shameles, couetouse.

1597 J. Carpenter Preparatiue to Contentation ii. 12 Isachar, though a great boned Asse, shall couch downe betweene two burthens.

a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 51 A man..not great-boned nor large-sized.

1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. I. ii. 114 Such an animal will grow fat in the same pasture that would starve an ill made, great boned one.

1853 J. Kendall Rambles Evangelist xi. 66 I dismounted, leading my tall great-boned mare.

1919 G. W. Ogden Land of Last Chance v. 67 His wrists were strong, great boned, and painfully red.

2000 Houston (Texas) Chron. (Nexis) 26 Nov. (Texas Mag.) 4 Grizzled farmers raising great-boned arms to heaven in despair.

great-breasted adj.

ΚΠ

1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Pectorosus, Great breasted.

1675 D. Manly Hexham's Copious Eng. & Netherdutch Dict. (new ed.) Groot van Borsten, Great Breasted.

1880 A. G. Shiell Year in India iii. 65 A large-limbed, great-breasted woman, with full lips and heavy eyelids.

1926 Winnipeg Free Press 6 Aug. Great-breasted things with sweeping pinions set To rhythm; curves of slow, majestic flight.

2010 W. T. Vollmann Kissing Mask (2011) xxii. 276 A great-breasted, great-buttocked prehistoric fertility goddess.

great-buttocked adj.

ΚΠ

1574 J. Baret Aluearie B 1496 Great buttocked, lumbosus.

1677 E. Coles Dict. Eng.-Lat. Great-buttock'd.

1974 M. Shechner Joyce in Nighttown iv. 187 Budgen's work..included a quickly sketched, great-buttocked nude.

2010 W. T. Vollmann Kissing Mask (2011) xxii. 276 A great-breasted, great-buttocked prehistoric fertility goddess.

great-eared adj.

ΚΠ

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 8^v Auriculatus, gretered.

1678 J. P. tr. J. Johnstone Descr. Nature Four-footed Beasts ii. xv. 87/2 Lesse he is then the rest mouse-headed, great eared [L. magnis auriculis].

1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 45 The Great-Eared Owl..is not much inferior in size to an Eagle.

1848 C. W. Webber Adventures Camanche Country vi. 48 We saw the great-eared rabbit, one of the swiftest animals.

1934 Sci. Monthly July 30/2 This long-legged, great-eared animal suggests a gigantic, stilt-legged, short-tailed edition of the red fox.

2010 A. Fabian Skull Collectors ii. 64 Townsend gobbled up what he found on that trip, discovering a shrew mole,..a great-eared bat, [etc.].

great-grained adj.

ΚΠ

1608 Closet for Ladies & Gentlewomen 19 Take two pound of Barbarie Suger, great grained, clarified with the whites of two egges, and boyle it.

1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. ii. i. 88 Hart, and red Deere..a strong great grained meat.

1798 R. Jameson Outl. Mineral. Shetland Islands 91 It is generally found in fissures, which traverse the great grained granite, in all directions.

1858 R. T. S. Lowell New Priest in Conception Bay I. vii. 59 [They] had looked some time before they could make out any thing like letters on the great grained and wrinkled, and riven surface.

2003 N. Ogata in A. Gómez-Pompa et al. Lowland Maya Area xxiii. 418 Crop plant export occurred from western Ecuador to Peru and Middle America (sweet manioc,..early great-grained corn).

great-headed adj.

ΚΠ

a1475 ( S. Scrope tr. Dicts & Sayings Philosophers (Bodl. 943) (1999) 48 (MED) Ipocras was litille of bodie, corbe, & grete heded.

a1500 Robin Hood & Monk in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. 97 Beside hym stod a gret-hedid munke.

1530 in D. Laing Reg. Domus de Soltre (1861) 156 xxv^c greit hiddit nalis.

c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 84 Grey grete-hedede quenes.

1743 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds I. 8 The Great King-Fisher..is great-headed, short-necked.

1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 160 Pochard... Also called..Great-headed wigeon.

1928 Burlington Mag. Jan. 50/2 In the inter-sections of the arches are great-headed crocodiles and flying Garudas.

2009 R. A. T. George Veg. Seed Production (ed. 3) xiv. 259 Great-headed garlic..is propagated from cloves which are less pungent than garlic.

great-leaved adj.

ΚΠ

1590 J. Hammon tr. B. Aneau Αλεκτορ i. iii. 18 Wee rode cheerefullie one morning vnder the shaddow of the great leaued trees.

1676 M. Cook Manner of raising Forrest-trees i. 2 If you bud the great-leaved Elm upon the small-leaved whilest it is young and full of sap, it will have larger leaves.

1768 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. (ed. 8) I. at Mildew This dew has been observed in the great leaved Cherries.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 200 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The great-leaved magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) is a superb tree of tropical appearance.

1933 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 20 535 The distinctive form and color of its leaves at once distinguish it from the other great-leaved species.

2001 R. Heller Crucifixion Barbecue iv. 79 Its legacy continues to this day, flourishing amidst the great-leaved tobacco, yellowing in the fierce, white sun.

great-lipped adj.

ΚΠ

1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Becudo Great-lipped.

1615 J. Loiseau de Tourval tr. H. de Feynes Exact Surv. E. Indies 21 I entred into that [Kingdome] of Malebar, where they are exceeding black, but yet not curled, flat nosde, or great lipt, as the Negroes be.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. xvi. 279 All are found to be small of stature, curle-pated,..great-lip't, white-toothed, black-eyed.

1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (new ed.) II. 147 The Great-lipped Mullet.

1892 A. W. Rollins From Palm to Glacier 127 Sometimes a great snowy mass..glides slowly past..; sometimes one arches over like a great-lipped shell.

1995 T. Hughes in Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 26 Feb. (Review Suppl.) 32 A colossal snake, looped and coiled across the map, with a huge great-lipped mouth resting on the edge of the sea.

great-minded adj.

ΚΠ

a1586 [see great-mindedness n.].

1594 G. Gifford Treat. True Fortitude sig. C2^v The godly great minded man, ouerthroweth the enemies of God.

1681 Brief Acct. Designs Papists against Earl of Shaftsbury 3 This conduced nothing to make this free Generous and great minded Person to crouch and stoop to the exorbitant pleasure of those he judged Enemies.

1754 Hist. Ministerial Conduct Chief Governors Ireland 85 These truly great-minded men could look into the breasts of the people, and see the glow of affection that burns towards them.

1808 Anticipation in Politics, Commerce & Finance, during Present Crisis 19 Mar. 24/1 We hope that this subject will be viewed in that great-minded way that such an object deserves.

1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda IV. viii. lxii. 233 Always poor..but..great-minded.

1927 A. E. Hull Music ii. ix. 171 This great-minded musician [sc. Liszt], too versatile for many minds to grasp, has never been accorded the honour due to him.

2011 Queensland Country Life (Nexis) 24 Nov. 83 I really think a lot of this mare, she is great-minded and really balanced, she rates cattle so well and is happy to just sit on their hip.

great-mindedness n.

ΚΠ

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. xvi. sig. K6^v For in her euery thing was goodly, and stately; yet so, that it might seeme that great-mindednes was but the auncient-bearer to humblenes.

1830 Westm. Rev. Apr. 311 Záboj is represented as..in the midst of all..exercising wonderful great-mindedness towards the fallen.

a1832 J. Bentham Deontology (1834) II. i. 62 Magnanimity is a word which, for popular use, might be conveniently translated into great-mindedness.

1929 C. F. Thwing Educ. & Relig. ii. 43 Carlyle, a John the Baptist, proclaiming his own coming indeed, a combination of great-mindedness and of shattered nerves.

2001 J. S. Luke & D. W. Hart in T. L. Cooper Handbk. Admin. Ethics (ed. 2) xxv. 530 It includes such characteristics as magnanimity, or great-mindedness, as well as honesty and acting consistently with high standards.

great-named adj. now literary [In later use translating ancient Greek μεγαλώνυμος.]

ΚΠ

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) ii. l. 881 (MED) Looke that ye lese not youre grete named loos.

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 87 In his tyme was not Flaundres so rich ne so grete-named as it is now.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiii How many great named and many great in worthynesse losed.

1867 L.-H. Rudd tr. Aristophanes Clouds in Eight Comedies 145 And thee, great-named [Gk. μεγαλώνυμον], who feedest all.

2005 J. E. Thomas tr. Sophocles Antigone 18 Since great-named [Gk. μεγαλώνυμος] Victory came,..let us enjoy oblivion of the recent wars.

great-nosed adj.

ΚΠ

1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. R.iij^v/1 Great nosed, naso.

1634 W. Saltonstall Clavis ad Portam sig. C8 Great nosed.

1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie ii. 158 He is great-nosed.

1753 J. Stirling tr. Horace Satires i. ii. 196/2 in Horace's Wks. II. i She is low hipped, great nosed, with a..splay foot.

1832 Polish Chiefs II. ii. 21 The officer wrote a pass for them, describing Bill as a long-bearded ourang-outang, and his man, as a great-nosed Scotchman, cut shorter.

1902 F. S. Peer Cross Country with Horse & Hound xxix. 330 Several hounds rush to her side, Trumpeter among others; but even that great-nosed hound cannot hit it off.

2009 Telegram & Gaz. (Mass.) (Nexis) 29 Sept. c3 His big, wooded backyard had an expert team of long-eared, great-nosed, tough dogs that lived to hunt.

great-paunched adj.

ΚΠ

1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. bvii There were fryres two or thre In fayth as grett panched as he With bellies more then a barell.

1794 J. Ebers Vollständiges Wörterbuch der Englischen Sprache II. 325/2 Great paunched, dickbäuchig.

1922 N. Springer Blood Ship ii. 16 A tall, great paunched man, who bulked gigantic as he perched on a high stool at the end of the bar.

† great-reasoned adj. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes 14 b/2 Grete reasoned men and phylosophers haue dowted therof.

great-sized adj.

ΚΠ

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 141 A great siz'd monster of ingratitudes.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. xi. 26 Thou great siz'd coward.

1696 Tryal & Condemnation Sir W. Parkyns 24 They were no great sized Horses.

1796 J. Donaldson Mod. Agric. III. xxi. 206 Great sized, large boned, coarse looking animals, were prevalent in all the better pastures.

1832 Edinb. Encycl. (Amer. ed.) XVI. 534/2 Even great-sized feet..are highly praised.

1919 Dixie Beekeeper (Waycross, Georgia) Sept. 4/1 Sometimes a great sized swarm is dumped into any empty hive.

2012 Hervey Bay (Queensland) Observer (Nexis) 20 Jan. 38 Some great-sized whiting off the sand banks and flats.

great-souled adj.

ΚΠ

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads i. 4 Why should the great-soul'd Greekes Supply thy lost prise, out of theirs?

1725 R. Wolcott Poet. Medit. 65 Making his Sword at each enforced blow Send great Soul'd Heroes to the shades below.

1848 T. A. Buckley tr. Homer Iliad 248 The great-souled son of Oïleus.

1930 O. A. Sherrard Life J. Wilkes iv. 41 The hectic bravado of youth produces a feeling of great-souled defiance at twenty-six.

2007 P. Parsons City Sharp-nosed Fish xi. 187 Were you born under Aries? Expect to be brilliant,..great-souled, unstable, [etc.].

great-spirited adj.

ΚΠ

1616 T. Gainsford Rich Cabinet f. 164 There hath beene as valiant, wise, godly, magnaninous, pollitick, iudicious, great spirited, and learned women as men.

1731 Remarks Trag. Eurydice 13 He is a just, merciful, great-spirited Monarch.

1808 T. M. Harris Disc. delivered at Plymouth 10 The settlement which had been formed..in the vicinity of the Pequots, roused the indignation of that great-spirited and warlike nation.

1886 Cent. Mag. Nov. 22/2 This great-spirited child, battling year after year against his evil star.

1958 P. A. W. Wallace 30,000 Miles with J. Heckewelder Introd. 26 An impulse was released that was to give this small but great-spirited church a beneficent influence throughout the world.

2011 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 19 Dec. a9 Please, Santa Feans, find out about one of the many great-spirited teachers who educate our children.

great-witted adj. now literary rare

ΚΠ

c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 118 (MED) Tweyn scolerrys off maystyr Ypocras, the qwyche were gret wyttyd men.

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 138 A grete-wittid man sayd þus, [etc.].

?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Aiij^v A great wytted man may sone be enrychyd That laboryth and studyeth for ryches only.

1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) iii. iv. i. i. 689 Great witted Aristotles workes are as much authenticall to them as Scriptures.

1998 P. Fallon News of World 128 I could have followed, scat to scat, or fitted my footprints to their bruting of the beaten path, signs of great-witted hoof and contradicting dew claw.

2006 W. Swanscombe Fresh Flesh 4 Mina and I..thought she meant to run for freedom; and that is what a lesser-hearted and lesser-witted woman might have done... Artemisia, great-hearted and great-witted, did nothing of the kind.

(b)

great-bellied adj. having a large belly (in various senses); pregnant; also figurative and in figurative contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective]

greatc1175

with childc1175

with childc1300

baggeda1400

bounda1400

pregnant?a1425

quicka1450

greaterc1480

heavyc1480

teeming1530

great-bellied1533

big1535

boundenc1540

impregnate1540

great-wombeda1550

young with child1566

gravid1598

pregnate1598

pagled1599

enceinte1602

child-great1605

conceived1637

big-bellieda1646

brooding1667

in the (also a) family way1688

in the (also that) way1741

undelivered1799

ensient1818

enwombeda1822

in a delicate condition1827

gestant1851

in pod1890

up the (also a) pole1918

in a particular condition1922

preg?1927

in the spud line1937

up the spout1937

preggy1938

up the stick1941

preggers1942

in pig1945

primigravid1949

preggo1951

in a certain condition1958

gestating1961

up the creek1961

in the (pudding) cluba1966

gravidated-

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [adjective] > eventful

eventfula1616

great-bellied1647

crowded1791

venturous1813

eventive1843

chanceful1849

fateful1886

incidented1898

1533 T. Paynell tr. U. von Hutten De Morbo Gallico xvii. f. 41^v A certayne great belyed & fatte abbot.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 116^v The Mares..to haue large bodyes,..greate bellyed, with large and square brest and buttockes.

1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 552 Plato..requireth that great bellied women should giue themselues to walking.

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Matt. vi. 34) Thou knowest not what this great-bellied day may bring forth.

1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. II. vii. 130 Fractures of pregnant or great-bellied Women, are more difficultly united and consolidated than others.

1755 World 27 Mar. 83 The beautiful vases, busts and statues..are flung into the garret as lumber, to make room for great-bellied Chinese pagods, red dragons, [etc.].

1812 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Fox Answer Apol. against J. Osorius in L. Richmond Fathers Eng. Church VIII. 628 What monster do these great-bellied hills calve Out at the length?

1872 S. Powers Afoot & Alone xix. 255 Great-bellied, tranquil cows, waddling home from the hillsides.

1912 G. Moore Hail & Farewell! Salve xvii. 312 You remember Northcote—a great-bellied, big, ugly fellow, whom we used to call the Gorilla.

1972 U. K. Le Guin Farthest Shore 158 A magicians' workroom cluttered with retorts and alembics and great-bellied, crook-necked bottles.

2006 Guardian (Nexis) 28 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) 101 The Goddess of Willendorf is a great-bellied giver of life and a great-breasted source of sustenance.

great-eyed adj. having large or prominent eyes; figurative far-seeing, taking a broad view.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > by size, shape, etc. > having

goggle-eyedc1384

well-eyed1483

pink-eyed1519

hollow-eyeda1529

small-eyed1555

great-eyed1558

bird-eyed1564

out-eyed1570

large-eyed1575

full-eyed1581

bright-eyed1590

wall-eyed1590

beetle-eyed1594

fire-eyed?1594

young-eyed1600

open-eyed1601

soft-eyed1606

narrow-eyed1607

broad-eyed?1611

saucer-eyed1612

ox-eyed1621

pig-eyed1655

glare-eyed1683

pit-eyed1696

dove-eyed1717

laughing-eyed1784

almond1786

wide-eyed1789

moon-eyed1790

big-eyed1792

gooseberry-eyed1796

red-eyed1800

unsealed1800

screw-eyed1810

starry-eyed1818

pinkie-eyed1824

pop-eyed1830

bead-eyed1835

fishy-eyed1836

almond-eyed1849

boopic1854

sharp-set1865

bug-eyed1872

beady-eyed1873

bias-eyed1877

blank-eyed1881

gape-eyed1889

glass-eyed1889

stone-eyed1890

pie-eyed1900

slitty-eyed1908

steely-eyed1964

megalopic1985

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > absence of prejudice > [adjective]

unpossesseda1586

affectionless1595

respectless1598

unprejudicating1602

spacious1609

unprejudicate1609

unprejudicated1609

undifferencing?1624

unprepossessed1629

imprejudicate1640

unprejudiced1641

unprejudicial1641

unpreoccupated1641

unsuperstitious1652

moderate1654

unforestalled1657

unengaged1659

equipondious1661

uncaptivated1678

unbiased1686

unbigoted1711

Whiggish1715

open-minded1748

progressive1780

liberal1781

prejudiceless1830

broad1832

great-eyed1850

synoptic1852

undogmatic1857

undogmatical1863

superstitionless1879

race-blind1900

personless1932

verlig1968

1558 F. Withers tr. J. ab Indagine Briefe Introd. Art Chiromancy ii. sig. I.ii^v Them that be borne apt or diligent, great eyed, and greate lips.

?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xiv. 193 The great-eyd Iuno smild.

1709 A. Hill Full Acct. Ottoman Empire xiv. 110 So vast a Value do the Turks Profess for Great Ey'd Ladies.

1850 R. W. Emerson Plato in Representative Men ii. 81 The great-eyed Plato proportioned the lights and shades after the genius of our life.

1904 R. Shackleton Great Adventurer xxvii. 332 A great-eyed gargoyle jutted from a house of faded shabbiness.

2011 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 11 May go9 The Eagles' great-eyed, open-beaked heads weren't sitting on their shoulders, where heads are supposed to be.

† great-kinned adj. Obsolete rare of great or noble birth.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of birth

well-bornOE

ethelbornOE

athelOE

high-bornc1275

noblec1300

great-kinned?c1450

nobly-born1586

ingenious1638

ingenuous1638

gently-born1871

thegn-born1874

hochgeboren1930

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7502 A grete kynd [L. natu nobilis] man and a wyse.

1557 in H. Fishwick Pleadings & Depositions Duchy Court Lancaster (1899) III. (modernized text) 233 Plaintiff is a very poor man..and unable to defend the said suit against defendant who is rich and great kinned.

great-mouthed adj. (a) having a large mouth; (b) loud-voiced, vocal; †(c) boastful, bragging (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > [adjective] > boastful

boastyc1300

bragc1315

boastfulc1380

great-moutheda1425

boggishc1440

avauntinga1513

windy1513

blazing1549

thrasonical1564

vauntful1590

vousty1596

braggadocian1599

self-boasting1599

braggart1604

braggartly?1611

braggadocio1615

braggeda1616

ampullous1622

rodomontado1645

vapouring1649

thrasonic1657

rodomontade1660

flounder-mouthed1663

fanfaron1670

vaunty1724

boastivea1763

Falstaffian1809

bounceable1831

jactant1839

braggadocious1853

blow-hard1855

loud-mouthed1867

flannel-mouthed1884

bull-mouthed1896

poppy-show1896

Tartarin1903

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 10^v Buctatus, grete mowþede.

1591 T. Cokayne Short Treat. Hunting sig. D2^v The otter is chiefly to bee hunted with slow houndes, great mouthed.

1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 215 Great-mouthed Gloriosoes.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 160 This village Dogge ought to be..great mouthed, or barking bigly.

1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 150 The great-mouthed, smooth, oval Dolium.

1801 F. Barrett Magus ii. xi. 95 The great-mouthed school philosophers may mutter or scoff thereat.

1899 C. Morris Little ‘Jim Crow’ 82 She gave a great roar of laughter, and..fairly howled with great-mouthed enjoyment.

2010 M. Forbeck & J. Grubb Ghosts of Ascalon 86 It was a frog-like being..a great-mouthed head topping a round, neckless body.

great-stomached adj. rare †(a) high-spirited (see stomach n. 6) (obsolete); (b) having a large stomach.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > lively, vivacious, or animated

jollyc1325

lightsomea1382

kedgec1440

fledge?1461

crank1499

frisky?a1500

sprightya1522

frisk1528

sprightful1550

quick-spirited1552

cranking1567

lively1567

quick-sprighted1579

aleger1590

bright-eyed1590

firking1594

sprightly1594

spirituous1601

great-stomached1607

spirity1615

spiritous1628

lifesomec1635

vivacious1645

rattlingc1650

quick-set1653

airy1654

animated1660

sparklinga1704

bob1721

vivace1721

animate1801

high-lifed1859

sassy1859

chippy1865

sparky1883

high-keyed1893

high life1903

peppy1914

pepful1915

jazzy1917

upbeat1947

zappy1969

sparkly1979

the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective]

jollyc1325

kedgec1440

fledge?1461

frisky?a1500

sprightya1522

frisk1528

sprightful1550

quick-spirited1552

lively1567

quick-sprighted1579

alive-like1582

aleger1590

firking1594

sprightly1594

sportive1595

mettled1599

alives-like1601

spirited1601

spirituous1601

mettle1606

great-stomached1607

free-spirited1613

spirity1615

spiritous1628

vivacious1645

rattlingc1650

sportful1650

airy1654

animated1660

racy1671

mettlesome1673

sparklinga1704

raffing?1719

bob1721

vivace1721

alive1748

lifey1793

spunky1831

gilpie1835

bubbling1860

chippy1865

bubblesome1879

colourful1882

sparky1883

bubbly1912

jazzy1917

spritzy1973

sparkly1979

kicking1983

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [adjective] > types of

great-wombedc1325

wombedc1325

big-bellied?c1475

gorbellieda1529

tunnisha1529

bellieda1533

gorbelly1532

tun-bellied1551

out-bellied1570

paunch-bellied1586

paunchyc1586

big-bellied1592

round-bellied1606

gutty1607

tun-gutted1607

ventripotent1611

swag-bellieda1616

tun-grown1628

bottle-bellied1646

pot-bellied1647

belly-mountained1654

pauncheda1657

sag-bellied1665

barrel-bellied1694

ventricous1702

poke pudding1705

paunch-gutted1726

pot-gutted1731

paunchfula1763

pottle-bellied1777

tunnified1806

tun-likea1813

shad-bellied1832

ventricose1843

bow-windowed1849

bloated-bellied1871

barrel-stomached1884

stomachy1888

well-stomached1896

jelly-bellied1899

narrow-gutted1903

pus-gutted1915

great-stomached1944

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 306 More liberty: wherewithal a generous and great stomacked beaste is much delighted.

1944 M. Shulman Feather Merchants xvii. 118 ‘A great-minded man,’ I admitted. ‘Great-stomached, too.’

1996 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Aug. d1 He's a great-stomached and gregarious and extremely hard-working fellow.

great-wombed adj. now literary having a large abdomen; having a fertile womb; also figurative and in figurative contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [adjective] > types of

great-wombedc1325

wombedc1325

big-bellied?c1475

gorbellieda1529

tunnisha1529

bellieda1533

gorbelly1532

tun-bellied1551

out-bellied1570

paunch-bellied1586

paunchyc1586

big-bellied1592

round-bellied1606

gutty1607

tun-gutted1607

ventripotent1611

swag-bellieda1616

tun-grown1628

bottle-bellied1646

pot-bellied1647

belly-mountained1654

pauncheda1657

sag-bellied1665

barrel-bellied1694

ventricous1702

poke pudding1705

paunch-gutted1726

pot-gutted1731

paunchfula1763

pottle-bellied1777

tunnified1806

tun-likea1813

shad-bellied1832

ventricose1843

bow-windowed1849

bloated-bellied1871

barrel-stomached1884

stomachy1888

well-stomached1896

jelly-bellied1899

narrow-gutted1903

pus-gutted1915

great-stomached1944

the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective]

greatc1175

with childc1175

with childc1300

baggeda1400

bounda1400

pregnant?a1425

quicka1450

greaterc1480

heavyc1480

teeming1530

great-bellied1533

big1535

boundenc1540

impregnate1540

great-wombeda1550

young with child1566

gravid1598

pregnate1598

pagled1599

enceinte1602

child-great1605

conceived1637

big-bellieda1646

brooding1667

in the (also a) family way1688

in the (also that) way1741

undelivered1799

ensient1818

enwombeda1822

in a delicate condition1827

gestant1851

in pod1890

up the (also a) pole1918

in a particular condition1922

preg?1927

in the spud line1937

up the spout1937

preggy1938

up the stick1941

preggers1942

in pig1945

primigravid1949

preggo1951

in a certain condition1958

gestating1961

up the creek1961

in the (pudding) cluba1966

gravidated-

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7731 Suiþe þilke [read þikke] mon he was & of grete strengþe, Gret wombede & ballede.

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 9 Bafer, gret wombed.

a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) v. l. 1906 Gret wamyt [a1500 Nero gret wayme; a1530 Royal grete warme] wiþ child þis lady wes.

?a1579 Bk. Howth in J. S. Brewer & W. Bullen Cal. Carew MSS (1871) VI. 70 (modernized text) This King Henry was a man..more of kind than of gluttony, great wombed, for he was in likeness to a prince.

1876 J. Todhunter Laurella II. 128 Them followed odorous pears,..Which seasoning hung, great-wombed, till they had seen August's last sultriness.

1910 Now June 99/2 When the great-wombed sea Gave birth to the rock-ribbed shore.

1986 J. Canan Her Magnificent Body iii. 99 On the vast arcs of energy, certain and turbulent, or lost, tossed in your Void, Great Wombed Mother.

c. Preceding a numeral, denoting a related larger number. Now chiefly historical.

great dozen n. rare a gross, 144.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > a gross

gross1411

great dozen1474

1474 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 31/1 A grete dosane of pewder weschel and xx tyn stopis.

1735 W. Pardon Dyche's New Gen. Eng. Dict. Gross, twelve Dozen, by some called the large or great Dozen of any thing, whether by Measure or Tale, as Buttons, Ferrets, etc.

1921 Midland Druggist & Pharmaceut. Rev. Oct. 382 From the experience of pharmacists many physicians would find it difficult to handle even Dr. Baldwin's ‘great dozen’.

2007 M. Hatch Hatch's Order of Magnitude xiv. 160 Gross/great dozen (144).

great gross n. twelve gross, 1,728.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > a gross > twelve gross

great gross1545

1545 Rates Custome House sig. a.iiii^v Broches of Latten the greate groce.

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. ii. ii. 148 500 of their principall Spaniards..drew toward a guard we kept betweene Rincorran and the Towne (leauing a great grosse for their seconds, vnder the walles).

1640 in J. Entick London (1776) II. 166 Catling, the great gross, qt. 12 small gross of knots.

1701 E. Hatton Merchant's Mag. ii. 14 In adding hereof, you must for every 12 carry 1 to the Dozens place, for every 12 Dozen 1 to the Small Gross, for every 12 Small Gross 1 to the Great Gross.

1745 Accomplish'd Housewife 122 Having the Price of one single Thing, to find the Price of a Dozen...Or, by the Price of the small Gross, to find the Price of the great Gross, or 144 Dozens.

1822 B. Stevens New & Conc. Syst. Arithm. 232 To find the value of goods sold by the great gross.

1940 H. McKay Odd Numbers 211 There are actually traces of the scale of 12 (the duodecimal scale) in our language. We have the dozen (= 12), the gross (= 12²), and the great gross (= 12³).

great hundred n. (a) a ‘long hundred’, 120 (abbreviated great C); (b) 112 (the number of pounds in a hundredweight).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred > hundred and twenty

great hundreda1450

long hundred1683

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xiii. l. 450 (MED) Not passeng Of Men Six score Be þe grete hundred, lasse ne more.

a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 18 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV The trewe C is v^xx [sc. 5 times 20]..but and a man mak in hys couenawnt to haue the gret hondrythe and xxi for xx, then he most haue vi^xx and vi for the C.

1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 13 §12 The nomber of the C. of shepe..in some countrey the great C where .vj. Score is accompted for the C.

1684 N.H. Compleat Tradesman xiii. 59 At 4 d. 3 q. the Pound, what is that the great Hundred? Look in the Table for 4 d. 3 q. in the first Colume, and against it in the second, you shall find 2 l. 4 s. 4 d. and so much will 112 l. cost.

1799 J. Fuller Hist. Berwick upon Tweed iv. 253 Calf-skins, salt and dried, of strangers, outwards, by the great hundred—0 0 6.

1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs ii. 112 120 Ells, or one great hundred.

1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. x. 171 The hundred yards of canvas are the great hundred of 120.

1903 World's Work Sept. 358/1 A tax of 10d. per great hundred, and of 5 per cent, on poultry, would yield a gross revenue of £788,771 and £48,953 respectively.

1944 ‘M. na Gopaleen’ in Irish Times 8 Dec. 3/7 With every export of beast, man and great hundred of eggs, we were permanently expatriating a quantum of the essential constituents of the Irish earth.

† great million n. Obsolete rare a million million.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > million million

great million1635

billion1690

trimillion1707

1635 A. Gil Sacred Philos. Holy Script. i. xiii. 101 1124002590827719680000. that is, one thousand one hundred twentie foure millions of great millions, two thousand five hundred and ninetie great millions, eight hundred twenty seven thousand seven hundred and nineteene millions, sixe hundred and fourescore thousand.

d. In sense A. 12. See also great-aunt n.

(a)

great-nephew n. a nephew's or niece's son.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > nephew > one's son's or daughter's nephew

great-nephew1580

petty nephew1611

mokopuna1824

1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 143 Edward..withoute delaye pronounced Edgar the outlawes sonne, and his greate Nephew, to bee heire of the Kingdome.

1689 A. Wood Life 20 Dec. The said Mathew Slade also was great nephew..of Mathew Slade who wrote against Vorstius.

1739 Scots Mag. June 288/1 The Prince of Sultzbach..is his great nephew by his sister only.

1895 F. Pollock & F. W. Maitland Hist. Eng. Law II. 294 In a parentelic scheme my great-nephew, since he springs from my father, is nearer to me than my first cousin.

1930 D. L. Sayers Strong Poison xx. 257 She also made a will, dividing her property unequally between her two great- nephews.

2007 Church Times 8 June 30/4 A letter sent by Dietrich Bonhoeffer..to his infant great-nephew on the occasion of his baptism.

great-niece n. a nephew's or niece's daughter.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > niece > one's son's or daughter's niece

great-niecea1602

mokopuna1824

a1602 W. Perkins Lect. Three First Chapters Reuelation (1604) ii. 196 They..hold that the vncle may marry his neece or his great neece.

1779 F. Hervey et al. Naval Hist. Great Brit. III. v. ii. 486 He bequeathed that noble town residence, to Thomas Archer,..who had married his great niece.

1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 481/2 The great-niece of Mrs. Barbauld.

1948 H. Martindale Some Victorian Portraits & Others 30 To-day four of her nieces and one great-niece are trying to carry on her work.

2011 F. Lareau My Polish-American Mother 167 I came across a Christmas card from her niece. In the card was a picture of her two great nieces.

greatsire n. now rare (a) a forefather (in early use spec. Adam), a grandfather (archaic); (b) an animal's grandsire.

ΚΠ

1615 T. Adams Englands Sicknes ii. 92 Wee deriue it from our great Sire Adam, with more infallible conueyance then euer sonne inherited his fathers lands.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v Our Primitive great Sire, to meet His god-like Guest, walks forth, without more train.

1695 E. Settle Augusta Lachrymans 9 Our Great Sire, by the Creator grac'd, In His Vntill'd, Vnforfeit Eden plac'd.

1704 N. N. tr. T. Boccalini Polit. Touch-stone 95 in Advts. from Parnassus iii He prov'd himself a Grand Child worthy his great Syre by his Mother's side.

1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) i. ii. 35 And will not my great sires leap from the vault, Where lie two doges who preceded me, And pluck me down amongst them?

1844 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 582/1 And rusty armour hang around, that her greatsires had worn.

1893 Wallace's Monthly Aug. 416/1 The first dam of Globard is that other greatsire, George Wilkes.

1922 H. Cox Chasing & Racing ix. 118 From her original stock and her great sire Cackler of Notts are descended nearly every terrier of the breed that is entitled to the prefix ‘Champion’.

1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake i. 68 That same hot coney a la Zingara which our own little Graunya..dished up to the greatsire of Oscar, that son of a Coole.

great-uncle n. a father's or mother's uncle.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] > great- or grand-uncle

great-uncle1436

grand-unclec1475

1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We by th'avys of..our grete ouncle that Cardynel [Beaufort]..have notable purveyd [etc.].

1437 in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) V. 438/2 His Uncle Humfrey Duc of Gloucestre, his grete Uncle H. Cardinal of England [etc.].

a1547 Will Hen. VIII in J. Pote Hist. Windsor Castle (1749) 51 The tombes and aultars of King Henry VI. and also of King Edward IV. our great Uncle and graunt~father.

1627 G. Richardson Of State of Europe ix. 58 Philip the second, sonne to Lewis, son to Amadis the eight, & great vncle to Charles the second.

1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal iv. i. 43 Here's my great uncle Sir Richard Ravelin.

1861 D. G. Rossetti Early Ital. Poets ii. 437 Geri, son of Bello Alighieri, and Dante's great-uncle.

1896 Daily News 23 Apr. 5/4 The Prince de Joinville, at once great~uncle and grandfather of the bride.

1943 W. Stegner Big Rock Candy Mountain viii. 422 I knew it some, having..second and third cousins, and great-aunts and great-uncles, in a dozen towns where Norwegian is still spoken as much as English.

2011 Vanity Fair Sept. 338 The nightclub's acquisition in 1950 by my great-uncle Martín Fox.

(b) With compounds of grand- comb. form.

great-grandame n. archaic = great-grandmother n.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandparent > [noun] > grandmother > great-grandmother

great-grandmother1530

great-grandame1538

1538 T. Elyot Dict. Proauia, my great grandame.

1543 Necessary Doctr. Christen Man sig. k.iv No man shall marry with his mother, hys graundame, his great graundame.

1665 M. Nedham Medela Medicinæ 33 Diseases of the Female Sex grown more severe than they were in the days of their great Grandames.

1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. *C^v We have our Fore-fathers and Great Grand-dames all before us, as they were in Chaucer's Days.

1804 Public Characters 1803–1804‎ xiii. 211 Many of our young ladies doubtless burn with the Same ardour for wealth, splendour, and a ducal coronet, that their grandmothers and great grand-dames exhibited half a century ago.

1858 W. H. Ainsworth Mervyn Clitheroe iii. ix. 303 Your great-grandame, Honoria, Lady Wilburton, was Mrs. Mervyn's aunt.

1901 B. Macfadden Athlete's Conquest (rev. ed.) ix. 211 My daughters shall grow into great grandames.

1921 Flower Grower Apr. 82/2 Were royal great grand-dame more gay Than I with this my flower display?

great-grandchild n. a grandchild's child, a great-grandson or great-granddaughter.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > great-grandchild

great-grandchild1570

ier-oe1701

1570 A. Golding tr. D. Chytræus Postil 82 The offspring of Heber the great graundchilde of Sem the sonne of Noe.

1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 293 In the same Chappell lyeth Iohn Dering..who was great grandchilde to the foresaid Richard Dering of Surenden.

1753 Scots Mag. Mar. 158/1 He has left 113 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

1827 T. Jarman Powell's Ess. Learning of Devises (ed. 3) II. 301 In Hussey v. Berkeley, Lord Northington expressed an opinion that the word grandchildren would, without further explanation, comprehend great grandchildren.

1920 P. P. Sheehan House with Bad Name xxxvii. 220 His mistress, great-grand-child of the first Tyrone he had ever served.

2012 L. Robertson Wicked Circle ii. 14 She's hoping for great-grandchildren.

great-granddaughter n. a grandchild's daughter.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grand-daughter > great-granddaughter

great-granddaughter1624

1624 W. Udall tr. W. Camden Hist. Life & Death Mary Stuart 236 Marie Queene of Scotland, the great grand-daughter of Henry the seuenth, by his eldest daughter.

1753 Scots Mag. Oct. 525/2 Miss Cromwel, great-granddaughter of Oliver Cromwel.

1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 29 A great-granddaughter of Henry VII, Lady Jane Grey.

1921 J. Galsworthy To Let 288 The union of the great-grand-daughter of ‘Superior Dosset’ with the heir of a ninth baronet.

1995 Georgia Straight 12 Oct. 19 (advt.) Elder Sq'ucwlikwana (Lucy Mack) is the great grand-daughter of Chief Suncwmay.

great-grandnephew n. a nephew's or niece's grandson.

ΚΠ

1708 A. Boyer tr. J. Donneau de Visé Hist. Siege of Toulon ii. 103 The Marquis of Sales was great grand Nephew to Sir Francis Sales, Bishop of Geneva.

1810 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 202/2 He must have been grand-nephew to Robert Fitz-Stephens..and great grand-nephew to the said Prince of South Wales.

1897 N. Amer. Rev. July 100 Mr. Smollett—not the historian and novelist, but his great-grandnephew—..dismissed it.

1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 Sept. c6 He was a great-grand-nephew of poet and diplomat James Russell Lowell and a distant cousin of the poet Amy Lowell.

2011 Vanity Fair Nov. 194/2 A splendid apartment..which was rebuilt in the early 20th-century by Count Giuseppe Primoli, a great-grandnephew of Napoleon's.

great-grandniece n. a nephew's or niece's granddaughter.

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1785 Scots Mag. Apr. 207/2 Mrs Jean Reid, in the 86th year of her age, great-grand-niece of Mr George Herriot.

1804 ‘E. de Acton’ Tale without Title I. 45 Trustee to her great-grand-niece.

1938 Life 11 Apr. 41/1 (caption) Ann Rutledge, as played by the original's great-grand-niece, listens to a sad poem Lincoln actually wrote in his youth.

2004 Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 25/4 Ruth Emerson, the great-grand-niece of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

great-grandson n. a grandchild's son.

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society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grandson > great-grandson

pronephewa1500

pronepotc1540

great-grandson1610

1610 T. Gainsford Vision & Disc. Henry VII ii. 19 My great Grand-sonne doth hold no other course, Then that which vertuous Kings did still intend.

1716 J. Addison Freeholder No. 9 (1751) 49 No Body ever doubted that King George is Great Grandson to King James the first.

1869 W. N. Hancock et al. tr. Senchus Mor: Pt. II in Anc. Laws Irel. II. 161 The ‘Geilfine’-tribe relationship in the direct line, such as the father, and the son, and the grandson, and the great grandson, and the great great grandson to the fifth generation.

1928 W. A. White Masks in Pageant 67 The grandson of a President and the great-grandson of a Signer.

1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 30 Jan. 35/3 Kukrit himself is a rajawongse , a title loosely translated [from Thai] as prince, but in fact meaning a king's great-grandson.

e. Modifying nouns, often preceded by the designating a particular person, place, thing, etc.See also great affair n. 6a, alnager n., artificer n. 4b, artillery n. 2b, assize n. 11a, Britain n.², calorie n., cap n.¹ 4e, cassino n., chamberlain n. 1, 2a, charter n.¹ 1a, cheap n.¹ 8a, circle n. 2a, 2b, climacteric n. 2a, company n. 1, council n. 4b, cross n. 19, deterrent n., drum n.¹, enemy n.¹ 1b(a), entrance n. 2d, falconer n.¹ 2, feather n. 13, flood n. 4b, general n. 3e, George n. 1b, good n. 9b, habit n. 2b, horse n. 21, idea n. Phrases 6, inquest n. 1c, lot n. 4a, majority n.¹ 3b, migration n. 1c, Mogul n.¹ 1a, mood n.² 3a, myrmidon n. 1, oblation n. 3a, Osage n. 1a, outdoors n., panjandrum n. 1, penitentiary n.¹ 1b, pond n. 2, pox n. 1b, primer n.¹ 3a, rail-splitter n., raisin n. Phrases 1, rebellion n.¹ 1a, saddle n.¹ 1b, salt n.¹ 1b, schism n. 2b, sea-serpent n. 1b, session n. 4d, sheer n.² 1, ship n.¹ 2, shot n.¹ 9c, 14d, 22c, thanksgiving n. 2, toe n. 1a, Tom n.¹ 2, Turk n.¹ 2c, unpaid adj. and n. Phrases, unwashed n., vizier n. 2a, year n. 2c, etc.; also Great Day n., great gun n., Great Russian n. and adj., and other headwords.

Great American Novel n. a novel regarded as being of superior merit and encapsulating American values and experiences or evoking the ethos of its era; often (esp. as the Great American Novel) discussed as a literary aspiration rather than as an attained ideal.In quot. 1867 not a fixed collocation.

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1867 N.Y. Observer & Chron. 7 Nov. 355 (advt.) ‘Waiting for the Verdict’ By Mrs. R. H. Davis... The Great American Novel.

1868 J. W. DeForest in Nation 9 Jan. 27/2 The Great American Poem will not be written..until democracy..has agonized and conquered through centuries... But the Great American Novel—the picture of the ordinary emotions and manners of American existence..will, we suppose, be possible earlier.

1909 Atlantic Monthly May 712/2 The Atlantic would not suggest as news the self-evident fact that the great American novel has not appeared.

1951 N. Cassady Let. 15 May (2005) 293 Great news that Jack's finished On The Road... He should create another and another work (like Proust) and then we'll have the Great American Novel.

1968 F. Exley Fan's Notes ii. 50 He told me that if I were Hemingway I should go to Paris, live on fried potatoes and ketchup, write The Great American Novel and have done with it.

1988 M. Bradbury Unsent Lett. 61 All of them seemed to be planning Great American Novels that were even Greater than the Great American Novels they were teaching in class.

2004 New Yorker 14 June 112/2 There..was a tremendous surge of ambition on the part of American artists—a lot of talk about the Great American Novel and hitting the ball out of the park.

Great Asianism n. (also with lower-case initial in the first element) now chiefly historical any of various doctrines and movements advocating the political unification of Asia or solidarity among Asian nations, esp. against the perceived threat of Western political and cultural domination.Cf. pan-Asianism n.

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1918 New East Aug. 97/2 ‘Great Asianism’ is a movement to unite all Far Eastern countries in an alliance with Japan so that they may co-operate for the advancement of world civilization.

1935 Times 18 Apr. 11/4 He is a believer in Great Asianism, and tells the vernacular newspapers that he advocates cooperation between the Asiatic races with Japan as the centre.

2016 Xinhua Gen. News Service (Nexis) 12 July Great Asianism aimed to change the unequal relationship between Asian countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which is still of realistic value to promoting the cooperation between Asian countries today.

Great Attractor n. (also with lower-case initials) Astronomy a region of exceptionally strong gravitational attraction in the direction of the constellations Hydra and Centaurus that is manifested as deviations in the redshifts associated with the expansion of the universe. The Great Attractor is estimated to be equivalent in mass to tens of thousands of Milky Ways.

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1987 Science 11 Sept. 1296/1 In a patch of sky centered roughly on the Southern Cross, astronomers are finding increasing evidence for a ‘Great Attractor’.

1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 50/1 Possible structure of the CXB on intermediate angular scales (e.g., such as might be associated with extragalactic objects like the ‘great attractor’ or even with our galaxy) could, however, constitute a fundamental complication that would still have to be addressed.

2011 Times (Nexis) 26 May 28 Huge structures near by, such as the Hydra-Centaurus region (the ‘Great Attractor’), are shown in great detail for the first time.

great Australian dream n. (also with capital initials) Australian the national aspiration of home ownership; the fact of owning one's home; cf. dream n.² 3b.

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1954 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 7 Aug. 1/11 The Queensland city-dweller['s] favourite dream..is still of a little place in the country—a pig-farm or an orchard. This great Australian dream is reflected in the uniquely rural character of the big cities' Shows.]

1979 Austral. Women's Weekly 26 Sept. 154/1 To own a home of your own is the great Australian dream.

1989 Sun (Brisbane) 30 Jan. 10/2 Our Great Australian Dream can become a less-costly reality if extra savings are used to reduce mortgages.

2008 Dwell May 160 Everyone wants the great Australian dream, the backyard and all that, but the reality is the environment can't handle it.

Great Awakening n. U.S. an evangelical revival movement in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s; (also) any of several later religious revivals likened to this (esp. in Second Great Awakening).

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1736 J. Edwards Faithful Narr. 23 A minister..told me of a very great awakening of many in a Place called the Mountains.

1740 J. Wesley Let. 12 Apr. (1931) I. 342 I am just come from Wales, where there is indeed a great awakening.]

1748 G. Whitefield Let. 9 Oct. in Select Coll. Lett. (1772) 191 I am in the place where the great awakening was about six years ago.

1796 T. Charles Let. 19 Jan. in Theol. Mag. 2 231 Many of those who were brought in during the great awakening, continue to go on well.

1797 B. Trumbull Compl. Hist. Connecticut xix. 495 About the year 1745, in the time of the great awakening and reformation in New-England, they became greatly affected with the truths of the gospel.

1898 Presbyterian Q. 12 117 The second Great Awakening, about the beginning of the present century, was as remarkable as the first.

1986 W. S. Simmons Spirit of New Eng. Tribes ii. 30 The itinerant evangelists of the Great Awakening ignited the towns and backwoods of southern New England with their appeals to the unconverted.

1995 M. Lind Next Amer. Nation i. 32 Enlightenment thought and evangelical Protestantism clashed again in the early nineteenth century, when the Second Great Awakening inspired attempts to re-Christianize America.

2012 Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 12 Oct. Fredrickson can rattle off a long line of evangelical pioneers dating back to the first of America's ‘Great Awakenings’.

† great belly n. Obsolete a woman's protruding belly during the advanced stages of pregnancy; (also more generally) a pregnancy; cf. great-bellied adj. at Compounds 1b(b).

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1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse vi. f. 58^v She thinketh (that by reason of her great belly which she hath gotten by playing the hoore) to moue me to pitie.

1609 Strange Newes out of Kent sig. Aiiii^v A certaine wandring yong woman..being not well able to trauell further, by reason of her great belly, euen ready to be deliuered, desired succour of this kind-harted old woman Mother Watts.

1683 J. Locke Let. in B. Rand Locke & Clarke (1927) 101 If I have a great letter no oftener than you have a great belly perhaps I shall not fall out with you.

1757 A. G. Impetuous Lover I. 134 Should she actually be with child, to consider in time, some means..of secreting her great belly.

Great Bible n. the English translation of the Bible prepared by Miles Coverdale (1539) and authorized for public reading by Henry VIII; (also) any of the revised editions of this, esp. that of 1540 with a preface by Thomas Cranmer.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > text > edition > [noun] > Coverdale

Great Bible1540

1540 Bible (Great) (title page) The newe testament in Englishe accordynge to the translacion of the greate Bible.

1604 (title) The Psalmes of David after the translation of the Great Bible, pointed.

1739 J. Lewis Compl. Hist. Transl. Bible into Eng. (ed. 2) iii. 191 Then follow the several Books of the New Testament in order as in the Great Bible of Archbishop Cranmer's revising.

1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 374/2 The Great Bible, or Cranmer's.

1882 H. Morley Eng. Lit. 254 In April of the same year, 1539, appeared Coverdale's revision of Tyndal's work and his own, in the folio known as Cromwell's (or the Great) Bible.

1955 Life 26 Dec. 136/2 After breaking with the Pope, Henry VIII authorized the translation of the Great Bible which was put into the churches on a chain so it could not be taken away.

2011 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Feb. (Review section) 2 Between Coverdale's first Bible (1535) and the Great Bible (1539) comes the so-called Matthew Bible of 1537.

Great Canon n. (a) Orthodox Church the longest hymn consisting of odes (see canon n.¹ 7b); (b) Printing (now historical) the largest named size of type, more usually called simply canon (see canon n.¹ 11).

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > church music > hymn > kinds of hymn > scriptural > [noun] > longest

Great Canon1662

society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > religious or devotional > [noun] > hymn or song of praise > in Greek church

Great Canon1662

prosodion1696

prosode1777

cathisma1850

ode1850

canon1862

triadic canon1862

Contakion1866

ephymnium1910

1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 95 A holy office, which in this Century he brought into the Greek Church, and..had a peculiar day appointed for it, which they call'd the solemnity of the Great Canon.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 13 Most Printing-Houses have all except the two first, viz. Pearl, Nomparel, Brevier, Long-Primmer, Pica,..Great-Cannon.

1850 J. M. Neale Hist. Holy Eastern Church 876 The Great Canon, sung on Thursday of Passion Week [sc. the 4th week of Lent]..at Lauds, after the fifty-first Psalm.

1922 D. B. Updike Printing Types I. ii. 26 184 squares or ems of a pearl body, or 17½ of the great-canon body, were comprised in one English foot.

2006 Nat. Rev. (Nexis) 1 Mar. The Great Canon is part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, but really, it's part of every Christian's tradition.

great chair n. now historical an armchair, esp. one of an early American type (see quot. 1935).In many contexts difficult to distinguish from the simple sense ‘large chair’.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > armchair

armchair1585

elbow-chair1655

fauteuil1744

great chair1749

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > armchair > other armchairs

great chair1749

porter's chair1806

sleepy-hollow chair1820

roundabout1834

Glastonbury chair1853

frowst1905

club chair1919

carver1927

1749 J. Jenkins Will 29 Dec. in Mayflower Descendant (1920) 22 159 My Sister Sarah Nye Six black Chairs a great Chair table & Cupboard.

1771 Trial Atticus before Justice Beau 18 See the long table is brought in, and set as far as the house will permit, from my great chair.

1784 S. Chapman in Med. Communications (Soc. Promoting Med. Knowl.) I. 294 I found him sitting in a great chair.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxvi. 605 Jos was in his great chair dozing over Galignani.

1935 T. H. Ormsbee Early Amer. Furnit. Makers (new ed.) i. 29 The ‘great’ chair, a carved wainscot-constructed piece of furniture elaborately ornamented, was evidently only possible for a man of means.

1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 63/2 Armchairs resembling the Brewster or Great chairs of New York were known.

2002 S. Waters Fingersmith i. 16 Besides them was Mrs Sucksby in her great chair, a couple of babies in a cradle at her side.

Great Commoner n. the elder William Pitt (1708–78), 1st Earl of Chatham, Tory Secretary of State in coalition governments 1756–61 and 1766–8.

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1757 Crit. Rev. Apr. 380 The change of ministry..has since taken place, as is evident from the two followings [sic] stanzas addressed to the great commoner.

1802 W. F. Mavor Brit. Nepos (ed. 3) 389 Whatever accession of honour a peerage gave him, the great commoner, as he used emphatically to be called, was now obscured in dividing his honours with others.

1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges ii. 89 There's the great commoner! There is Mr. Pitt!

1899 R. Bain Daughter Peter the Great xii. 301 ‘France,’ concluded the great commoner, ‘must not flatter herself that Hanover will serve as a road for her to America and India.’

1948 F. B. Malim Almae Matres i. 5 Lord Seymour's house, transmuted into the Castle Inn, entertained many famous travellers, notably the Great Commoner, whose gout detained him there for weeks.

2011 J. Davidson Downing Street Blues 25 His own standing in the public eye as ‘the Great Commoner’ had suffered following his elevation to the peerage.

Great Dark Spot n. Astronomy a dark blue oval feature that often appears in the outer gas of the planet Neptune, being a storm system similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot but more short-lived.

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1989 N.Y. Times 20 Aug. i. i. 32/1 The most recent pictures, made public today, showed in the greatest detail yet the huge storm system, known as the Great Dark Spot, in Neptune's southern hemisphere.

1996 Sky & Telescope Sept. 39 (caption) The Great Dark Spot..was an oscillating feature seen by Voyager in Neptune's southern hemisphere.

2012 P. Bond Exploring Solar Syst. 303/1 (caption) Images of the Great Dark Spot show bright cirrus-like clouds above and around the anticyclone that formed and dissipated quite rapidly.

Great Deliverer n. (among his supporters) King William III (reigned 1689–1702), who deposed the Catholic King James II in 1688 at the invitation of a group of English statesmen.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > king > [noun] > king of England > specific

Great Deliverer1695

yea-and-nay1900

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > titles applied to royalty > for a king or ruler > for King William the Third

Great Deliverer1695

1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur v. 150 The great Deliverer The pious William; yonder he's in Sight, In whom Nassovian Blood, and ours unite.

1747 W. Murray Thistle 27 How were the Dutch and the great Deliverer used after England had been rescued?

1826 Monthly Repos. Jan. 29/1 On the decease of the great Deliverer, the muse takes fire at his hallowed name.

1886 C. M. Yonge Chantry House I. x. 92 There was a dissenting chapel, old enough to be overgrown with ivy.., erected by the Nonconformists in the reign of the Great Deliverer.

1938 M. Bowen World's Wonder 59 In the opinion of this school of writers..the ‘Great and Glorious’ Revolution was a sordid affair and the Great Deliverer a paltry adventurer.

2000 S. Farrell Rituals & Riots 195 It [sc. an explicit reference to massacres in 1641] was replaced with references to the great deliverer, William the Third, Prince of Orange, a much more respectable subject.

Great Depression n. the major worldwide economic depression that began in 1929.The Depression is regarded to have been precipitated by the Wall Street crash of October 1929; cf. Black Thursday n. Different national economies subsequently emerged from the Depression at different times.In quot. 1930 not a fixed collocation.

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1930 N.Y. Times 30 Dec. 20 The present year's shrinkage..indicates the extent to which the railways have suffered with other industries in the great depression.

1934 L. Robbins Great Depression i. 11 There have been many depressions in modern economic history but..there has never been anything to compare with this. 1929 to 1933 are the years of the Great Depression.

1960 L. A. Fiedler Love & Death in Amer. Novel xii. 456 Though the peculiar, wholesale horror of the great wars has eluded our greatest fictionists..the terror of the great Depression has fared better.

1984 S. Terkel Good War (1985) Introd. 6 The Great Depression was our most devastating experience since the Civil War. Somewhere along the line, our money machine had stripped its gears.

2011 Independent 11 Feb. (Viewspaper section) 13/3 During the Great Depression of the 1930s, bankrupt residents of the dustbowl states (the ‘Okies’ of Oklahoma and ‘Arkies’ of Arkansas) regarded California as a sort of promised land.

Great Dog n. [after post-classical Latin Canis major (see Canis Major n. at Canis n. 1)] Astronomy the constellation Canis Major; (also) the brightest star in this constellation, Sirius; cf. Dog Star n. 1.

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?1530 tr. Compost of Ptholomeus xxix. sig. k.ii^v There ryseth vnder it in the .viii. degree a sterre fyxed that Astronomyers calle Alhabor (that is to saye) of the great dogge.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises vi. vi. f. 289^v The Meridian altitude of the great dogge called Canis maior.

1676 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. (ed. 3) 220 Canis Major, the Great Dog, it consisteth of 18 Stars.

1761 Philos. Trans. 1760 (Royal Soc.) 51 503 However remarkable..it may be, that so noted and lasting a star as the Great Dog should have changed its colour, yet at least five different writers affirm it.

1956 H. P. Wilkins Guide to Heavens 21 The Bull, Orion and the Great Dog are now all in the west, as are also Andromeda and the Ram or Aries.

2001 UFO Mag. Jan. 67/3 The southern shaft..was aimed at the bright star Sirius (Alpha Canis Major) in the constellation of the Great Dog.

great ewe n. Scottish a pregnant ewe; cf. sense A. 5a.

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1798 R. Douglas Gen. View Agric. Roxburgh & Selkirk iv. 258 It is usual, in several farms, to sell a certain proportion of ewes while great with young, from whence they are called great-ewes.

1851 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 2) II. 160/1 The ewe-lambs..are reared until they are tupped, and then sold as great ewes to breeders.

1950 Scots Mag. Mar. 424 Their various classes of ‘grete’ ewes (those with lambs), yeld ewes and hoggs.

2012 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 9 Mar. 26 Grit ewes sold to £150 (x3) for Mules scanned with twins.

Great Exhibition n. an international exhibition of the products of industry, held in the Crystal Palace in London in 1851; cf. crystal palace n. (b) at crystal n. and adj. Compounds 2.

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1850 G. A. Sala (title) The Great Exhibition ‘wot is to be’ or probable results of the industry of all nations in the year '51.

1911 Palliser's Hist. Lace (new ed.) xxxii. 415 Ever since the Great Exhibition of 1851 drew attention to the industry, different persons have been trying to encourage both better design and better manufacture.

2011 National Trust Mag. Summer 58/2 They were trying to find a route to combine traditional craft techniques and larger production techniques, democratising beautifully crafted pieces and rejecting the horror of the throwaway manufacture that Morris objected to at the Great Exhibition.

Great Famine n. the famine in Ireland which began in 1845 and lasted several years, caused by successive failures of the potato crop; cf. potato famine n. at potato n. Compounds 2, Great Hunger n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun] > scarcity of food or famine > of specific food or crop

potato failure1845

potato famine1846

Great Famine1849

Great Hunger1910

1849 Times 4 Jan. 4/2 In 1847, the session after the great famine, the Irish Poor Law..was clothed with some substance, and made a veritable and efficient measure.

1851 A. Nicholson Ann. Famine in Ireland Introd. p. 4 Her first work..narrates her travels and observations prior to the Great Famine of 1847.

1896 W. P. O'Brien Great Famine in Ireland i. 1 In the future annals of Ireland..1845..will in all time to come..be remembered as the commencement of the Great Famine.

1982 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 19 Nov. 1 Lagan's 11- and 12-year-olds, who submitted a project on the Great Famine, coolly walked off with first prize.

2003 S. Derkins Irish Republican Army i. 8 By the time the Great Famine ended, more than one million Irish people had died from starvation.

Great Fast n. the most important period of fasting and abstinence in a religious calendar, as Lent in Christianity, Yom Kippur in Judaism, or Ramadan in Islam. [In use in a Russian Orthodox context after Old Russian Velikyj Post′′ (Russian Velikij Post ); compare Hellenistic Greek ἡ μεγάλη νηστεία , and Byzantine Greek ἡ μεγάλη τεσσαρακοστή , lit. ‘the great fortieth’, with reference to the duration of Lent (compare Quadragesima n.). Compare Great Lent n.

In use with reference to Yom Kippur (compare quots. 1808, 1896) after Aramaic ṣōmā rabbā ( < ṣōmā , emphatic form of ṣōm (cognate with Arabic ṣawm sawm n.) + rabbā , emphatic form of raḇ great: see Rav n.).

Compare also Arabic al-ṣawm al-kabīr (in Christian use) Lent, lit. ‘Great Fast’; the term is apparently not used by Muslims to denote Ramadan.]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Lent > [noun]

LentenOE

Lent tidelOE

Lentc1300

Lent timec1400

Quadragesime1483

Lent season?1490

Quadragesimac1560

Great Lent1591

Great Fasta1670

shrift-time1853

1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 97 Fitly is this call'd the Great Canon, as..appointed for the Great Fast of Lent.]

a1670 S. Collins Present State Russia (1671) xxv. 122 In the great Fast he eats but three meals a week.

1772 J. G. King Rites Greek Church in Russia 133 The liturgy of St. Basil is used..upon all the sundays of the great fast, except palm sunday.

1808 T. F. Middleton Doctr. Greek Article 443 The Day of Expiation, the Great Fast on the 10th of the month Tisri.

1824 H. Kilham Jrnl. 30 June in S. Biller Mem. Late H. Kilham (1837) ix. 252 A large assembly of Mandingoes, who collected..to a festival meeting, according to their Mahomedan profession, now that the great fast is ended.

1868 H. C. Romanoff Sketches Greco-Russ. Church 120 The Great Fast approaches, preceded by three preparatory weeks.

1896 I. Abrahams Jewish Life Middle Ages i. 7 On the day preceding the Great Fast a symbolical scourging was, and even is, usual in the synagogue itself.

1920 W. Sanday et al. New Lessons Explained ii. 56 The day of the Death of Christ—the culmination of the great Fast.

2004 in J. L. Esposito Islamic World I. 157 The great fast is also a special time to respond to the needs of the poor.

Great Father n. now chiefly historical (in representations of North American Indian speech) the President of the United States; cf. Great White Father n.This expression belongs to the fictive kinship terminology widely used in diplomatic relations by Indians of Eastern North America: see the discussion of red children n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > in a republic > in U.S.

president1784

Great White Father1806

Great Father1808

POTUS1895

1784 in J. Filson Discov., Settlement & Present State Kentucky (1793) 50 Piankashaw, speak, speak to the Americans. Then the Piankashaw Chief answered: My Great Father, the Long Knife, You have been many years among us.

1791 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 1153/1 The same good will had prompted those present to come far to attend the treaty, with a belief of the friendly intentions of the Great Chief of the United States towards the Indian nations.]

1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi 5 I spoke to them [sc. Indians] to the following purport: ‘That their great father, the president of the United States, [etc.]’.

1832 F. Trollope Domest. Manners Amer. (ed. 2) I. xx. 314 All the chiefs who..have come to negociate with their great father, as they call the President.

1881 Harper's Mag. Apr. 671/1 Spotted Tail has been to the Great Father's house so often that he has learned to tell lies and deceive people.

1954 Mil. Affairs 18 87/1 I told them..that I had come as a representative from the Great Father, at Washington,..and that he meant well with his red children.

1992 A. W. Eckert Sorrow in our Heart ix. 567 If you value the friendship of your Great Father, the President..let me hear by the return of the bearer that you have determined to follow my advice.

Great Fire n. the large and devastating fire that destroyed much of London in September 1666; also more fully Great Fire of London.

ΚΠ

1667 S. Pepys in Diary 16 Mar. (1904) VI. 225 It is observable that within these eight days I did see smoke remaining, coming out of some cellars, from the late great fire, now about six months since.]

1679 W. Bedloe Narr. Horrid Popish Plot Epist. sig. A2 By Fire-Balls put in with Poles or otherwise through Holes, or open places into Houses; as at Mr. Farriners House which began the Great Fire.

1750 C. Wren Parentalia 274 The proposals of Dr. Wren..were laid before the King and Commissioners, some Months before the great Fire of London.

1861 Times 16 Aug. 6/6 In the midst of houses almost as poor, low, and rickety as those of which the Great Fire made a riddance in the City.

1952 A. F. Johnson Reed's Hist. Old Eng. Letter Foundries (rev. ed.) viii. 168 It appears that he had a lease of the Quest House built over the church cloisters and burnt down in the Great Fire.

2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 17 Sept. (Seven Days section) 10/5 To read his accounts of the Plague and the Great Fire of London is to bring an age alive.

Great Forty Days n. the forty days which intervened between Christ's resurrection and ascension; the corresponding season in the ecclesiastical year from Easter to Ascension Day.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > 40 days up to Ascension > [noun]

Great Forty Days1844

1844 G. Moberly (title) The sayings of the Great Forty Days, between the Resurrection and Ascension.

1855 in H. G. Newland Seasons of Church 5 Without this preparation of the heart and intellect, the doctrines of Easter, and still more those of the great Forty Days, would be dangerous.

1914 Madame Cecilia From Sepulchre to Throne xxvi. 321 The Great Forty Days were followed by ten days of continual prayer.

2009 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 28 Feb. 14 After Easter comes the Great 40 days when Jesus appeared to his friends before ascending to the Father on Ascension Day.

great friend n. a very close friend, a bosom friend; also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > close or intimate friend

belamy?c1225

friarc1290

specialc1300

necessaryc1384

familiar?c1400

great frienda1425

gossea1549

particular1577

shopfellow?1577

cockmate1578

privado1584

bosom friend1590

better half1596

ingle1602

inward1607

bully boy1609

bosom-piecea1625

hail-fellow1650

bosom-bird1655

intimate1660

crony1665

intimado1682

chum1684

friend of one's bosom1712

right bower1829

inquaintancea1834

cad1836

chummy1849

bond-friend1860

raggie1901

bosom1913

aceboy1951

boon coon1951

mellow1967

squeeze1980

acegirl2009

a1425 (a1400) Titus & Vespasian l. 1015 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1903) 111 298 I hope, þat sche be my gret frende.

1459 J. Brackley in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 333 Radclyf and ȝe bene grete frendys.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. lvi^v/2 Whan the kyng of Englande..harde howe they of Gaunt had slayne Jaques Dartuell his great frende he was sore dyspleased.

1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 i. i He was an early riser, and a great friend of hunting.

1673 Descr. Acad. Athenian Virtuosi 9 Coffee being esteem'd by its admirers a suppresser of fumes, and a great friend to the memory.

1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 193 Reputeing what was don to his great friend to be don to himself.

1769 E. Burke Let. 2 July in Corr. (1960) II. 41 I am no great friend, in general, of long-winded performances.

1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross I. 106 He and his great friend here had a row about her.

1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 177 Plumer and Thornton were great friends.

1967 P. R. May West Coast Gold Rushes (ed. 2) 240 ‘Gold is the great friend of the masses’, ran a line in the chorus of a diggers' song.

2005 R. Douglas Night Song Last Tram 320 Although she was twelve years older than Ma, they had been great friends since they'd met at work in 1936.

Great Hallel n. [after post-biblical Hebrew hallēl ha-gāḏōl (Tosefta, Ta'anit 3:5), denoting Psalm 136] a poem or song of praise to God consisting of Psalm 136, and sometimes also part of Psalm 135, recited or sung among Jews on joyous occasions. Cf. Hallel n.Its use is sometimes adopted by Christians.

ΚΠ

1655 J. Lightfoot Harmony New-Test. ii. 59 At the Paschal meal every company rehearsed this saying, Blessed be he that cometh, &c. in their great Hallel.

1724 T. Lewis Origines Hebrææ II. iv. iii. 475 They have a Tradition, that they might if they pleased drink a fifth Cup of Wine, provided they say over it the great Hallel, which is generally understood to be the hundred and thirty sixth Psalm.

1877 J. C. Geikie Life & Words Christ II. lv. 397 At the Feast of Tabernacles..the great Hallel was daily sung in their processions.

1994 Buddhist-Christian Stud. 14 109 This hymn is the choice of Rabbi Yohanan for the ‘Benediction of Song’ following the Great Hallel.

Great Hunger n. [after Irish an Garta Mór] = Great Famine n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun] > scarcity of food or famine > of specific food or crop

potato failure1845

potato famine1846

Great Famine1849

Great Hunger1910

1910 A. Birkhead Tales from Irish Hist. xxv. 123 (chapter title) The Great Hunger.

1956 S. H. Bell Erin's Orange Lily viii. 114 And in this district you can still hear vivid stories of the Great Hunger.

2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 24/3 Ellen went to America, like so many others, fleeing the effects of the Great Hunger.

Great Insertion n. the section of St Luke's Gospel, 9:51–18:14, which is independent of St Mark; cf. Great Omission n.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > Gospel > [noun] > insertion

Great Insertion1886

1886 R. Mackintosh Christ & Jewish Law iii. 44 Christ, in a passage which stands in Luke (xi. 37-52) in the middle of the Great Insertion, but which is placed in Matthew (xxiii.) as His last summing-up against His life-long enemies, recites the whole guilt of the Pharisees.

1911 J. V. Bartlet in Stud. Synoptic Probl. 336 The part of Luke's Gospel prior to the Great Insertion.

2007 T. R. Y. Neufeld Recovering Jesus iii. 69 Most of the material that is unique to Luke is found between Luke 9 and Luke 19, often referred to as the ‘Great Insertion’.

Great King n. Ancient Greek History the king of Persia. [After ancient Greek βασιλεύς ὁ μέγας (Herodotus), itself after Old Persian xšāyaθiya vazṛka, lit. ‘great king’, one of the titles of the Achaemenid kings from Darius I onwards.]

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > other independent rulers > [noun] > shah

Sophy1539

shah1566

Great King1576

Sophy1606

Sufi1698

padishah1758

Shahanshah1815

1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f. 77/v He receiued and entertained..the hoste of Xerxes, sonne of the greate king Darius.]

1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. 168 (margin) The great king: mening the king of Persia.

1591 L. Lloyd Triplicitie of Triumphes sig. D3^v Cyrus,..named the Great King.

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 424 These Asians had a custom to call the King of Persia the Great King [Fr. le grand Roy; Gk. βασιλέα μέγαν].

1740 Hist. Wks. Learned Nov. 333 The Greeks, who considered the Persian Monarch, whom they styled The Great King, as their most formidable Enemy.

1799 J. Aikin et al. Gen. Biogr. I. 413/2 The return of the Greeks was soon succeeded by wars between the Lacedemonians and the Great King, or rather his lieutenants in Lesser Asia.

1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VIII. ii. lxii. 70 The Great King.

1921 H. R. James Our Hellenic Heritage I. ii. xi. 277 To many a brave man the might of the Great King seemed irresistible.

2010 Weekly Standard (Nexis) 3 May He somehow managed to sneak into Persia, hiding in a courtesan's wagon, and again sent a letter to the Great King.

Great Land n. U.S. the state of Alaska. [After Russian bol′šaja zemlja mainland, lit. ‘great land’ (a1711 with reference to the Seward Peninsula; frequent in 18th-cent. Russian sources with reference to various parts of the North-West American mainland), sometimes (apparently following the passage in quot. 1867) mistakenly assumed to be after Eastern Aleut alaxsxix̣ mainland (see Alaska n.).]

ΚΠ

a1778 J. Cook Voy. Pacific Ocean (1785) II. 504 The American continent is here called by the Russians, as well as the islanders, Alaschka, which name, though it properly belongs only to the country adjoining to Oonemak, is used by them when speaking of the American continent in general, which they know perfectly well to be a great land. This is all the information I got from these people [sc. Russians].

1867 C. Sumner Speech Cession Russ. Amer. 48 It appears from the report of Cook..that the euphonious name now applied to the peninsula..was the sole word used originally by the native islanders... It only remains that, following these natives,..we, too, should call this ‘great land’ Alaska.]

1886 H. H. Bancroft et al. Hist. Alaska 97 But for these costly skins, each of which proclaimed..the glories of Alaska, the Great Land might long have rested undisturbed.

1906 Boston Alaskan Aug. 13/1 Tourists always return enthusiastic over what they have seen of the ‘great land’.

1939 Guide to Alaska (Federal Writers' Project) i. i. 9 One of the unfortunate historical facts concerning the Great Land is that..the psychology of its development has been that of the exploiter rather than that of the permanent resident.

2009 Alaska (National Geogr. Traveler) 36 The war brought tens of thousands of American troops to Alaska, many of whom fell in love with the Great Land and returned to live..there after the war.

Great Leap Forward n. (also Great Leap) [after Chinese Dà yuè jìn (1957; < dà great + yuèjìn (verb) to leap forward, (noun) action of leaping forward)] Chinese History the programme of stimulation and rapid modernization of industrial and other forms of production initiated in November 1957 in the People's Republic of China; also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > politics > politics in India and Far East > [noun] > Chinese politics > principles or policies

Tai-pingism1860

Boxerism1900

reform through labour1913

Sun Yat-senism1925

Maoism1950

rectification1956

Great Leap Forward1958

1958 China Reconstructs May 14 (heading) 1958—Year of the Forward Leap.]

1958 Times 31 May 7/3 This year has been decreed as the year of the ‘great leap forward’.

1961 S. I. Gass in F. L. Alt Adv. in Computers II. 366 In a report on ‘Mathematical Research in China in the Last Ten Years’..the author credits operations research, especially linear programming, as being a contributing factor in the ‘great leap’.

1963 D. J. Dwyer in China Now (1974) xi. 234 The tremendous spurt in coal production recorded in 1958 was..directly related to the official ‘Great Leap Forward’ of that year.

1971 Guardian 25 Nov. 12/2 Peking through two great leaps forward—the New Literature Movement in 1919 and the Han Character Simplification Movement in 1955—evolved new ideographs.

1983 G. Priestland At Large 66 Members [of the General Synod of the Church of England] have been bombarded with letters and petitions either imploring them to take the great leap forward [to unity with Nonconformist churches], or warning them to stay where they are.

1991 D. H. Perkins in R. MacFarquhar & J. K. Fairbank Cambr. Hist. China XV. iii. vi. 479 Those who shared Mao's vision could argue that the basic ideas of the Great Leap were sound.

2011 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 10 Feb. 26/2 The terrible human costs of the famine brought about by the Great Leap Forward (GLF) of 1958–1960.

Great Lent n. the most important fasting period of the religious year, esp. in Orthodox Churches; = Lent n.¹ 2a.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Lent > [noun]

LentenOE

Lent tidelOE

Lentc1300

Lent timec1400

Quadragesime1483

Lent season?1490

Quadragesimac1560

Great Lent1591

Great Fasta1670

shrift-time1853

1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth xxv. f. 105^v They haue foure great Fastes, or Lentes euery yeere. The first, (which they call their great Lent) is at the same time with ours.

1679 P. Rycaut Present State Greek Church 264 The labouring and common people are enjoined to a Confession but once a year, and that before their entrance into the great Lent, which is before Easter.

1700 tr. M. Dalairac Polish Manuscripts 194 The Turks have two Lents in the Year call'd Ramasan, each lasting a Month... The Great Lent..is indispensibly necessary to be observed among them.

1732 R. Challoner Unerring Authority of Catholick Church ii. 24 They keep the great Lent at the same Time with the Greeks.

1898 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 361/1 When the Great Lent came, and it would not have been proper to eat meat, cream, or butter, he seized the opportunity to invent all sorts of delicacies in the way of fish.

2002 C. C. Jones Year Russ. Feasts (2003) 166 As with the Great Lent, or Easter Lent, people are not permitted to eat meat or fish and all dairy products are prohibited.

great mass n. [compare post-classical Latin missa major (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), missa magna (frequently from 13th cent. in British sources), Middle French grant messe (14th cent.; French grand-messe)] now rare = High Mass n. at high adj. and n.² Compounds 4.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > mass > kinds of mass > [noun] > high

High MassOE

great massa1492

solemn mass1626

a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) i. xli. f. lxiii/1 Whanne the Gospell of the grete masse [Fr. grant messe] was sayde, The bysshopp commaunded to saynt Nonnus. that he sholde goo preche.

1600 J. Golburne tr. C. de Valera Two Treat. 427 In the pulpit of the great Church of this citie, at the time of the great Masse.

1770 G. Baretti Journey London to Genoa II. 199 The Priest who celebrated the Great Mass this morning.

2001 K. M. Sylvester Limits of Rural Capitalism vii. 177 The celebrations typically involved a procession through the streets of Saint-Boniface, a great mass at the cathedral..and a dramatic and vocal presentation in the evening.

great mean n. Early Music the string or (on a lute) pair of strings with the third-lowest pitch on an early stringed instrument.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > viol > bass-viol > specific strings of

great mean1574

counter-tenor1654

gamut string1654

1574 F. Kinwelmersh tr. A. Le Roy Briefe Instr. Musicke Lute f. 72 The thirde parte called the greate meanes, shalbe higher by three notes then the Countertenour, in vnitie: The small meanes, fower notes higher then the greate meanes.

1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 29 The third [string is named] the Great Meane.

1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) 76 In Tuning of your Violin..the Basse or fourth string is called G sol re ut..The Third or Great Mean is D la sol re.

1756 W. Tans'ur New Musical Gram. (ed. 3) ii. ii. 96 The Viol di Gambo..is what we call our Bass-Viol, having six Strings, called, 1st the Treble; 2d Small-Mean; 3d Great-Mean; [etc.].

1859 W. Chappell Ballad Lit. & Pop. Music Olden Time I. 103 The most usual mode of tuning it [sc. the lute] was as follows:..the great mean, or third, d.

1894 I. S. E. Stigand tr. W. J. von Wasielewski Violoncello & its Hist. Introd. 2 The so-called violas (fiddles) were provided with six strings which were called, like the six lute chords, Great Bumhardt (Bombarte)..middle string (great mean); vocal string (small mean); and quint string (treble).

1982 D. Poulton John Dowland (rev. ed.) App. II. 456 The lute in Dowland's lifetime was basically a six-course instrument... In descending order of pitch these courses were named Treble, Small mean, Great mean, Contra- tenor, Tenor and Bass.

Great Mother n. [after classical Latin magna māter, māter magna magna mater n.] the mother goddess or fertility deity of a particular culture; also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > goddess > mother-goddess

goddess-mother1558

mother goddess1558

magna mater1710

Great Mother1735

mother goddess1853

1553 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Eneados vii. f. cxlxvi Erth the grete moder, and first god of all.

1600 C. Middleton Legend Duke of Glocester sig. C3^v Nature the great mother of vs all, Who in abortiue birth brought foorth our age.

1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 42 Thou and the lovely hopes that smile in thee Are ta'ne out, and transcrib'd by thy Great Mother.

1735 A. Pope Dunciad (new ed.) i. 33 The Great Mother. [Note] Magna mater, here apply'd to Dulness.

1816 G. S. Faber Origin Pagan Idolatry II. iv. iv. 310 The Egyptian triad, composed of Isis the great mother, Osiris the father, and Horus the sun.

1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxxv. 18 The Great Mother he surely sings divinely.

1919 J. Buchan Mr. Standfast xxi. 356 There was a strange cult in the ancient world, the worship of Magna Mater—the Great Mother.

1969 J. Johns King of Witches (1971) 147 Listen to the words of the great mother who was of old also called among men Artemis, Diana, Aphrodite, Arianrod and by many other names.

1993 T. Moorey Witchcraft (1996) 11 There is strong evidence that worship of a Great Mother predated worship of a God by thousands of years.

Great Nebula n. Astronomy a visually prominent nebula or galaxy; spec. the Orion Nebula (M42) or (now rare) the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

ΚΠ

1806 Scots Mag. & Edinb. Lit. Miscell. 68 87 It was almost circular, and in other respects similar to the great Nebula in Andromede [sic].

1811 W. Herschel in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 101 279 No. 42 of the Connoissance is the great nebula in the constellation of Orion.

1848 Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. New Ser. 3 75 It is probable that the great nebula in Andromeda was recognized at least six hundred years before the invention of the telescope.

1924 G. E. Hale Depths of Universe ii. 60 The Great Nebula in Orion... Russell sees it as an enormous plenum in which wisps and clouds of dust..are in constant motion.

1970 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 81 16 Such misnomers are not uncommon in astronomy, unfortunately—there are some who still speak of the Great Nebula in Andromeda!

2009 M. A. Seeds & D. E. Backman Astronomy (ed. 6) xiii. 279/1 The Great Nebula in Orion and its invisible molecular cloud are a beautiful and dramatic example of the continuing cycle of star formation.

great oath n. an oath of special solemnity, or of particular vehemence or profanity; the form of oath regarded, by the swearer or listener, as the most sacred.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > solemn > most sacred

great oath?c1225

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 149 Blasfenia [prob. read blasfemia]..þe swerieð greate oðes. oðer bitterliche curseð. oðer mis seið bigod oðer bi his haleȝen.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2337 Þer was so mike yeft of cloþes, Þat þou i swore you gret othes, I ne wore nouth þer-offe croud.

1389 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) II. 24 Til there thyngys..lelily and fermly to be fulfyllyt..bath the partys fornemmyt, the haly wangelis twechyt, the gret ath bodylyke has sworn.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 75 William þe kyng..suore a grete othe þat he suld neuer spare Noiþer lefe no lothe northeren, what so þei ware.

1448 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 16 The quilk to do lelely and treuly the forsaid personis hes sworn the gret ath.

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ix. l. 1889 He suoyr þe gret athe bodely.

a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 41 The chanceleir suore be his great aith and hailie sacrament thair was..no wther..that he faworit sa weill.

1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem f. 12 Twelue loyall men..sall be chosen; quha sall sweare the great eath in presence of the parties, that they sall declare quhilk of them hes best richt.

1679 Processes Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court No. 284 Alexander McGown..sworne wpon his great oath that [etc.].

1788 Æ. Morison Trial W. Brodie & G. Smith 120 You are now bound by the great oath which you have sworn to tell the truth.

1844 Metropolitan Jan. 107 He ran in fiery haste toward the forecastle, shouting in a terrible voice, with many great oaths and curses, for one Rougemain.

1895 L. A. Waddell Buddhism of Tibet 569 In the courts when the great oath is taken, which is seldom, it is done by the person placing a holy scripture on his head, and sitting on the reeking hide of an ox.

1966 N. O. Brown Love's Body (1990) i. 17 In ancient Syracuse the official oath they called ‘the great oath’ was taken dressed in purple and wielding a fiery bolt.

2008 G. R. Iriam In Trenches (2011) 120 Nobby swore some great oaths and ran in and got his machine gun.

Great Omission n. the section of St Mark's Gospel, 6:45–8:26, which is omitted in St Luke; cf. Great Insertion n.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > Gospel > [noun] > omission

Great Omission1875

1727 N. Lardner Credibility Gospel Hist. I. ix. 452 St. Luke..does not mention expressly any thing, which Paul did at Jerusalem, beside saluting the church:..he could not be more particular without an unnecessary repetition. Throw away this design, and St. Luke has been guilty of a very great omission.]

1875 E. W. Shalders tr. F. Godet Comm. Luke I. iii. 411 What..can be more readily imagined than the omission of one or the other of these cycles in any of these collections? An accident of this kind is sufficient to explain the great omission which we meet with in Luke.

1911 J. C. Hawkins in Stud. Synoptic Probl. 61 This well deserves its usual name of St. Luke's ‘great omission’.

1927 A. H. McNeile Introd. N.T. 26 Whether intentionally or not he [sc. St. Luke] omits [Mark] vi. 45–viii. 26, which is sometimes called the ‘Great Omission’.

2008 R. H. Stein Mark iv. 322 It is strange that the parallel in Luke does not mention this, since the praying of Jesus is a strong Lukan theological emphasis.., but this is part of his ‘great omission’ of the Markan material found in 6:45–8:26.

great organ n. Music the principal division of an organ with two or more manuals, having the loudest sound.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > types of organ > [noun] > other types of organ

great organ1605

bird organ1745

serinette1772

euharmonic organ1811

physharmonica1838

harmoniphon1839

seraphine1839

pyrophone1873

string organ1876

orguinette1881

orchestrelle1897

1605–6 Accts. King's Coll., Cambr. in E. J. Hopkins & E. F. Rimbault Organ (1870) 64 Item to him for 2 figures or pictures that stand in the greate Organ.

1613 Specif. Worcester Cathedral Organ in A. Boden Thomas Tomkins (2005) vii. 92 The particulars of the great Organ.

1660 Specif. Organ Banqueting Room, Whitehall in G. Grove Dict. Music (1880) II. 590 Great Organ, 10 stops... Eccho Organ, 4 stops.

1773 C. Burney Present State Music in Germany I. 20 It has fifty-three stops, three sets of keys, great organ, choir organ, and echo.

1845 J. Stimpson Great Organ Birmingham 6 The Bellows of the Great Organ have also what are termed Reservoir Bellows.

1912 New Music Rev. July 354/2 In the great organ the Bourdon and Philomela are pedal stops extended.

2010 Cathedral Music Nov. 35/2 The Chair Organ provides light accompaniment for the solo voice; the more robust Great Organ accompanies the full choir.

great Parliament n. either of two important medieval English parliaments, that of 1295 in the reign of Edward I, and (more usually) that of 1397, in the reign of Richard II.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > a particular English or British parliament > specific

great Parliamentc1450

Good Parliament1580

addle parliament1614

giunto1641

junto1641

Unlearned Parliament1643

Long Parliament1646

rump?1653

Short Parliament1653

lay Parliament1655

Barebone's Parliament1657

Rump Parliament1659

Little Parliamenta1675

Long Parliament1678

Pensioner Parliament1678

Pensioned Parliament1681

Bluestocking Parliamenta1683

Pension Parliament1682

Pensionary Parliament1690

marvellous Parliament?1706

rumple1725

lack-learning Parliament1765

unreported Parliament1839

Cavalier Parliament1849

Addled Parliament1857

merciless Parliament1875

wonderful Parliament1878

nominated Parliament1898

c1450 (c1425) Brut (Cambr. Kk.1.12) 352 Yn the xxj yere of King Richardeȝ regne, he ordend a parlement at Westmynstre, þe which was clepid ‘þe Grete Parlement’.

1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. ii. 19 At this Parliament also, called the Great Parliament, He created five Dukes, and a Duchesse, one Marquesse, and foure Earles.

1662 H. Foulis Hist. Wicked Plots ii. i. 74 Many [parliaments] of our former Representatives have had several names added to them, as the Parliament that wrought wonders, The great Parliament, [etc.].

?1706 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft: 2nd Pt. v. 54 We meet..with a Parliament, called the good Parliament, in the 50th Year of Edw. III. and the great Parliament, and the marvellous Parliament, both in the Reign of Rich. II.

1804 W. Bingley North Wales II. xxii. 238 Another parliament was holden here in 1397, which, on account of the great number of people that were assembled in it, was called the Great Parliament.

1869 E. Creasy Hist. Eng. I. Index 511/2 The great parliament of 1295.

1885 F. Y. Powell in F. Y. Powell et al. Hist. Eng. I. iv.i. 198 The Great Parliament of 1295, which was afterwards acknowledged as the model for such gatherings, as the three Estates were all present regularly summoned.

1981 H. G. Richardson & G. O. Sayles Eng. Parl. in Middle Ages v. 146 The great parliament at London must be that of November 1295. We have not yet traced any other indication of the business of this parliament.

2003 M. Bennett in G. Dodd & D. Biggs Henry IV ii. 21 The counties and boroughs returned eleven per cent of the members who had served in Richard's ‘great parliament’ of 1397–8.

great pipe n. [partly after Scottish Gaelic pìob mhór: see piob mhor n.] chiefly Scottish the Highland bagpipe; = piob mhor n.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > bagpipe

bagc1275

stivec1290

cornemusec1384

musettea1393

bagpipec1405

pair1422

pipec1450

muse1484

drone1502

lilt-pipea1525

great pipe1592

miskin1593

Highland pipe1599

small-pipes1656

piffero1724

Highland bagpipe1728

zampogna1740

union pipes1788

Lowland pipes1794

pibroch1807

piob mhor1838

gaita1846

sack pipe1889

set1893

biniou1902

uillean pipes1906

1592 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 26 James Roy, pyper, accusit for ganging through the toun playing on his gryit pyipe in the nycht.

1667 Highland Pap. II. 43 Causing ther pyper bend up a great pipe.

1793 J. L. Buchanan Trav. W. Hebrides 81 The violin is more used on these occasions than the small pipes. This last, with the great pipe, is mostly used in the field, at weddings, funerals, and other public meetings.

1896 N. Munro Lost Pibroch 21 Perhaps I have lost the skill of the tune, for it's long since I put it on the great pipe.

2009 I. MacInnes in J. Dickson Highland Bagpipe viii. 173 ‘Lowland’ pipes share much in common with the great pipe of the Highland tradition.

great pock n. now historical and rare (in singular or plural) = great pox n.; (also) an individual skin lesion of syphilis.

ΚΠ

a1519 J. Colet Ryght Frutefull Monycion (1534) 6 And in especyall, call to remembraunce the meruailous and horryble punysshment of the abhominable great pockes, dayly apperynge to our sightes, growynge in & vpon mannes flesshe.

1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys i. f. xxi^v Such bold presumptuouse beggars as he ys in dede, hole & strong in body but weke & syk in soule, y^t haue theyr bodys clene fro skabbys and theyr soulys foule infect wyth vgly great pokkys & leprye.

1693 G. Powell Very Good Wife v. 43 Where be de great House, and de great Ditch, and de great Whore, and de great Pock now, you Son of a great Irish Bogtrotting Bitch.

1865 T. K. Chambers Renewal of Life (new ed.) 148 The reckoning of the days of latency and the history of the progress of the eruption will alone save you from falling into our forefathers' original error of confounding the ‘small’ and the ‘great’ pocks in babies.

1953 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 31 Jan. 283/1 On January 13 Lieutenant General Sir William MacArthur opened a discussion on ‘The Small Pocks and the Great Pocks’.

great pox n. now historical = syphilis n. 1a; cf. earlier great pock n., French pox n. at French adj. and n. Compounds 1b, and smallpox n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > venereal disease > [noun] > syphilis

foul evila1398

grandgore1497

French disease1503

French pox1503

pox1503

great pocka1519

great pox1529

morbus gallicus1543

gore1554

marbles1592

verol1596

Spanish pox1600

verola1600

the foul evil1607

bube1608

grincome1608

Neapolitan1631

lues1634

scabbado1651

venereal syphilis1653

foul disease1680

gout1694

syphilid1829

syphiloid1833

syphiloderma1850

vaccino-syphilis1868

neurosyphilis1878

old ral1878

syph1914

bejel1928

cosmic disease-

1529 in Ld. Herbert Henry VIII (1649) 267 The same Lord Cardinall [sc. Wolsey] knowing himself to have the foule, and contagious Disease of the Great Pox, broken out upon him in divers places of this body, came daily to your Grace.

1595 T. W. tr. P. Leroy et al. Pleasant Satyre 56 I say not therefore to heale the kings euill or great poxe (wherewith his Southerly countries are very sore infected) hee maketh not any reckoning of the prayers of the deuout inhabitants of his good towne of Paris.

1655 Woodall's Surgeons Mate (new ed.) Preface sig. B2^v Of necessitie he [sc. the Surgeon] must not be forbidden lawfull practice, otherwise how shall he well perform his scope of healing,..where Physicians either are not at hand, or will not come, as when and where contagious diseases happen, namely, the small and great pox, or the pestilence, &c.

1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 352 The great Pox, which can scarce ever be cur'd without Viperals or Mercurials.

a1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan i. cxxx, in Wks. (1833) XV. 163 I said the small-pox has gone out of late; Perhaps it may be follow'd by the great.

1928 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. Bull. 6 62 Great pox, like small pox, is a deadly enemy to the community.

2002 R. Porter Blood & Guts i. 13 The fact that some of the Spanish soldiers had accompanied Columbus suggested an American origin for the ‘great pox’.

Great Prior n. [perhaps after Middle French, French grand prieur (16th cent.; compare Middle French grand prieus (14th cent.)): see prior n.¹ 1] now historical = Grand Prior n. (b) at grand adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2.

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1523 R. Sampson & R. Jarnegan Let. in L. Howard Coll. Lett. from Orig. MSS (1753) 191 Newis from the Capitaine of Purpinian, the which is Great Prior off Seinct Thou's, and the Emperor's Lieutenant there.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. i. 2 My Lord the county of Tende accompanied with the great prior of Rome..& diuers other captaines.

1685 tr. R. Simon Hist. Orig. & Progress Eccl. Revenues 232 In every province there is a great Prior who from time to time holds Provincial Chapters.

1755 J. Spotiswood Acct. Relig. Houses Scotl. in R. Keith Large New Catal. Bishops Scotl. 267 This Order was first composed of eight Languages or Nations; whereof..the Great Prior of Italy is Admiral.

1848 Secret Societies, Templars 244 The Great-priors, Great-preceptors, or Provincial Masters..of the three Provinces of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and Antioch.

1942 H. C. Lancaster in Adventures Literary Historian i. 108 The spectators, including the Duke of Vendôme, his brother the Great Prior, other nobles, and several authors, were awaiting the arrival of the Dauphin.

1981 R. J. Sealy Palace Acad. Henry III 15 The Great Prior left studies a learned man.

† great prior's herb n. [after French herbe du grand prieur (1570 or earlier), an allusion to François de Lorraine (1534–63), Grand Prior of France, who is reputed to have cultivated tobacco and promoted its use as a medicine and stimulant, having been presented with specimens by Jean Nicot in 1560 (see nicotian n.¹)] Obsolete rare tobacco.

ΚΠ

1577 J. Frampton tr. J. Liébault in tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes ii. f. 42^v Others haue named it the greate Priours hearbe [Fr. l'herbe du grand Prieur], for that hee caused it to multiplie in Fraunce, more then any other.

Great Pyramid n. the largest of the pyramids at Giza, which forms the tomb of the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Cheops (in later use sometimes with reference to its supposed mystical powers; cf. Great Pyramid prophecy n.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > obsequies > monument > [noun] > pyramid

pyramida1500

Great Pyramid1591

huaca1847

step-pyramid1886

the world > the supernatural > the occult > [noun] > pyramidology > pyramid

Great Pyramid1859

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by the measurements of the Great Pyramid > Great Pyramid so used

Great Pyramid1883

1591 J. Harington in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso xv. 116 (note) Peter Messie prooueth that the great Pyramid was 150. furlongs hie.

1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. i. vii. 18 The height of the great Pyramid..is by its perpendicular..499 feet, by its inclining ascent, 693 feet.

1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxx. 39 When they came to the great pyramid they were astonished at the extent of the base.

1859 J. Taylor Great Pyramid p. vi I have confined my observations to the Great Pyramid alone.

1880 Warren (Pa.) Ledger 19 Mar. Those who read in the hidden chambers of the great pyramid momentous prophecies for 1881.

1883 Eclectic Mag. Jan. 25/2 The prophecies symbolically indicated in the Great Pyramid.

1976 Listener 19 Feb. 199/1 Books on ESP, UFOs, the mystic powers of the Great Pyramid..are..strong runners in the publishing stakes.

2003 Focus July (Kings of Egypt fold-out Suppl.) When complete, The Great Pyramid was approximately 146.5m high.

Great Pyramid prophecy n. now rare a prophecy based on a belief in the occult significance of the internal dimensions of the Great Pyramid; (also as a mass noun) these prophecies considered collectively, forming a prediction of significant world events; pyramidology.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by the measurements of the Great Pyramid

Great Pyramid prophecy1883

pyramidology1924

1883 Eclectic Mag. Jan. 26/1 All true believers in the Great Pyramid prophecies.

1938 Times 7 Oct. 10/6 The modern interpretations of Biblical prophecy and Great Pyramid prophecy.

1960 M. Bouisson Magic 288 The case of the Great Pyramid prophecy for the date of 20 August 1953 seems to us..inexplicable.

1999 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 29 Dec. 12 The great pyramid prophecy says the Earth's magnetic poles will become unstable and the polar shift will knock the earth upside-down in a few days.

Great Red Spot n. Astronomy an oval feature in the outer gas of the planet Jupiter, sometimes red but now usually pink in colour; = red spot n. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > superior planet > [noun] > Jupiter > red spot

red spot1879

Great Red Spot1880

1880 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 21 Jan. 2/5 The great red spot on Jupiter..continues to attract the attention of observers.

1936 F. Reh Astron. for Layman xviii. 243 Occasionally a more or less fixed spot appears. Such a spot is the so-called ‘great red spot’..still faintly visible in good photographs.

1967 P. Moore Amateur Astronomer's Gloss. 61 Of particular interest is the Great Red Spot, which can be traced on drawings made as long ago as 1631.

2006 Analog June 103/2 Surely the Great Red Spot unambiguously identified the gas giant as Jupiter.

great relief n. high relief, alto-relievo; now chiefly figurative and in non-technical use.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief > high relief

great relief1634

alto-relievo1664

grand relief1703

alt-relief1748

alto relief1772

haut-relief1850

1634 T. Carew Cœlum Britanicum 1 A great vaze of gold, richly enchased, and beautified with Sculptures of great Releiue.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 537 The Plinth of each of them was beautify'd with sculptures of great Relieve.

1725 D. Humphreys tr. B. de Montfaucon Suppl. Antiq. Explained V. v. ix. 555 The first [marble coffin] we give here must have had the Figures expressed in Great Relief, because we find so many Arms and Legs broke off.

1872 Building News 30 Aug. 130/1 In the south arcade they had the banded shafts and the nascent foliage of the Lancet period coming out in great relief.

1909 W. Armstrong Art in Great Brit. & Ireland xx. 290 His great relief in the pediment over the west door shows errors of taste.

2003 S. Browne Contacting your Spirit Guide (2007) 171 Everything stands out in great relief.

great road n. [in use with reference to France after French grand chemin (late 14th cent.) or grand rue (early 15th cent.)] now somewhat archaic or historical a main road, the principal highway; also figurative; cf. high road n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > main or major road

great road1614

high road1620

main road1741

highway1837

traffic artery1845

trunk road1848

main-way1862

arterial road1886

primary roada1903

route1912

arterial1920

major road1930

spine road1961

1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket i. 27 You can not stirre a foot in the great Road to the Citie of Hell, Pluto's Court, but you meet sinnes in throngs.

1622 L. Digges tr. G. de Céspedes y Meneses Gerardo i. ii. 121 In all that way (as being indeed no great Roade) they met not a creature.

1644 J. Howell Englands Teares 13 The Spanish Mule, who having by accident gone out of the great road, and carried her Rider thorow a by-path.

1726 New-Eng. Courant 5 Feb. 2/2 A Tract of Land in Watertown, lying upon the great Road leading from Watertown to Cambridge.

1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide (1781) 12 The heavy artillery in general keeps the great road.

1805 W. Maclure European Jrnl. (1988) 14 July 25 All the taverns since we left Moulins have been neat and clean, and much superior to anything on the great roads of France.

a1837 E. D. Griffin Serm. (1844) v. 28/2 It is the great road to perdition: or if the gate of hell is shut by the grace of God, it is the great road to darkness, temptation, and distress.

1906 J. W. Fortescue Hist. Brit. Army IV. xii. x. 253 The principal bridges were those of Pont-à-Marque on the great road to Paris, and Pont-à-Tressin on the road from Tournai to Lille.

1998 Philadelphia Daily News (Nexis) 9 July t2 When Germantown Avenue was The Great Road through Germantown, the reputation of its colonial craftsmen was unparalled [sic] in the New World.

Great Roll n. (also with lower-case initials) British (now historical) (the name of) a roll (roll n.¹ 1b) recording accounts of royal revenue as collected in every county; = pipe roll n.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > specific

Great Roll1397

pell1434

red book?1445

pipe1461

the Black Book of the Exchequer1592

pipe roll1612

great book1794

scoreboard1823

1397–8 Rolls of Parl.: Richard II (Electronic ed.) Parl. Sept. 1397 Pleas §7. m. 4 Thomas duk of Gloucestre..hathe iknowe and confessyd to fore the same William alle the matiere and pointz iwrete in this grete roulle aunexid [read annexid] to this sedule, the weche sedule and gret roule bethe asselid under the sele of the forseyd William.

1622 T. Powell Direct. Search of Rec. in Chancerie 40 All Debts due to the King, are in the said Great Roll contayned.

1711 T. Madox Hist. & Antiq. Exchequer 7 Magnus Rotulus, The Great Roll of the Exchequer commonly called the Pipe Roll.

1834 Act 4 & 5 William IV c. 16 §1 The Office of Recorder of the Great Roll or Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer in Scotland shall cease and determine.

1980 Amer. Jrnl. Legal Hist. 24 363 After the English defeat at Bannockburn another notary..was employed by the English government to draw up new great rolls concerning the king's ‘rightful dominion over the realm of Scotland’.

2009 P. Szyttya in M. F. Cusato & G. Geltner Defenders & Critics of Franciscan Life iii. 162 He became one of the clerks assigned to the Clerk of the Great Roll, otherwise known as the Engrosser. It was the Engrosser's duty to maintain the Great Roll of the Exchequer, the Pipe Roll.

great smoke n. the largest city in a particular country or region, esp. London; cf. big smoke n.

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1870 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 209/2 Three weeks were gone.., in another she must return to the Great Smoke.

1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 270 The Smoke = any large city: spec. London: also The Great Smoke.

2010 Times (Nexis) 8 Dec. 69 London was called the Great Smoke with good reason. The city was choked by coal smoke.

Great Society n. U.S. a set of domestic reform programmes instigated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, with the main intention of eliminating poverty and advancing civil rights; frequently (and in earliest use) attributive.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > principles or policies

federalism1787

state rights1787

colonizationism1831

hunkerism1845

Reconstructionism1881

Little Americanism1898

Point Four1949

fairness doctrine1952

new frontier1961

Great Society1964

eleventh commandment1966

Nixon Doctrine1969

1964 Washington Post 24 Apr. a18/1 President Johnson told 6000 cheering Democrats here tonight..that their Party must ‘build a great society of the highest order’.]

1964 Newsday (N.Y.) 27 June 5/1 Johnson went in front of his Democratic audience to put in a big new plug for his ‘great society’ program.

1965 N.Y. Times 14 Mar. 3/2 In expanding on the work of its forebears, the Great Society has produced a wealth of new ideas.

1987 W. Greider Secrets of Temple i. iii. 91 Lyndon Johnson was blamed for..adding tens of billions in new spending for the war in Indochina to the federal budget, alongside the burgeoning new Great Society spending for education, health and poverty.

2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 24 Jan. i. 8/4 The political culture of South Carolina conservatism has been decades in the making, forged by opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, Harry Truman's Fair Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

great son n. chiefly South African the eldest son of an African chief or king and his (principal) wife; the heir apparent to the chieftainship.

ΚΠ

1831 W. B. Boyce Jrnl. 15 Oct. in A. Steedman Wanderings S. Afr. (1835) II. 288 A male child has been born to Faku lately, which, from the rank of its mother, is the great son or heir of its father.

1907 W. C. Scully By Veldt & Kopje 254 The Chief's ‘Great Son’ was to be made a man at the time, and my father wanted me to be one of his blood-brothers.

2003 P. M. Gunnar Here I am, Lord, send Me iii. 58 The ‘Great Son’ of a chief, the first son of his father's ‘Great Wife’ and the legal inheritor of the chief's power, was often a child at his father's death.

Great Synagogue n. in rabbinical tradition: a Jewish council founded by Ezra and his associates after the return from the Babylonian Captivity to put various decrees into effect and conclude a covenant (Nehemiah 8–10).The historical reliability of this late tradition cannot be established. [Ultimately after post-biblical Hebrew kĕnesseṯ ha-gĕḏōlāh, lit. ‘Great Assembly’, ‘Great Synagogue’ (for the first element of the Hebrew compound, see Knesset n., and compare synagogue n.), although the precise origin of the institution is uncertain. Compare post-classical Latin synagoga magna (1550 or earlier).]

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of body or spec. bodies > [noun] > with reference to foreign countries > Jewish

councilc1384

synedrion1581

Great Synagogue1585

sanhedrim1588

Judenrat1903

1585 R. Parsons Christian Directorie i. iv. 216 The great Synagogue, called Sanhedria; which after the captiuity of Babylon, vntil Herods time, supplied (in a sorte) the spirit of prophetie, that was expresly in Israel before the said captiuity.

1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron v. i. 221 That great assembly of Prophets and holy men, called together by Esra for the reformation of the Church, after their returne from Babylon, is called Synagoga magna, Their great Synagogue.

1734 J. Hutchinson Covenant in Cherubim 264 Some suppose that Ezra began it, others that the Men of the Great Synagogue did it.

1876 B. Martin Messiah's Kingdom ii. iv. 88 The Great Synagogue, which consisted of 120 members, governed the Jews both in political and ecclesiastical matters for about 110 years, from Nehemiah to Simon the Just, when it was merged in the Sanhedrim.

1881 W. R. Smith Old Test. in Jewish Church vi. 156 The Great Synagogue plays a considerable part in Jewish tradition;..we now know that the whole idea..is pure fiction.

1993 Proc. Amer. Acad. Jewish Res. 59 148 One finds in the Bibel'sche Orient a negation of Ezra, the Magna Ecclesia (the Great Synagogue), the Pharisees and the Aramaic language.

great thought n. now sometimes ironic a concise saying, a maxim, an aphorism.In many contexts difficult to distinguish from more general use in senses at branch A. III.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun]

saw9..

quideOE

yedOE

wordOE

wisdomc1175

bysawe?c1225

riotc1330

sentencec1380

textc1386

dict1432

diction1477

redec1480

say1486

adage1530

commonplace?1531

adagy1534

soothsay1549

maxima1564

apophthegm1570

speech1575

gnome1577

aphorisma1593

imprese1593

spoke1594

symbol1594

maxim1605

wording1606

impress1610

motto1615

dictum1616

impresa1622

dictate1625

effate1650

sentiment1780

great thought1821

brocarda1856

text-motto1880

sententia1917

1821 W. Hazlitt Table-talk xi. 253 Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.

1872 Athenæum 5 Oct. 486/1 (advt) Being a Collection of Great Thoughts on the Subjects of Bereavement, Consolation, and Resignation.

1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. i. iv. 48 A calendar of Great Thoughts was roughly divested of ninety-eight great thoughts at once.

1969 K. Giles Death cracks Bottle iii. 23 ‘How nice!’ said Noni, with what passed with her for wit. ‘Any more great thoughts on offer?’

1993 B. Phillips (title) Phillips' book of great thoughts, funny sayings: a stupendous collection of quotes, quips, epigrams, witticisms, and humorous comments: for personal enjoyment and ready reference.

Great Thursday n. (also Great and Holy Thursday) Orthodox Church the Thursday before Easter, which is observed as a commemoration of the Last Supper; cf. Maundy Thursday n. [In quot. 1831 translating an Arabic source, the work of a 17th-cent. Syrian Melkite clergyman and chronicler, and perhaps originally after Arabic ḵamīs al-kabīr, lit. ‘Great Thursday’.

In later use (in Greek, Serbian, and Russian Orthodox contexts) after Serbian Veliki Četvrtak and Russian Velikij Četverg (Old Russian Velikyj Četv′rg′′; compare Old Church Slavonic Velikyi Četvrŭtŭkŭ) and their ultimate model Byzantine Greek πέμπτη ὴ μεγάλη (modern Greek Μεγάλη Πέμπτη).]

ΚΠ

1831 F. C. Belfour tr. Paul of Aleppo Trav. Macarius II. iii. 138 On Great, or Holy, Thursday, the Beg sent his coach at break of day; and we passed to the Church of the Corta, for the ceremonies of ablution and mass.

1853 tr. in W. Palmer Diss. ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Eastern-Catholic’ Communion xiii. 194 The Synod of Carthage appointed that on the Great Thursday [the faithful] should Communicate in the holy Mysteries after their evening meal, in imitation of that Supper of the Lord.

1865 Church Work (Guild of St. Alban) Sept. 481 The Greek Church call it Great and Holy Thursday, Vigil of the Passion, The mystic Supper.

1929 Art Bull. 11 80 The text visible below the miniature in our reproduction is..the end of the first lesson..for the liturgy of Great Thursday (Holy Week).

1958 J. M. Halpern Serbian Village x. 240 The village church is crowded on Great Thursday, when the story of the Crucifixion is read.

1985 P. Lazor tr. N. Uspensky Evening Worship in Orthodox Church iii. iii. 219 Before the Liturgy on Great and Holy Thursday, the priest and the deacon went to the skeuophylakion where the vessels with the myron intended for consecration were kept.

2010 Church Times 1 Apr. 22/2 Not everyone calls it Maundy Thursday, either... Others..called it Remission Day. To this day, it is also described as Holy Thursday, Great Thursday, or even the Thursday of the Mysteries.

great tithe n. now historical a predial tithe paid on agricultural products produced in large quantities, such as grain, hay, and wood, and typically due to the rector of the parish; cf. tithe n.² 1a.

ΚΠ

1619 R. Tillesley Animadversions Seldens Hist. Tithes 147 He should haue for his life all the great Tithes.

1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 285 Where the Vicar leases his Glebe, the Tenant must pay the great Tithes to the Rector or Impropriator.

1862 J. H. Burton Book-hunter (1863) 294 The Bishop of Lichfield..was Dean of Durham, and owner of the great tithes in the parish.

2000 Church Times 7 Apr. 8/1 Who would be a lay rector? Once upon a time most such people enjoyed a share in the ‘great tithe’.

great tradition n. the corpus of great English fiction as defined by the English literary critic F. R. Leavis (1895–1978).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > [noun] > specific types of literature > English

great tradition1948

1890 H. James in Speaker 4 Jan. 11/3 For the great value of Browning is that at bottom..he is unmistakably in the great tradition.]

1948 F. R. Leavis Great Trad. i. 7 By ‘great tradition’ I mean the tradition to which what is great in English fiction belongs.

1969 Guardian 21 Aug. 8/3 The inheritors of Leavis's Great Tradition..mutter about pretentious, jumped-up, pulp writers.

1971 Human World Nov. 88 The Great Tradition from Jane Austen to Conrad is that of the fine individual consciousness.

2009 R. Storer F. R. Leavis v. 79 In the introduction to the earlier book Dickens is deliberately excluded from the great tradition.

Great Unknown n. (a) (chiefly with the) anything which is not within the scope of existing knowledge; esp. anything considered to be vast and beyond the limits of human comprehension or understanding, as God, the future, the universe, etc. (b) a significant or influential person of unknown identity; used spec. in the 19th cent. as a nickname for the anonymous author of Waverley, i.e. Sir Walter Scott (cf. small known at known n. 3).

ΚΠ

1598 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Colonies 34 They knew the great vnknowne, and..With faithfull eyes beheld their vnbeholden king.

1684 N. Tate Poems (ed. 2) 149 Hail then, thou matchless Bard, thou great Unknown.

1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) i. 2 When shall we see the Great Unknown, And in thy Presence stand?

1825 R. Wilson Hist. Hawick 51 The powerfully superior mind of the Great Unknown.

1877 R. F. Burton Sind Revisited ix. 191 That Great Unknown, the literato who baptized the animal ‘Ship of the Desert’.

1934 Studies: Irish Q. Rev. 23 657 Some ‘Great Unknown’ who was contemporary with the Exile.

1989 A. Stoddard Living beautifully Together (1991) i. 39 Buy a telescope. Contemplate the great unknown.

2003 Philadelphia Inquirer 30 May w4/1 In leaving the known quantity of his anemone for the great unknown of the East Australian Current, he conquers his fears and the hearts of the audience.

Great Wardrobe n. [after post-classical Latin magna garderoba (from 13th cent. in British sources) and Anglo-Norman grant warderobe (early 14th cent. or earlier)] a department of the royal household responsible for supplying household goods and keeping accounts of the king’s privy purse; (also) the goods administered by this department considered collectively; a building or location used by this department for storage and administration. Cf. wardrobe n. 3, Master of the Great Wardrobe n. at master n.¹ 23a(f). historical after 18th cent.By the mid-13th cent. the Great Wardrobe had developed as the principal domestic financial office of the royal household responsible for supplying horses, food, drink, clothing, and other textiles to the household and to the army during times of war. At this date it was distinct from the household wardrobe, which held responsibility for the monarch's personal expenditure, although the two were subsequently merged and the wardrobe's function restricted to providing for the daily needs of the household. From the mid-14th to 17th cent. the Great Wardrobe had permanent premises near Blackfriars in London housing offices and storage for non-perishable goods. The building at Blackfriars was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and Great Wardrobe as a department abolished in 1782.

ΚΠ

1439 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 114 (MED) The kyngges of armes, heraudes of the..reme, han had owte of her grete warderobe at every feste..here lyvere clothing.

1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 155 George Lufkyn Sergeant taillour of the grete Warderobe of the Kyng.

1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1561/2 Edward Walgraue knight, M. of oure greate wardrop.

1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 404/1 Along till over against Puddle wharfe; and then North up by the great Wardrobe, to the West end of Carter lane.

1660 S. Pepys Diary 15 June (1970) I. 175 The King hath given him the place of the Great Wardrobe.

1755 H. Walpole Let. 29 Sept. (1906) II. 471 Sir Thomas Robinson is to return to the Great Wardrobe, with an additional pension on Ireland of 2000 l. a year.

1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 44 What, Sir, is there in the office of the great wardrobe (which has the care of the king's furniture) that may not be executed by the lord chamberlain himself.

1914 W. G. Thomson Tapestry Weaving in Eng. xvii. 139 The arras-workers and tailors employed in the Great Wardrobe changed the scene of their labours to offices in Great Queen Street.

2008 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Jan. 27/1 Maria Hayward's splendid survey..brings to life the little-known institution of the Great Wardrobe.

Great Week n. = Holy Week n.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun]

throwingeOE

passionOE

paschOE

swiwike?c1225

pace1385

Passion Weekc1460

Great Week1612

Holy Week1710

Semana Santa1831

passion-tide1847

Maundy-week1868

1612 I. B tr. P. Du Moulin Waters of Siloe iv. 189 At Rome in the passion weeke, which they call the great weeke, you may see whole troopes of hired persons, who..do publikely mangle their backs with scourgings.

1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices v. 151 It [sc. Holy Week] became to be stiled also The great Week.

1716 M. Hole Pract. Disc. Liturgy Church of Eng. IV. liii. 431 This Week immediately preceding the Feast of Easter..was antiently call'd sometimes the Great Week, sometimes the Holy Week.

1812 J. Brady Clavis calendaria I. 266 The week was called the ‘Great Week’, in token of the inestimable blessings bestowed upon mankind, through the merits and sufferings of our Saviour.

1907 Amer. Anthropologist 9 753 Treats of the ceremonies and customs of the ‘great week’ (holy week) in the Salentine peninsula,—processions, representation of the passion of Jesus, etc.

2000 J. Baggley Festival Icons for Christian Year viii. 71 At a later stage further liturgical observances marked the particular stages in the drama of the Passion and Resurrection, and became what we now refer to as Holy Week or Great Week.

great wheel n. (a) an exceptionally large wheel, esp. one in a piece of apparatus; also figurative; (b) Watchmaking and Clockmaking the first wheel in the train; spec. a cogged wheel at the foot of a fusee, of slightly larger diameter than the adjacent largest step of the fusee.

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1517 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxvi. 116 Vnder eche horse there was full pryuely A grete whele made by craftly geometry With many cogges vnto whiche were tyed Dyuerse cordes.

1538 T. Elyot Dict. Tympanum, is also a great whele, wherein men do goo and drawe vp water.

1598 tr. J. de Serres Hist. Coll. 50 Diuers Politicians..were of opinion, that this great Wheele of earthly prosperities, would shortly turne about.

1610 D. Price Creation of Prince sig. D3 With a good heart there is euer a wise tongue..and a humble minde, this beeing like the great wheele in a watch, all the lesser depend vpon it.

1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. xxix. 70 Till the great wheel of providence turn up another spoke.

1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xiv. 235 Of Turning Oval Work. This Work may be perform'd in the Common Lathe that goes either with the Treddle Wheel or the great Wheel.

1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 346 The great wheel of circulation [sc. money] is altogether different from the goods which are circulated by means of it.

1850 E. B. Denison Rudimentary Treat. Clock & Watch Making i. lxxxi. 110 The great wheel of a weight-clock rides on the barrel arbor.

1903 O. Kuhns Great Poets Italy ix. 287 When the ‘great wheel’ of Napoleon's prosperity began to roll down hill, Monti let go for fear his own career should be involved in the ruin of the great Corsican.

1948 A. L. Rawlings Sci. Clocks & Watches xiii. 240 Most spring clocks and watches have a ‘going barrel’, which is in one piece with the first wheel of the train called the great wheel.

1968 D. Braithwaite Fairground Archit. 56 The ‘Great Wheel’ at the Earls Court Exhibition in 1894, a semi-permanent structure, seated 1,200 riders in 40 carriages.

2010 C. McKay Big Ben xvii. 228/1 The engaged winding pinion is on a swinging arm; this arm has a click that engages with flat ratchet teeth set on the rear face of the great wheel.

Great White Father n. (a) (now chiefly historical) (in representations of North American Indian speech) the President of the United States; = Great Father n.; (b) (chiefly ironic) a person in authority; cf. great white chief at chief n. 6b.In sense (a) the expression belongs to the fictive kinship terminology widely used in diplomatic relations by Indians of Eastern North America: see the discussion of red children n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i). Compare White Father n. (a) at white adj. and n. Compounds 1f.

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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > in a republic > in U.S.

president1784

Great White Father1806

Great Father1808

POTUS1895

society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority

mastereOE

herOE

lordOE

overmana1325

overling1340

seignior1393

prelatea1475

oversman1505

signor1583

hogen mogen1639

boss-cocky1898

man1918

trump1937

authority figure1948

Great White Father1960

1806 Literary Mag. Jan. 78/2 Whene'er to march thou feel'st inclin'd, We'll form a lengthening file behind, And dauntless from our forests walk To hear our Great White Father's talk.

1888 B. Harte Drift from Redwood Camp in Phyllis of Sierras 199 The Messenger of the Great White Father has come to-day.

1936 Time 25 May 11/1 The Indians came bearing gifts, a blanket for the Great White Father [sc. President Roosevelt], a ring for the Great White Mother.

1960 Ont. Legislature Deb. 6 Dec. 247/2 And when they had it arranged, the great white father blows into town and gives the people a party.

1963 Amer. Speech 38 272 The disparaging use of the term Great White Father for the superintendent, an unpopular authoritarian figure, appears to be limited to the staff, only half of whom are Indian.

2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers viii. 368 ‘I'm referring to the Indian curse of the seven generations.’ ‘What?’ ‘Absolutely. After the Great Displacement when they saw how The Great White Father's word had been broken, they reacted.’

Great White North n. (a) the Arctic; (b) (in later use, chiefly North American) Canada.

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1895 A. W. Greely Addr. 6th Internat. Geogr. Congr. in E. B. Baldwin Search for North Pole (1896) i. 16 If one would gain an adequate idea of the true aspects of such voyaging, he must turn to the original journals, penned in the great White North by brave men.

1910 H. S. Wright (title) The Great White North: the story of polar exploration from the earliest times to the discovery of the Pole.

1981 Film Comment May 77 These two guys, Bob and Doug McKenzie..sit on a mock-up set with a map of Canada, the Great White North, behind them and a dozen cases of Molson's Canadian surrounding them.

1993 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 14 May c3 It's the '40s and Walter is back in the Great White North... Things are much the same in the Arctic Circle.

2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 12 Sept. iii. 1/1 In the Great White North, fans feel strongly either way about their national sport.

great white spot n. (also with capital initials) Astronomy a distinctive white area that is periodically visible through a telescope on the surface of Saturn but is relatively short-lived.Such spots are attributed to violent atmospheric disturbances, and occur approximately every 28–29 years.Before 1933 referred to simply as a white spot: cf. white spot n. 2.

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1877 Analyst 4 41 On the Rotation of Saturn... At the time of the discovery of the white spot this determination of Herschel was not known to me.]

1933 Sci. News. Let. 19 Aug. 115/2 (caption) In contrast is the left view [of Saturn] showing the great white spot, taken by Dr. E. C. Slipher.

1992 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) June 21/1 In the fall of 1990 Hubble took..images of Saturn in order to track a 50,000-kilometer-wide storm of ammonia ice crystals, termed the Great White Spot.

2012 P. Ulivi & D. M. Harland Robotic Explor. Solar Syst.: Pt. 3 vii. 184 This was only the sixth such ‘great white spot’ to have been observed during the last 135 years.

Great White Throne n. [with allusion to Revelation 20:11 (Hellenistic Greek θρόνος μέγας λευκός)] the throne of God; also figurative.

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the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun] > throne of God

cherubc825

thronec1225

sedea1400

Great White Throne1612

Mercy seat1667

1612 T. Wilson Christian Dict. 63 Great White Throne, seate Royall, full of exceeding Maiestie and greatnesse, such as Kinges and Iudges vse to sit in.

1673 J. Flavell Fountain of Life Opened xliii. 589 O what an honour will it be to the man Christ Jesus, who stood arraigned and condemned at Pilates bar, to sit upon the great white Throne surrounded with thousands and ten thousands of Angels!

1749 C. Wesley Hymns & Sacred Poems II. ccxxix. 311 O might we Now behold Thee In radiant Clouds descending, Sublime upon The great white Throne, With all thy Hosts attending!

1806 J. Struthers Peasant's Death in Cabinet (1807) 1 115 The great white throne, with ensigns angel-borne.

1850 R. Browning Christmas-eve xviii. 116 Is Judgment past for me alone?—And where had place the Great White Throne?

1873 C. M. Yonge Pillars of House III. xxxii. 212 It was his first mountain... He raised his hat with an instinct of reverence..then murmured, ‘One seems nearer the Great White Throne!’

1922 E. E. Cummings Enormous Room vii. 155 The Mecca of respectability, the Great White Throne of purity.

1990 Decision June 3/1 If you are outside Christ, you are going to be at the judgment. This is called the great white throne judgment.

Great White Way n. [with allusion to the bright illumination of the street: compare white way n. at white adj. and n. Compounds 1f] Broadway, a street in Manhattan, New York City, famous for its theatres; (also) a similar street in another city. [ O.E.D. Suppl. (1972) included the following as its earliest example, but the work in question concerns an Antarctic expedition:

1901 A. B. Paine (title) The great white way.

]

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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > brilliantly lit

Great White Way1902

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > specific street

Watling Street1569

pall-mall1656

high1853

Corso1876

Great White Way1902

1902 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 22 Nov. 6/4 (heading) ‘It's Carmen or Nothing’... Miss Phillips Out of Cast. Manager Hands Her the Second Part to Play and She Cries ‘Quits’... Miss Phillips..Will Join the Throng on ‘The Great White Way’.

1903 Washington Post 18 Oct. iv. 4/6 Theatrical Beau Esprits of Broadway... The fascination of the so-called ‘Great white way’—referring, of course, to the myriad of electric lights of theaters, hotels, and bazaars—for the man of wit and humor is irresistible.

1908 G. V. Hobart Go to It 22 Eight weeks since we left Chicago, three shows to the bad, and still a thousand miles from the Great White Way.

1936 H. Miller Black Spring 248 The Great White Way is blazing with spark-plugs.

1967 Act One Scene Two: Pt. 2 Nov. 12/3 All we can do is to keep our bit of the Oxford Playhouse staked out worthily along the Great White Way.

1980 N.Y. Times 10 Dec. a14 ‘Welcome to Boston's Great White Way,’ the sign on a theater marquee pridefully proclaimed.

2012 Independent (Nexis) 24 Jan. 26 Their 1976 musical Evita ran for four years on Broadway but despite having the Great White Way at their feet, it proved to be their last major collaboration.

great wife n. (in a polygamous marriage) a man's highest-ranking wife; spec. (chiefly South African) the highest-ranking wife of an African chief or king, and the mother of his heir.

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1759 Mod. Part Universal Hist. VII. 236 A man [in Thailand] may have several wives... There is always one of them who is the chief, and called the great wife.

1867 W. Taylor Christian Adventures in S. Afr. xxi. 355 Umhlonhlo, the Chief of the Amapondumsi, sent to Damasi, Chief of the Amapondo, saying that he was preparing to marry his great wife, and therefore he wanted the war to ‘sit still a little while’.

1921 G. Cory Rise of S. Afr. I. i. 22 Among the wives of a paramount chief, one was the ‘great wife’..; her eldest son was presumptive heir to the paramountcy. The ‘great wife’ was, in most cases, the last one taken.

2001 Trav. Afr. Autumn 19/2 Both families opposed their marriage in 1948, the Bamangwato being particularly furious as the Mohumagadi (Great wife of the King) was, by custom, selected by the community.

great world n. [after French le grand monde (1680)] aristocratic society; high society.

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society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun]

optimacy1579

aristocracy1651

great world1699

peerage1725

well-connected1788

governing class1795

patriciate1795

well-connected1831

caste1842

(the) salt of the earth1842

the leisured class(es1848

japonicadom1851

countyocracy1859

masterclass1861

proprietariat1872

four hundred1888

the Establishment1923

gratin1934

power élite1942

U1954

upper1955

topside1958

1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. at World To live among the great World, vivre parmi le grand monde, frequenter le grand monde.

1713 Guardian 29 Aug. 235 I know not what Delight splendid Nuptials may afford to the generality of the Great World.

1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxiv. 201 During her residence in the great world.

1851 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1894) I. 272 Thackeray says he is getting tired of being witty, and of the great world.

1946 Life 16 Dec. 78/2 High life meant high living: the gouty great world ate (with their knives) only a little less than they drank.

1996 E. Dunning & S. Mennel tr. N. Elias Germans ii. 126 Both political and civilized behaviour represented the grand monde, the ‘great world’, where people, so it appeared to those living in the ‘smaller middle-class world’, were full of conceit and pretence.

f. Anatomy and Zoology. In names of parts of the body (see sense A. 4b).great foot: see foot n. 1c. great hand: see hand n. 1d.

† great arm n. [after post-classical Latin brachium magnum (14th cent.)] Obsolete the entire arm from the shoulder to the fingertips; cf. great hand at hand n. 1d.

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?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 14^v In al þe grete arme or grete hand [L. brachio magno seu manu magna] bene 29 bones.

1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. G.iv The bones of the great arme, that is to say, from the shoulder to the fingers endes, be .xxx.

great artery n. [after post-classical Latin arteria magna (14th cent.)] the aorta; (in later use also) the pulmonary artery.

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a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 300 Basilica..sittiþ ful nyȝ þe gret arterie.

1566 W. Painter tr. O. Landi Delectable Demaundes f. 40 Wherfore is it not good to slepe with the face vpwardes? Bicause it heateth the raines, inflameth the bloud, and not onelye the blud but the spirits also, which are in the hollow vaine & in y^e gret arterie [Fr. la grande Arterie].

1681 Table of Hard Words in S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Remaining Med. Wks. Cephalic arterie consists of two branches which, springing out of the great artery, ascend up into the head.

1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. viii. ii. 96 The Vessel..which is called the Aorta, Arteria magna, or Great Artery.

1831 W. Hamilton Hist. Med., Surg., & Anat. I. ii. 76 He [sc. Aristotle] gave..the name of Aorta to the great artery of the body, which, originating in the left ventricle of the heart, carries the blood, after its re-oxygenation in the lungs, for re-distribution throughout the body.

1922 C. J. Singer Discov. Circulation of Blood i. 6 From each of the two ventricles arises a great artery through which the blood is distributed.

2012 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 28 July 21 The fundraising programme has been overseen by Ethan's mum and dad..who set up a website to raise awareness of his condition, called transposition of the great arteries.

† great bone n. [after post-classical Latin os magnum (1538 or earlier)] Obsolete the sacrum.

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1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 215 The marrow of the great or holy bone.

1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. i. xiv. 56 They come from the Trunk of the great Artery, near the great bone under the Emulgent vein.

1754 tr. B. S. Albinus Explan. Anat. Fig. Human Skeleton 17 The os sacrum or great bone of the spine.

1888 S. Lockwood Animal Mem. II. ii. 20 In fact, the hinder vertebræ are not only soldered to each other but connected also with the sacrum or great bone below.

† great leg n. Obsolete the whole of the leg including the foot and toes; cf. great foot at foot n. 1c.

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?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 19 (MED) One partie forsoþ of þe grete fote or legge [L. magni pedis seu tybie] is seid coxa i. þe þie.

?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens sig. L.i And in all y^e great fote or great leg there be .xxx.

great omentum n. [after scientific Latin omentum magnum (1746 or earlier)] now rare = greater omentum n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 2.

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1754 S. Mihles tr. A. von Haller Physiol. II. 149 The outermost coat..is expanded into the little and great omentum.

1873 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. xi. 458 A great, free, apron-like flap of the peritoneum called the great omentum, hangs down loosely in front of the bowels.

1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) xxiv. 308 The great omentum..shuts off that portion of the general peritoneal cavity in the immediate vicinity of the spleen.

2004 A. L. Baert et al. Radiol. Pancreas 132/2 (caption) Note the streaky densities of the great omentum seen anteriorly.

great vessel n. [after post-classical Latin vas magnum (1526 or earlier)] a large blood vessel; spec. any of those entering and leaving the heart, esp. the aorta or the pulmonary artery (cf. great artery n.).

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1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke iv. iii. 176 This feuer Synochus putrida or continens febris is caused when all the humoures do putrifie and rot equallie togither within all the vesselles, and specially in the great vesselles, which be about the armeholes, and the share.

1663 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxii. 55/1 Whence Hippocrates calls it [sc. the right testicle] the Boy-getter, because it receives more pure and hot blood and Spirits out of the great Vessel, viz. the great Artery.

1795 Mem. Med. Soc. London 4 xx. 276 The heart, pericardium and great vessels had a tendency..to produce an amplification of the left [cavity of the thorax].

1872 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. vi. 218 The heart and the roots of the great vessels which proceed from it are..placed within the inner wall of this pleuro-peritoneal cavity.

1902 Internat. Jrnl. Surg. Jan. 23/2 Though the bone was extensively injured, and rather extensive decortication was present, the great vessels and nerves remaining intact, a conservative operation..gave excellent results.

2004 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 21 Aug. c6/2 The next morning, Sandra received the news that Robert was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Vessels. In very simple terms, the vessels on the heart are reversed.

g. In the names of animals and plants (see also sense A. 4a).

great ape n. any of the large apes of the group comprising gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees (often classified as the family Pongidae, but in some current schemes included with humans in the family Hominidae); an anthropoid ape; contrasted with lesser ape.Pennant (quot. 1771) uses the term for a ‘species’ that appears to be a conflation of the orangutan and the chimpanzee.

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the world > animals > mammals > order Primates > suborder Anthropoidea (higher primates) > [noun] > group Catarrhinae (Old World monkey) > member of superfamily Hominoidea (apes and humans) > family Pongidae (ape)

babiona1529

jackanapes1528

Johnanapes1633

man-monkey1651

ape1699

pygmy1699

Simia1719

great ape1771

anthropoid1861

pithecoid1874

man-ape1878

pongid1949

pithecine1962

1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 96 Great [Ape]... A[pe] with a flat face, and a deformed resemblance of the human: ears exactly like those of a man.

1842 C. H. Smith Introd. Mammalia (Naturalist's Libr.: Mammalia XIII) 101 We place at their head the great apes, or men of the woods, now divided into two genera.

1861 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 111 A missionary at the Gaboon..sent him [sc. Prof. Owen] a pen-and-ink sketch of the skull of one of these great apes.

1913 D. G. Elliott Rev. Primates I. Errata The premier genus of the Great Apes is Pongo.

1949 Q. Rev. Biol. 24 207/1 The orthodox, anthropoid-ape theory..concentrates almost exclusively upon the resemblances between man and the anthropoids, the pongids or great apes in particular.

2009 J. A. Coyne Why Evol. is True Notes 264 This group used to be called hominids, but that term is now reserved for all modern and extinct great apes, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and all of their ancestors.

great auk n. a large, extinct flightless auk of the North Atlantic, Pinguinus (or Alca) impennis, which was exterminated in the mid 19th cent.; also called garefowl; cf. penguin n. 2.

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1768 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 401 The Great Auk... According to Mr. Martin, this bird breeds on the isle of St. Kilda; appearing there the beginning of May, and retiring the middle of June.

1865 P. H. Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 44 That rarest of British birds, the great auk.

1921 Outing May 65/1 The passenger pigeon, the great auk.., the Eskimo curlew are no more.

2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 214/2 The last known breeding pair of Great auks were killed by three fishermen on the island of Eldey, Iceland, on June 3, 1844.

great blue n. North American the great blue heron, Ardea herodias (see blue heron n. b).

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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > genus Ardea (heron) > miscellaneous types of

blue heron1565

white heron1575

blue heron1731

squacco1752

frog-catcher1782

purple heron1785

great blue1838

Goliath1860

1838 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. IV. 604 We brought home with us forty-six of the large White Herons, and three of the great Blues.

1891 Oologist 8 205 At Smith's Island there is a large heronry of the Great Blues.

1947 R. Bedichek Adventures with Texas Naturalist xix. 249 Consider the neck of the largest heron, the great blue or, as the subspecies here is called, the Ward heron.

2006 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Feb. 82/1 Great blues occasionally catch two fish at the same time.

great bustard n. a large bustard, Otis tarda, one of the heaviest flying land birds, found from southern and central Europe to temperate Asia and noted for its courtship display.The great bustard was exterminated in Great Britain in the 19th cent (but see quot. 2003).

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1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) I. ii. 284 Great [Bustard] ... The bustard is the largest of the British land fowl.

1864 Times 19 Nov. A specimen of the Great Bustard, long an extinct British bird, was picked up in the sea..off Burlington Quay about a week ago.

1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xii. 209 The Kori bustard..[is] heavier than the great bustard of Eurasia which is usually held to be the heaviest bird of the air.

2003 Independent 4 Nov. i. 4/2 Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire..has been chosen as the site for the return, which is to begin next year when 40 great bustard chicks will be brought from Russia.

great chervil n. now chiefly historical the European herb sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata.

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1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 883 Myrrhe..is called..great Cheruill, and Sweete Cheruill.

1649 N. Culpeper Physicall Directory 34 Cerefolium vulgare et Myrrhis, Common and great Chervil. Take them both together and they..stir up lust and desire of copulation.

1727 B. Langley New Princ. Gardening vii. i. viii. 23 There is another Kind [of chervil], called the great Chervil, or Myrrhe,..whose Leaves are deeply indented like unto Hemlock, but of a very pleasant Smell and Taste.

1858 Proc. Literary & Philos. Soc. Liverpool 1857–8 116 Sweet cicely or great chervil..was formerly in great favour as a salad plant in this country.

1917 Garden 16 June 230/3 Chervil.—The foliage and habit of this plant are the same as the sweet cicely, which was once known as the great chervil.

2010 J. Cox & M.-P. Moine Herb Garden for Cooks (2012) 47 The ferny foliage and white flowers of this hardy perennial carry a light anise scent, leading some to call it Great Chervil.

great corn n. now historical and rare maize, Zea mays; a grain of this; a main crop of maize (as grown by certain American Indian peoples).

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1682 R. Thelwall Let. 4 May in R. Law Eng. in W. Afr. (1997) I. 111 These people as yett have not done sowing their small corne, soe that att present I cannot gett any great corne.

1699 I. Blackwell Descr. Province Darian 15 They have no way of Learning amongst any of them: their way of numbering anything, is by small Stones, or pickles of great Corn.

1750 J. Birket Jrnl. 9 Oct. in Some Remarks Voy. N. Amer. (1916) 36 Here the [sic] produce wheat, Rye, Hops, & abundance of Maze or Great corn.

1844 Simmonds's Colonial Mag. 1 58 It would betray vast ignorance of the subject to assert that great corn is not a considerable exhauster of the soil.

1977 Agric. Hist. 51 513 Maize was harvested twice a year, the ‘little corn’ in July, and the harvest of ‘great corn’ in September.

great crested grebe n. the largest Eurasian grebe, Podiceps cristatus, having a distinctive ruff and crest on the head in the breeding season.

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1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. 132 Great crested Grebe.

1873 G. C. Davies Mountain, Meadow & Mere iii. 18 That upright, stick-like object moving along the surface is the neck and head of a great crested grebe, swimming low in the water to escape observation.

1937 Brit. Birds. 30 274 It seems that ‘display-building’ (that is, building regarded as a manifestation of sexual excitement) is shown by the Great Crested Grebe.

2006 Bird Watching Aug. 117/1 Great Crested Grebes mainly feed on small fish, diving from the surface to pursue their prey.

great crested newt n. a large warty-skinned newt, Triturus cristatus, of northern and central Europe, the male of which has a jagged crest along the back.

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1881 W. E. Clarke & W. D. Roebuck Handbk. Vertebr. Fauna Yorks. 95 Triton cristatus Laur. Great Crested Newt. Generally distributed, but more local and less numerous than the common Smooth Newt.

1984 Times 12 Nov. 3/1 The largest known British populations of the declining great crested newt are under threat.

2009 J. Adams Species Richness viii. 361 In England, we seemed to find the great crested newt in every stinking, junk-filled pond we waded into.

great dane n. (also great Dane) [after French grand danois (see quot. 1750 at Dane n. 2)] a very large breed of dog, probably developed in Denmark or Germany from mastiff and greyhound or wolfhound stock and originally used for hunting deer and wild boar; a dog of this breed; cf. Dane n. 2.The great dane is the tallest living breed of dog.

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1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. viii. 292 He was made extremely like a greyhound,..or the great Dane.

1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §1401 The great Dane is rather pied or patched than spotted.

1932 N.Y. Times 7 Feb. 12/4 One well-known kennel of Great Danes has specialized in obedience tests.

2002 List (Glasgow & Edinb. Events Guide) 4 July 14/2 There was Scooby, a huge brown great dane who could say his own name and was scared of his own shadow.

great diving beetle n. a large predatory water beetle, Dytiscus marginalis (family Dytiscidae), of Eurasian ponds and lakes.

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1864 R. A. Cox Our Common Insects 97 The more common water-beetles, from the little gem like Whirlwig..to the great Diving-Beetle.

1905 Lloyd's Weekly News 28 May 9/5 A common water insect is the great Diving Beetle..usually to be found in shallow water amongst weeds.

2009 I. Siwanowicz Animals up Close 88 The Great diving beetle nymph had other ideas—as soon as I grabbed its tail, it flipped around and bit me hard.

great egret n. a large white heron, Ardea alba, of tropical and warm temperate regions worldwide.

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1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. II. ii. 446 The feathers of the Great Egret would prove a valuable article of commerce.

1895 Geogr. Jrnl. 6 409 The great egret and other herons, we constantly came upon as we rounded a baking ledge of rock or a blistering sandbank.

1976 Auk 93 710 Great Egrets returned to the roost individually or in small groups about one hour before sunset.

2004 Guardian 30 Oct. (Travel section) 12 In the shoals were hippos and great egrets, shining like drips of brilliant-white emulsion.

great grey owl n. †(a) the great horned owl, Bubo virginianus (obsolete rare); (b) a very large grey owl with a large facial disc, Strix nebulosa, of northern coniferous forests in both Eurasia and North America.

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1672 J. Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 12 The Owl, Avis devia, which are of three kinds; the great Gray Owl with Ears, the little Gray Owl, and the White Owl.

1832 T. Nuttall Man. Ornithol. U.S. & Canada: Land Birds 128 Great Grey or Cinereous Owl. Strix cinerea... This is the largest American species known.

1885 J. S. Kingsley Standard Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 345 The great gray owl, Syrnium cinereum, an extremely rare winter visitor to the northern United States.

1930 Nature Mag. Mar. 148/1 The great gray owl, Scotiaptex nebulosa, is the largest though not the heaviest of our owls.

2004 BirdWatch Canada Winter 16/2 At 20 stops, they had 14 Northern Saw-whet owls, 2 barred owls..and a Great Gray Owl!

great grey shrike n. a large migratory shrike, Lanius excubitor, with grey, black, and white plumage, which breeds in northern parts of both Eurasia and North America (where it is called northern shrike).

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1827 G. T. Fox Synopsis Newcastle Museum 55 Great Grey Shrike, 2 specimens. (Lanius Excubitor, Lin. & Gmel.)

1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 47 Great Grey Shrike..Murdering pie.

1973 A. d'A. Bellairs & J. F. D. Frazer Smith's Brit. Amphibians & Reptiles (ed. 5) v. 181 On the Continent they are also eaten by the White Stork, the Honey-Buzzard and the Great Grey Shrike.

2011 P. Hammond Atlas of World's Strangest Animals 112 Great grey shrike are peculiar predators and store their kills on a gruesome gibbet.

great horned owl n. a heavily-built American owl with prominent ear tufts, Bubo virginianus, which varies considerably in coloration across its wide range.

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1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. xiii. 317 Great Horned Owl.

1748 H. Ellis Voy. Hudson's-Bay i. 40 The great Horned Owl is also common in this Country, which is a very singular Bird.

1850 Amer. Agriculturist May 161 When the sun shines brightly, the great horned owl is nearly blind, and may readily be approached and killed.

1969 D. F. Costello Prairie World vi. 116 The great horned owl should be ranked first among the nocturnal birds for efficiency in marauding over the prairies.

2012 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 14 Feb. b5 A serious predatory threat to the barred owl is the great horned owl.

great horsetail n. (in early use) any of several large horsetails of the genus Equisetum; (in later use) spec. a large horsetail, E. telmateia (formerly called E. majus), of damp soils in Eurasia, North Africa, and western North America.

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1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxviii. 100 The naked stemes of the great Horsetayle, do spring vp in May.

1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. at Horsetaile, in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Medici Oxoniensis Great Horsetaile, equisetum majus.

1770 Culpeper's Eng. Physician Enlarged 176 The great horsetail at the first springing hath Heads somewhat like those of Asparagus.

1856 C. Johnston Fern Allies 8 The highly ornamental character of the Great Horsetail renders it one of the most desirable of its tribe in cultivation.

1988 tr. M. Treben Health from God's Garden 25/1 One variety of horsetail—the great horsetail—is poisonous, and shouldn't be taken internally under any circumstances.

2007 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 27 Mar. 4 One plant along your route, the great horsetail, is very rare in Israel.

great laurel n. †(a) a shrub used medicinally, perhaps Ruscus hypoglossum (obsolete); †(b) the common or cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus (obsolete); (c) a large rhododendron of eastern North America, Rhododendron maximum (cf. rosebay n. 3).

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1575 J. Banister Needefull Treat. Chyrurg. f. 108^v Pagana lingua, great Laurell, hoate and drie, aperitiue.

1606 W. Ram Little Dodeon sig. F5 Let him enter into a bath, in which the leaues and rootes of long and round Docks and Scabious wild, and domesticall great Lawrell, and little Lawrell..shall be boyled.

1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum Index 1740/2 Great Lawrell or Lauro Cerasus.

1728 R. Bradley Dict. Botanicum at Laurel Great Laurel, or Cherry Bay, is Lauro Cerasus.

1834 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. II. 17 What a beautiful object, in the delightful season of spring, is our Great Laurel.

1917 C. H. Snow Wood & Org. Struct. Materials vii. 195 The wood of the Great Laurel or Rose Bay (Rhododendron maximum) is hard, rather brittle, close-grained, and heavy, and is sometimes used as a substitute for Boxwood.

2001 R. D. Porcher & D. A. Rayner Guide Wildflowers S. Carolina 72 The invasion of shrubs, mostly great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), has reduced the sphagnum-dominated areas by half.

great mackerel n. now rare a large scombrid fish, (probably) the Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus.

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1704 Nat. Hist. iii, in L. Wafer New Voy. & Descr. Isthmus Amer. (ed. 2) 201 The Great Mackrell. Is seven foot long.

1740 Gentleman's Mag. 10 511/1 He [sc. the flying fish] is pursued by the Bonito, or Great Mackerel.

1843 R. Hamilton Nat. Hist. Brit. Fishes (Naturalist's Libr.: Ichthyol. IV) I. 196 In Scotland it [sc. the tunny] is known by the name of Mackerelsture, or Great Mackerel, from accompanying the shoals of this fish.

1911 Field & Stream July 231 (heading) The way of the leaping tuna: notes on the habits, feeding, taking and tackle of the great mackerel.

great magnolia n. chiefly North American the southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, a tall evergreen tree native to the south-eastern United States.

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1751 J. Bartram Observ. Trav. from Pensilvania 28 We set out a N.E. course, and passed by very thick and tall timber of beach, chesnut, linden, ash, great magnolia, sugar-birch..and some white pine.

1807 J. Aikin Geogr. Deliniations (rev. ed.) 343 In the southern states the great magnolia rises to a magnificence of bulk which renders it the pride of the forest.

1908 Outlook 4 Apr. 788/1 She always sat on a bench under the great magnolia tree and watched the tiny girls as they ate their tiny cakes.

1984 Times 30 Mar. 13/7 I passed the Temple where, amidst a mass of daffodils, the great magnolia was just breaking into bloom.

1999 L. Landon Dinner at Miss Lady’s 7 White clapboard [houses] with wide sprawling porches, some of them sagging and peeling beneath the boughs of the great magnolias that stood in their yards.

great mallow n. now rare any of several tall plants of the mallow family, esp. the marsh mallow, Althaea officinalis (formerly used medicinally), and the hollyhock, Alcea rosea.

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1560 tr. Albertus Magnus' Bk. Secretes Sig. H.VII Stronge vyneger, and great malowes or holyhocke.

1676 N. Malby Remedies Dis. Horses sig. A.iv Take Mustarde seede, the great Mallowe roote, Oxe dung, so much as thou shalte thinke necessarie.

1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ II. at Moloche The great mallow or hollihock.

1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 268 Man must turn himself like the leaves of the great mallow, at the different day-seasons of his life.

1907 Atlantic Monthly July 96 I had already seen many of the great mallows with their rose-pink flowers, so like those of the hollyhock that not even the most careless eye can fail to notice the family resemblance.

2004 B. Nelson tr. E. Zola Kill 161 Her kisses bloomed and faded like the red flowers of the great mallow, which last scarcely a few hours and are endlessly renewed.

great maple n. now rare the sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus; = sycamore n. 2.

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1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1300 The great Maple, not rightly called the Sycomore tree..is a stranger in England.

1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects xxi. 134 Some plants and leaves, are not so tenacious..as the great Maple.

1776 W. Boutcher Treat. Forest-trees (new ed.) i. 35 There is no tree..is so proper to be planted by the sea, as the Great Maple.

1851 Mag. Hort. May 193 The Sycamore or Great Maple..is a handsome tree of tolerably quick growth.

1916 Jrnl. Ecol. 4 179 To the north is an older plantation, mainly of Great Maple.

1953 Times 23 Mar. 8/7 In Britain our sycamore or great maple (which is commonly a ‘plane tree’ in Scotland) appears to be the only species to have excited any inquiry or comment by its sugary sap.

great morel n. now historical and rare deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna; cf. petty morel n. 1.

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?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 160^v (MED) Take..letuse, violete, grete morel, hennebane, mandrake leues, peny worte.

?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) 84 Some ben properly called repercussyues, as oxycratum..grete morel, plantayne.

?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 65 Take þe berys of gret morell.

1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 406 Anoynt the yard with the iuice of great Morel, Housleek & vineger.

1623 G. Markham Countrey Contentments, or Eng. Huswife (new ed.) 50 Take foure or fiue yolkes of egges, hard sodden or rosted, & take the branches of great Morrell, and the berryes in Sommer.

1902 F. E. Hulme Familiar Wild Flowers 6th ser. 37 The deadly nightshade, great morel or dwale, has also black berries.

great mud horsetail n. now rare the great horsetail, Equisetum telmateia.

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1848 R. Deakin Ferns Brit. 13 E. Telmateia... Great mud Horsetail. Fertile stem simple, terminating in an obtuse spike.

1866 T. Moore Brit. Ferns & their Allies xxv. 160 This plant, the Equisetum Telmateia of botanists, and called also the Great Mud Horsetail, is one of those species in which the ordinary fertile and the barren stems are perfectly dissimilar.

1900 E. Step Pratt's Flowering Plants Great Brit. (new ed.) IV. 176 Great Mud Horsetail..is the largest of our British Horsetails.

great northern diver n. the diver Gavia immer (family Gaviidae), which (in the breeding season) has a black head and a black and white chequered pattern on the back, breeding chiefly in northern North America (where it is called common loon).

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1764 Beauties of Nature & Art VIII. vii. 135 Among the birds peculiar to these northern countries, one of the most remarkable is..the great northern diver.

1830 N. Amer. Rev. 576 The loon, or great northern diver, is also, at moulting time, when he is unable to rise from the water, often caught in the rapids.

1913 J. Muir Story of my Boyhood iv. 77 The great northern diver..is a brave, hardy, beautiful bird, able to..spear and capture the swiftest fishes for food.

1947 A. Ransome Great Northern? ix. 120 Eggs of the Great Northern Diver, found here for the first time!

1999 Birdwatch Apr. 58/3 Holyhead harbour, Anglesey, held a Black-throated Diver..while Great Northern Divers were at..Porthmadog.

† great parsley n. Obsolete alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum, a Mediterranean plant formerly used as a pot-herb.

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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > stalk vegetables > alexanders or horse-parsley

alexanderseOE

stanmarchc1000

black lovage1548

saunder1561

great parsley1578

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. xlv. 608 Of great Parsely or Alexander.

1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) ii. 1019 Great Parsley groweth in most places in England.

1852 D. Turner in Norfolk Archaeol. 3 171 (note) Mr Harrod inclines to believe that de bord d'alysaundre means embroidered with a representation of the Great Parsley, the Smyrnium Olus-atrum, formerly called Alexanders.

1885 Chambers's Jrnl. 17 Jan. 35/2 Nor could you easily draw the leaves and head of the great parsley—commonest of hedge-plants—the deep-indented leaves, and the shadow by which to express them.

† great pellitory of Spain n. Obsolete rare the plant masterwort, Peucedanum ostruthium.

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1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. xix. 299 Of great Pellitorie of Spayne, Imperatoria, or Masterwort.

great plover n. †(a) the greenshank, Tringa nebularia (cf. greater plover n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 3) (obsolete); (b) the stone curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus (now rare).

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the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > genus Burhinus (thick-knees) > burhinus oedicnemus (stone curlew)

caladriea1425

whistling plover1668

stone curlew1678

stone plover1678

great plovera1705

Norfolk plover1766

stone-snipe1785

a1705 J. Ray Synopsis Avium & Piscium (1713) App. 190 Pluvialis major, Aldrov. Limosa Gesneri. The great Plover of Aldrovand, called here, The Curlew.

1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 472 The green-legged Numenius, with a white rump... This, though honoured with the name of the great Plover, is not a very large bird.

1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 321 (heading) The Great Plover. Thick-knee'd Bustard, Stone Curlew, Norfolk Plover.

1843 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Birds II. 381 The Great Plover..is..much more numerous in the southern and south-eastern counties of England than far to the west, or to the north.

1950 A. W. Boyd Coward's Birds Brit. Isles (rev. ed.) 2nd Ser. 251 The Stone-Curlew, Great Plover, Norfolk Plover or Thick-knee.., has many names, none of which is specially local.

Great Pyrenees n. (plural unchanged) North American = Pyrenean mountain dog n. at Pyrenean adj. and n. Compounds; frequently attributive.The dogs referred to in quot. 1910 may have included both Pyrenean mountain dogs and mastiffs of the breed now known as the Spanish or Pyrenean mastiff.

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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > giant breeds > Pyrenean mountain dog

Pyrenean1845

Pyrenean sheepdog1851

Pyrenean wolfhound1863

Pyrenean mountain dog1910

Great Pyrenees1933

1910 San Francisco Chron. 25 Sept. 4/3 None of the farmers would give food and place by hearth or stables to any but their great Pyrenees dogs.]

1933 Dog Fancier 42 9 It was moved and carried that the breed of Great Pyrenees dogs be admitted to the American Kennel Club Stud Book.

1966 Winnipeg Free Press 15 Oct. 23/3 He saw a group of children climbing all over Castor, Manitoba's only Great Pyrenees.

1998 S. Budiansky If Lion could Talk i. 6 Livestock guard dogs such as Great Pyrenees and Maremmas have been bred to relate to sheep more as littermates than as prey.

2012 Wall St. Jrnl. 7 Feb. d1/2 PetSmart sent out 117,000 emails to..Great Pyrenees owners who had entered contact information after bringing in their pets for grooming.

great sanicle n. now historical and rare the plant lady's mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, formerly used medicinally.

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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > agrimony or lady's mantle or burnet

agrimonyeOE

padelion?a1300

burnetc1400

sindaw1548

liverwort1566

great sanicle1578

lady's mantle1578

pimpernel1578

goose-chite1597

philanthropos1597

Poterium1597

lion's foot1611

salading-burnet1766

burnet blood-wort1776

dew-cup1799

sanguisorb1846

salad burnet1854

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xcviii. 140 Great Sanicle or Ladies Mantell, groweth in some places of this countrey.

1662 R. Bunworth New Disc. French Dis. (ed. 2) xxv. 72 You may also use injections into the yard made of the decoction of Tormentil, golden rod, pilosell and great Sanicle.

1708 tr. J. P. de Tournefort Materia Medica ii. ix. ii. 352 Upon a chymical Analysis, Ladies Mantle or Great Sanicle affords a copious quantity of acid Phlegm, Oil, and urinous Spirit.

1838 B. H. Barton & T. Castle Brit. Flora Medica II. 61 In different parts of the country it [sc. lady's mantle] is called Great Sanicle, and Bear's-foot.

1920 Amer. Botanist 26 124 Probably the commonest of English names, ‘ladies' mantle’, has only a fanciful application, while ‘great sanicle’ alludes to its reputed medicinal qualities.

great skua n. [compare German grosse Raubmöwe (also grosse Raubmöve ; 1831 in a text by C. L. Brehm: compare quot. 1831)] any large brown skua of the genus Stercorarius; now spec. S. skua of the North Atlantic (also called bonxie).The similar southern forms are now regarded as separate species.

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1831 R. Jameson Wilson & Bonaparte's Amer. Ornithol. (rev. ed.) IV. App. 356 The following is Brehm's arrangement of the European gulls... 1 Giant skua. L[estris] cataractes, Illiger and Brehm. 2 Great skua. L. skua, Brehm.

1897 R. B. Sharpe in R. Lydekker et al. Nat. Hist. 263 In Victoria Land and the frozen countries of the Antarctic Continent is found a peculiar pale form of great skua, M. maccormicki.

1938 M. Powell 200,000 Feet on Foula 138 ‘Bonxie’ is only our name for the Great Skua and the Allens are the smaller ones.

1985 Reader's Digest Bk. N.Z. Birds 218 A powerful and belligerent bird, the southern great skua—like all skuas—defends its eggs and young ferociously.

2006 Bird Watching Aug. 71/3 Seawatching can also reveal other species such as Balearic Shearwater.., Arctic Skuas and Great Skuas.

great snipe n. †(a) any of various relatively large snipe, sandpipers, or similar birds found in Barbados (obsolete rare); (b) a medium-sized migratory snipe, Gallinago media, which breeds in northern Eurasia.

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1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados iii. 79 The Great Snipe... There are several Species of Snipes, that come in the wet Seasons to this Island... I shall therefore reduce them into the large and small Sort.

1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) II. 450 Great Snipe... This species is rarely found in England.

1886 Ld. Walsingham & R. Payne-Gallwey Shooting (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) II. vi. 139 The Great Snipe breeds in Denmark, Holland, and Northern Germany, as well as in Sweden and..Russia.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xx. 589 Birds of passage..like some of the sandpipers, the great snipe, and the little stint,..usually rest for a short time only in a country like Britain.

2012 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 29 July 14 Researchers have monitored great snipes..migrating from Sweden to central Africa, covering distances of around 4,200 miles in three and half days.

great spotted kiwi n. a large kiwi with speckled plumage, Apteryx haastii, found in parts of the South Island of New Zealand; also called roa, roaroa.

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1893 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1892 25 87 Apteryx haasti... (The Large Spotted Kiwi).]

1904 F.W. Hutton & J. Drummond Animals N.Z. ii. 332 The Great Spotted Kiwi—Roa-roa.

1966 R. Silverberg Forgotten by Time 95 We should speak of the kiwis, for there are three species, the common kiwi, the little spotted kiwi, and the great spotted kiwi.

2005 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 24 Jan. 7 a The great spotted kiwi are very difficult to monitor because they are very shy and prone to disturbance.

great spotted woodpecker n. [compare earlier greater spotted woodpecker n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 3] a common Eurasian woodpecker, Dendrocopos major, with predominantly black and white plumage; also called greater spotted woodpecker, pied woodpecker.

ΚΠ

1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds Index Woodpecker (Great-Spotted).

1841 P. J. Selby in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 253 Of the Scansorial tribe, the Picus major (great spotted woodpecker) is the only species.

1974 W. Condry Woodlands v. 62 The great spotted woodpecker..is..better adapted to survive than its relative the green woodpecker.

2008 Independent 12 Mar. (Property section) 4/2 There are blackbirds.., goldfinches and greenfinches all singing away, and occasionally a male great spotted woodpecker drumming.

great tit n. a common Eurasian songbird, Parus major (family Paridae), having a black head with white cheeks, and typically a yellow breast and greenish back. Earlier called great titmouse.

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1833 Field Naturalist 1 266 The Blue and Great Tits..usually frequent the neighbourhood of dwelling-houses more than the Marsh and the Cole Tits commonly do.

1974 W. Condry Woodlands v. 64 Blue tits and great tits certainly show a tendency to keep slightly apart when feeding, the blue tit preferring the tree layer while the great tit favours the shrub layer.

2010 Daily Tel. 7 Oct. 25/2 In Aston Rowant..we have been delighted to see an increase in greenfinches, blue and great tits, blackbirds and sparrows.

great titmouse n. = great tit n.

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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Paridae > [noun] > genus Parus (tit) > parus major (great tit)

great titmouse1544

ox-eye1544

tomtit1648

black cap1802

oven's nesta1825

pick-cheesea1825

Tom-noup1832

saw-sharpener1885

1544 W. Turner Avium Præcipuarum sig. G5^v Primum parum, Angli uocant the great titmouse or the great oxei.

1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 241 By its smalness were other notes wanting, it [sc. the coalmouse] is abundantly distinguished from the great Titmouse.

1789 G. White Nat. Hist. Selborne 102 The great titmouse sings with three joyous notes.

1859 S. G. Goodrich Illustr. Nat. Hist. Animal Kingdom II. 137 The Great Titmouse, P. major, is somewhat less than six inches long.

1967 T. Lewis & L. R. Taylor Introd. Exper. Ecol. iv. 160 The spread of these melanic forms is partly due to their selective advantage over the normal form when seen by insectivorous birds like English Robins, Hedge Sparrows and Great Titmice against soot-blackened surroundings.

great white shark n. a very large predatory shark, Carcharodon carcharias (family Lamnidae), found in cool and temperate seas worldwide, having a grey back and white underparts and with the upper and lower lobes of the tail of a similar size; also called white pointer.

ΚΠ

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. ii. 238 The Great White Shark, which is the largest of the kind, joins to the most amazing rapidity, the strongest appetites for mischief.

1890 W. C. Russell Romance Jenny Harlow & Sketches Marine Life 268 At that instant a great white shark swept round from the bows, and father and son went out of sight in him [sic] in a minute.

1931 E. G. Boulenger Fishes iv. 51 The Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias )..ranges throughout all seas, save those within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

2007 J. Dobson in J. Higham & M. Lück Marine Wildlife & Tourism Mangem. iii. 50 The great white shark is protected in several countries including South Africa, Malta and Australia.

C2. Compounds of the noun.

great work n. [probably < great n. + work n.; compare Phrases 2c(c)] English regional (midlands and southern) (now rare) = piecework n. 1.

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society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > piecework

task-work1486

piecework1549

setwork1720

job work1780

measured work1834

measure-work1852

great work1855

piece labour1859

1855 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. (Gloss.) 723/2 Gret (Beds., Worc.), gret-work, or great-work, is piece-work.

a1887 R. Jefferies Field & Hedgerow (1889) 114 Some were talking already of the ‘grit’ work,..that is, mowing and haymaking, which mean better wages.

1889 A. T. Pask Eyes of Thames 148 They can earn 18s. a week, doing piece-work, or, in market-garden parlance, ‘great-work’.

1900 S. S. Buckman in Eng. Dial. Dict. II. 715/2 [Gloucestershire] Take it by the day or take it by gret work.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	great
释义	greatadj.n.adv.int. Brit. /ɡreɪt/, U.S. /ɡreɪt/ Forms: Old English græat (rare), Old English (rare)–1600s gret, Old English– great, late Old English grett- (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English græt, late Old English–Middle English 1600s grat, early Middle English griat (south-eastern), Middle English graat (south-eastern), Middle English gre- (in compounds), Middle English greit, Middle English gretee (perhaps transmission error), Middle English greth, Middle English greyt, Middle English grut (chiefly south-western), Middle English gryet (south-western), Middle English 1600s grate, Middle English–1500s grette, Middle English–1600s grait, Middle English–1600s greate, Middle English–1600s greatt, Middle English–1600s greatte, Middle English–1600s greet, Middle English–1600s greete, Middle English–1600s grete, Middle English–1600s grett, 1500s graete, 1500s greyte, 1600s greadt, 1600s gritt; English regional 1700s– grit, 1800s– greeat (northern and midlands), 1800s– greet, 1800s– gret, 1800s– greyt, 1900s– gre't, 1900s– grete; U.S. regional 1700s– gret, 1800s gred, 1800s gre't; Scottish pre-1700 graitt, pre-1700 grat, pre-1700 grate, pre-1700 grayt, pre-1700 greit, pre-1700 greite, pre-1700 greitt, pre-1700 grette, pre-1700 gryit, pre-1700 gryitt, pre-1700 1700s 1900s– grete, pre-1700 1700s 2000s– gritt, pre-1700 1700s–1800s gryt, pre-1700 1700s– great, pre-1700 1700s– grit, pre-1700 1700s– grite, pre-1700 1800s grytt, pre-1700 1800s– grait, pre-1700 1800s– grett, pre-1700 1800s– gryte, pre-1700 1900s– gret, 1800s greet; also Welsh English 1900s– graate, 1900s– grate, 1900s– grert, 1900s– gret. See also gurt adj., greater adj., adv., and n., greatest adj., n., and adv. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian grāt large, Old Dutch groot large, numerous, mighty (Middle Dutch groot large, mighty, numerous, bulky, Dutch groot ), Old Saxon grōt large (Middle Low German grōt large, numerous, powerful), Old High German grōz large, strong, long, thick, fat (Middle High German grōz large, German gross large, extensive), and perhaps further with Old Icelandic grautr (noun) groats, porridge, mash, coarsely ground meal ( < the same Germanic base as grit n.¹, grit n.², grout n.¹, groats n., and grot n.¹), although see discussion below.Germanic etymology. The etymology of this word and its cognates in the West Germanic languages given here is accepted by most authorities, assuming development from an Indo-European base with the sense ‘to pound, crush’ (see forms in non-Germanic languages cited and discussed at grit n.¹) via the sense ‘coarsely ground, large-grained’ (compare sense A. 1a) to the prevailing sense ‘large’. However, it has been objected that the sense ‘coarse’ is relatively rare in Old English and not well attested in the other West Germanic languages, where the sense ‘large, thick, fat, bulky’ is more typical (compare also greatness n. 1). For further discussion see T. Hoad ‘Semantics in Etymological Explanations’ in R. Bremmer & J. van den Berg Current Trends West Germanic Etymol. Lexicogr. (1993) 117–32. Form history. The present word is one of a small number with Middle English long open ē (where that sound is not followed by r ) in which the vowel underwent regular raising to /eː/ as a result of the Great Vowel Shift without subsequent raising to /iː/, thus merging ultimately with the reflex of Middle English long ā ; others include break v., yea adv., drain v., and steak n. Pronunciations of the present word with /iː/ are given alongside those with /eː/ by contemporary commentators from the 16th to the 18th cent. and are still current in some regional varieties (compare e.g. the Scots and English regional variant greet). Various explanations have been proposed for the atypical development of the vowel sound in this word, including the retractive influence of the preceding r and perhaps also of the following voiceless stop (see e.g. J. Beal Eng. Pronunc. in the Eighteenth Cent. (1999) 64–5). For further discussion of earlier explanations and their relative merits see also E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §115. In Middle English the stem vowel of the comparative form (the reflex of Old English (Anglian) grēt(t)ra greater adj.) shows regular shortening before the consonant cluster (e.g. gretter* , grettir , etc.). The short vowel was sometimes transferred by analogy to the positive (and superlative) giving such forms as gret , grett , grette , (and grettest ). Forms with short ă (e.g. grat , gratter , grattest ), attested especially in the north-west midlands and the south-east, probably originate in shortening of an unmutated Old English comparative form grēat(t)ra (after earlier monophthongization of ēa to ǣ ). Occasional early Middle English forms also show regular shortening before consonant clusters in the positive in reflexes of Old English inflected forms (compare e.g. quot. c1275 at sense A. 9a). In Older Scots (and in some English regional varieties) short ĕ was raised sporadically to ĭ before alveolar consonants, giving such forms as grit* , gritt , gryt , grytt (see A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Scots Vowels (2002) §14.15.(8)). Forms such as grate , grait , grayt , etc., chiefly represent reverse spellings after the merger of the reflex of Middle English long open ē with the reflexes of Middle English ā and ai . The distinctive diphthongal Scots form gryte /ɡrəit/ (now chiefly north-eastern) appears to have arisen (in the 16th cent.) as a result of a development whereby the reflex of Middle English long open ē in certain environments (between /tʃ/ or /r/ and certain alveolar consonants) was captured by the already diphthongized reflex of Middle English long ī (see A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Scots Vowels (2002) §§9.3.(2),14.1.(12)). For metathesized forms see gurt adj. and adv. Use in names. Although not common, the word is attested early in place names (apparently chiefly in sense A. 3), as Gretedone , Devon, lit. ‘great hill’ (1086; now Gratton), Gretestan , Gloucestershire (1086; formerly Greston, now lost), Greatanlea (first half of the 12th cent. in a copy of the Laws of Æðelstan of c935; now Grately). In use designating the larger of two places of the same name (see sense A. 4c), Great typically appears as a later addition to an existing name. Examples are attested from at least the 13th cent.; compare e.g. Great Langton , North Yorkshire (1223 as Great Langeton ; 1086 as Langeton ), Great Yeldham , Essex (1265 as Great Gelham ; 1086 as Geldeham ), Great Eccleston , Lancashire (1285 as Great Ecleston ; 1086 as Eglestun ). Such names are often paralleled by earlier Latin forms with Magna (feminine of classical Latin magnus great: see magni- comb. form), as e.g. Great Ponton , Lincolnshire (1086 as Magna Pantone and also as Pamptune ), and more rarely by forms with Major (classical Latin maior major adj.), as e.g. Great Harwood , Lancashire (early 12th cent. as Majori Harewuda ), or by forms with Maius (classical Latin maius , neuter form corresponding to maior ), as e.g. Great Livermere , Suffolk (11th cent. as Maius Liuremere and also as Leuuremer ). Such Latin forms may suggest earlier currency of Great as an affix in place names, although compare earlier equivalent use of much adj. and mickle adj. Also attested early in bynames and surnames, as Godwine Greatseod , lit. ‘great purse’ (late 11th cent.; probably denoting a wealthy person), Willelmi Gretheuid (1243), Thom. Gretword (1269; perhaps denoting a braggart (compare sense A. 6)), Henry Gretschank (1275), Thom. Gretchep , lit. ‘great bargain’ (1313; compare sense A. 9a), etc. Development of specific senses. In sense A. 12, designating a degree of family relationship or descent one degree further removed from that specified, after similar use of Middle French, French grand (see grand- comb. form), itself after similar use of classical Latin magnus great (see magni- comb. form), in e.g. classical Latin avunculus magnus great-uncle, amita magna great-aunt. In Scots use in sense A. 10d with reference to a money of account after similar use of Middle Dutch, Dutch groot , adjective (a1401 in schelling groot , 1507 or earlier in pond groot ). With use as noun as the name of a coin (sense B. 6) compare also earlier groat n. and Middle Dutch, Dutch groot , noun (see groat n.). A. adj.For use in the comparative and superlative see greater adj. and greatest adj. I. Senses relating primarily to physical size. 1. a. Composed of large particles; having a coarse grain or texture. Cf. great salt at salt n.¹ 1b. Frequently opposed to small adj. 11, 12. Now regional and rare. Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) records this sense as still in use in Angus in 1955. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > coarse greateOE hardOE boistous1398 hask?a1425 roidc1485 gross?1504 gruff1533 coarse1582 stoggie1825 broad1908 eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. lii. 270 Ascrep þa greatan rinde of, gecnuwa þonne smæle. OE Lacnunga (2001) I. lxxxiv. 72 Gif men eglað seo blace blegen, þonne nime man great sealt;..grinde þonne þæt sealt swiþe smæl. lOE Royal Charter: Edward the Elder to Bp. Denewulf (Sawyer 385) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 38 Tu hund greates hlafes & þridde smales. a1200 Addit. Glosses to Ælfric's Gloss. (Faust. A.x) in P. Bierbaumer Der Botanische Wortschatz des Altenglischen (1979) III. 148 Far, faris, þat is gret hwete. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 His alter cloð [is] great and sole, and hire chemise smal and hwit. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 307 Nest flesch ne schal nan werien nan linnene bute hit beo of harde & greate heorden. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 114 A pouere cote..made of grete caunuas, and callid a frokke. 1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. K.iv The vpper [mouth of the stomacke] receyueth meate great and boystrous in substaunce that there beeyng made subtile it might passe into the nether. ?1586 J. Partridge Widowes Treasure (new ed.) sig. F.v When it is Milke warme, or somewhat hotter, then take a bagge of greate Canuas, and with a staffe straine out all the matter. 1604 in J. H. Macadam Baxter Bks. St. Andrews (1903) 62 The pickeman..for his peanes in grindeing of twente bollis gryt corne. 1647 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1846) III. 198 Ane boll gryt aitis. 1746 W. Ellis Agric. Improv'd I. May xiii. 86 Of this Mixture take a Tea-spoonful, and put among it an Handful of great Bran. 1871 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. 3 176 Linlithgowshire..Fiars struck are wheat, barley, bere, great oats, pease and beans, malt, and oatmeal one of each. 1900 N.E.D. at Great Mod. Sc. That meal (or salt) is ower gryte; I like it sma'. 1901 C. E. H. Chadwyck-Healey Hist. Part W. Somerset 265 The stock was augmented by the purchase of 11 qrs. of great oats for seed. †b. Of food or a person's diet: of inferior quality, poor, coarse; spec. of meat: boiled (as opposed to roast). Obsolete. ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xi. 305 A seruaunt womman..is ifed wiþ grete mete [L. grossioribus cibis reficitur]. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. lv. 409 Þe ston and grauel..brediþ ofte in þe reynes. And þat comeþ nameliche of drinke of slymy watir, and of grete diet. a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 662 Caro grossa, grete flesche. Caro assota, rost flesche. c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 24 vi messes of greete mete and rost. c1525 T. Moulton Myrour of Helthe ii. sig. c.^v And also other feuors metes, ete no great mete no vnnyons, nor lekes, nor garlyke, nor no fruyte. †c. Of a fluid: thick in consistency, thick with particles. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > specific qualities of (the) air > thick or turbid troublyc1380 greata1398 murkc1480 mistyc1485 foggyc1487 troublea1500 grossa1592 fat1598 filthya1616 thick1626 murky1667 turbid1705 solid1807 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. xlvi. 718 Þerfore valeies ben demed bi asaie hote, trubily, with grete aire and þikke and many vapoures. a1413 in J. Norri Names of Sicknesses in Eng. 1400–1550 (1992) 167 Galien sayth þat þe blod sumtyme ys rotun & þat þat is grete it turnyþ into melancolie & þat þat is sotil turnyþ into colre. ?a1425 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Claud.) (1850) Wisd. xvii. 13 Gloss. Erthe and water, fro whiche stieden smokis, makinge greet the eir. 2. Of relatively large girth or circumference, or breadth or width, in comparison with length or height; not slender or slim; thick; swollen. Opposed to small adj. I. Now rare except as a contextual use of sense A. 3. a. Of a thing. Scottish in later use. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of large volume or bulky > and solid greateOE stour?a1300 fata1325 mightyc1375 sternc1394 stiffc1400 massivec1425 mastiff1495 gross1516 massy1548 robustious1548 mountainousa1616 monumental1632 mountain1633 lusty1640 beamy1697 material1736 Himalayan1878 wodgy1907 monolith1922 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. iii. 392 Se earm wæs swa swiðe great & aswollen, to ðon þæt he nænge begnisse in þæm elmbogan hæfde. OE Lacnunga (2001) I. xliv. 24 Genim medmicle moran glædenon, fædme longe & swa greate swa ðin þuma. OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) cxxxiv. 174 Ðeos wyrt..hafað wið þone wyrttruman greatne stelan [L. densam caulem] & twegea fæðma lange. c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 445 Iuliene..grap a great raketehe þet ha wes wið ibunden. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12963 Þat weore twælf swine iteied to-somne mid wiðen swiðe grete. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 1884 Þe staf, þat he to fiȝte ber, Was twenti fote in lengþe be tale, Þar to gret & noþing smale. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Physician's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 37 And Phebus dyed hath hir tresses grete Lyk to the stremys of his burned hete. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 306 (MED) And he sett þis trompe to his mouthe & began to blaw, & it was foyste & ill-saverd & garte hym make grete chekis. a1525 (?1421) Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) I. 28 We commaund that no bocher..ber no billys, ne gysarnez, ne no grett stauys within the Cite. 1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 62 [They] straik the said Walter..with daggis, battownis and greit endis of speris. 1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue v. 237 They grow very high, and the stalke great, whereof the people make faggots. 1629 J. Parkinson Garden of Pleasant Flowers xc. 364 The stalke of this meruellous plant is great and thick, bigger then any mans thumbe. 1663 J. D. tr. H. de Péréfixe de Beaumont Hist. Henry IV iii. 107 The mass of his Body, great and fat beyond all proportion. ?a1800 Earl of Aboyne in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1892) IV. viii. 312 Wi her fingers sae white, and the gold rings sae grite. 1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin xxxiii. 352 Between his waistcoat pouch an' a button‐hole there dangled a chain..as grit as my curnie-wurnie. 1900 N.E.D. at Great Mod. Sc. He had a stick as gryte as your airm. b. Of a person or animal: having a large waist or girth; heavily built, sturdy, stout, corpulent. Frequently in collocation with fat. Now Scottish (northern) and archaic. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] > fat or plump fatc893 frimOE fullOE overfatOE greatOE bald1297 roundc1300 encorsivea1340 fattishc1369 fleshyc1369 fleshlyc1374 repletea1398 largec1405 corsious1430 corpulentc1440 corsyc1440 fulsome1447 portlyc1487 corporate1509 foggy fata1529 corsive1530 foggish?1537 plump1545 fatty1552 fleshful1552 pubble1566 plum1570 pursy1576 well-fleshed1576 gross?1577 fog1582 forfatted1586 gulchy1598 bouksome1600 fat-fed1607 meatified1607 chuff1609 plumpya1616 bloat1638 blowze-like1647 obese1651 jollya1661 bloated1664 chubbed1674 pluffya1689 puffya1689 pussy1688 sappy1694 crummy1718 chubby1722 fodgel1724 well-padded1737 beefy1743 plumpish1753 pudsy1754 rotund1762 portable1770 lusty1777 roundabout1787 well-cushioned1802 plenitudinous1803 stout1804 embonpointc1806 roly-poly1808 adipose1810 roll-about1815 foggy1817 poddy1823 porky1828 hide-blown1834 tubby1835 stoutish1836 tubbish1836 superfatted1841 pottle-bodied1842 pincushiony1851 opulent1882 well-covered1884 well-upholstered1886 butterball1888 endomorphic1888 tisty-tosty1888 pachyntic1890 barrel-bodied1894 overweight1899 pussy-gutted1906 upholstered1924 OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1017 On þisum geare wæs eac Eadric ealdorman ofslægen, & Norðman, Leofwines sunu ealdormannes, & Æþelward, Ægelmeres sunu greatan [lOE Laud þæs grætan]. OE tr. Wonders of East (Tiber.) §16. 194 Ðær beoð dracan kende, ða beoð on lenge hundteontiges fotmæla and fiftiges lange, & beoð greate swa stænene sweras micle [L. uastitudine columnarum]. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2098 Ðeden ut comen .vii. neet, Euerilc wel swiðe fet and gret. c1330 Gregorius (Auch.) (1914) l. 1024 (MED) He toke fisches þre Þat were boþe gret and long. c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess (Fairf. 16) (1871) l. 954 Euery lyth Fattysh flesshy, not grete therwith. c1450 Practica Phisicalia John of Burgundy in H. Schöffler Mittelengl. Medizinlit. (1919) 246 For to make a man fat and grete. ?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 3 Store of all kinde freshwater-fish, delicat, great & fat. 1657 J. Davies tr. H. D'Urfé Astrea II. 100* The Transalpines..esteem great and fat women to be the prime Beauties, the Gauls are for the slender and lean. 1709 Brit. Apollo 23–25 Mar. I Little eat, and yet I'm Fat and Great. 1818 New Bon Ton Mag. June 100 Unmarried dames, so fat and great, Fatigued to find a father. 1895 ‘H. Haliburton’ Dunbar: Poems adapted for Mod. Readers 87 On stool beside the fire she sat; Gude kens if she was grit an' fat. 1925 C. Archer tr. S. Undset Mistress of Husaby II. ii. viii. 238 You bear your children under a loving heart, my Kristin—the boy is great and fat, but you are pale and thin as a wand. 1995 A. Cole & C. Bunch Kingdoms of Night ix. 183 It was as ugly out of water with its bulk exposed as it was in. ‘Great an' fat, boy, jus' like yer fishwives.’ 3. Of a size, bulk, or extent that is considerably above average; large. See also sense A. 23. a. Without a reinforcing or intensifying adjective.In unmarked, neutral use now somewhat literary (except in regional use), being superseded by large or (more colloquially) big. In non-literary or less formal contexts sometimes with connotations of annoyance, surprise, etc.: cf. e.g. quot. 2011. N.E.D. (1900) comments: ‘"I found a large table in my room" would simply state a fact, but if great were used the sentence would indicate annoyance, amusement, or surprise.’ Cf. uses with other adjectives and intensifiers at A. 3b and A. 3c. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] unlittleeOE mickleeOE greateOE mucha1154 mainc1275 boldc1300 fadec1330 largec1392 tallc1430 big1444 masterfula1450 grand1452 largy1558 fine1590 bonnya1600 large-sized1628 roomly1682 lumping?1706 maun1743 strapping1827 barn door1829 serious1843 jumboesque1893 jumbo1897 economy-sized1930 L1942 jumbo-size1949 economy size1950 eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) xii. 56 Gif mon oðres wudu bærneð oððe heaweð unaliefedne, forgielde ælc great treow mid v scillingum, & siððan æghwylc, sie swa fela swa hiora sie, mid v pæningum; & xxx scillinga to wite. eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvii. 508 Great beam on wuda wyrcð hludne dynt þonne men læst wenað. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) iii. 202 He orsorh betwux þam greatum hagelstanum þurhwunade. lOE Bounds (Sawyer 696) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1893) III. 296 Andlang weges oðða greatan dic þonne west andlang dic. c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 10 A þusent deoflen. & euch an bereð a gret [c1225 Royal great] boc al of sunnen iwriten. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 615 Tron wel grete, Mit þicke boȝe noþing blete. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 238 (MED) Þe vissere heþ more blisse uor to nime ane gratne viss þane ane littlene. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 55 Hellespontus brekeþ oute abrode in greet wawes and stremes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 393 Þe sterns, gret and smale. ?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) iv. met. i. 86 The swifte thowht..surmountith the Roundnesse of the grete ayr [L. aeris inmensi]. 1542 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 71 Item, twa gryt barrallis ourgilt. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. iii. 33 Eighteen or twentie baths small and great. 1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions viii, in Complaints sig. Y3^v A riuer swift, whose fomy billowes Did wash the ground work of an old great wall. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 153 The Clowd-capt Towres, the gorgeous Pallaces, The solemne Temples, the great Globe it selfe..shall dissolue. 1655 S. Hartlib Reformed Common-wealth Bees 6 For the great hole..in the top of the Hive, you must make a cover. 1685 W. Salmon Polygraphice (ed. 5) v. xxxv. 479 The other great line above it is called Linea Stellata. 1732 J. Macky Journey through Austrian Netherlands (ed. 2) vii. 85 A great Piece of the Holy Cross. 1751 J. Bartram Observ. Trav. from Pensilvania 67 A great hill, cloathed with large Magnolia..and chesnut oak. 1801 A. Walker Syst. Familiar Philos. (new ed.) II. xi. 204 The sandy soil and deserts on the south of this great sea, receive immense heat from the sun. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna x. xxiii. 223 The great fountain in the public square. 1846 in W. Evans & T. Evans Friends' Libr. X. 117/1 The wind being high, the waves were great in the channel. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 98 The charge of his great diocese was committed to his judges, Sprat and Crewe. 1884 R. Jefferies Red Deer 33 Heath-poults, the female of black-game, fly like a great partridge. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 20 May 3/3 That great sky close-hung with stars. 1914 M. Morrison tr. G. Hauptmann Weavers v., in K. Francke German Classics XVIII. 95 Look at that great maypole of a woman leadin' on in front! 1961 N. Juster Phantom Tollbooth x. 119 There were at least a thousand musicians ranged in a great arc before them. 1995 P. Gregory Respectable Trade ii. 37 Mehuru kept watching for a chance to order the whole line of them to run—run in a great line toward the marketplace of the town. 2011 K. Rhienhart It wasn't Me i. 20 Papa, Papa, come quickly and see, there is a great lump of ceiling and it has fallen down into the kitchen. b. Preceding a partly synonymous adjective, passing into a simple intensifier. Frequently in great big. Now also preceding an intensifier, as bloody. Now colloquial. ΚΠ a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1932) III. l. 19234 (MED) He was boþe blak & long, a gret large berd, his nese was wrong. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 130 When he sawe greate wyde gates..where as the toune was but a litle preaty pyle. 1592 L. Andrewes Wonderfull Combate 92 All the glorie of them, is called but a great big fanne, or pompe. 1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum iii. vi. 347 This great Virginian plant..riseth up with a great thick round reddish stalke. 1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 10 A great fat man,..his face not so black as to be counted a Mollotto. 1715 M. Davies Εἰκων Μικρο-βιβλικὴ 249 I saw once in a Barn a Weasel and a great hugy Rat engage. 1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. i. 8 A great over-grown, lank-hair'd, chubby boy. 1793 J. Thelwall Peripatetic 16 At one time there were Giants in the world: great tall men, a vast deal larger than we are. 1817 T. Herbert Too Much Way of World i. 23 They cram'd me down in a great big hole, your honour. 1837 Country Misc. Nov. 259 One of them was a Little, Small Wee Bear; and one was a Middle-sized Bear, and the other was a Great Huge Bear. 1871 Punch 7 Jan. 1/2 One of them held up a great large doll. 1907 L. Mott To Credit of Sea viii. 264 My cruise on the great damned ocean is p'utty nigh over. 1961 L. P. Hartley Two for River 94 It was a great big thing, the size of a small haystack. 1984 W. Gibson Neuromancer (1989) i. ii. 35 Great bloody postwar political football, that was. 2012 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 15 Jan. (Travel section) 9 We woke to rain and it had been coming down ever since, great thick sheets of the stuff. c. Following a partly synonymous adjective, esp. huge, or an intensifier, as bloody. See also whacking great at whacking adj., zonking great at zonk v. Derivatives. Now colloquial. ΚΠ c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 169^v (MED) Þe woundis ben deedly þat ben huge greete woundis. a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) sig. E.ii An hundred hugie great temples he built. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. S5^v Huge great yron chests and coffers strong. 1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum iii. ix. 352 Seldome bigger then a large great egge set in the same cup or huske. 1688 tr. G. Tachard Voy. to Siam (new ed.) ii. 64 They have there also..huge great Apes that comes sometimes in Troops..into the Gardens of private Persons. 1749 Philos. Trans. Abridged 1665–1700 (Royal Soc.) (ed. 5) 2 391 Huge great Pieces of the Mountain fell into this fiery Lake. 1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions (ed. 2) III. liv. 64 Pictures on the one side, and a damned great lumbering building..on the other. 1802 T. Burnet Poems on Var. Subj. 29 A band of huge great grenadiers,..attackt me with protended spears. 1845 tr. M. J. E. Sue Temptation vii. 15/1 Rumphius was also furnished with a nose of great length,..thick great eyebrows, and the awkwardest walk you can well imagine. 1867 G. M. Baker Amateur Dramas 131 Then keep your blasted great hoofs off my corns. 1904 Theosophical Rev. Dec. 319 Great flying creatures—huge great fishes—so new and wonderful I can't explain. 1945 M. Lowry Let. 14 May in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 474 People have built a bloody great babel in our old bedroom. 1975 N. Luard Travelling Horseman iii. 81 A damn great Perspex-faced wall map of London. 2006 Daily Tel. 14 Sept. 24/6 There were huge great fells and dells. 4. Larger than others of the same kind or group; largest of a group or class. a. In the names of plants and animals distinguished by their larger size from similar ones of the same name. Cf. greater adj. 4c.See also Compounds 1g.great black-backed gull, moonwort, mullein, ragweed, reed warbler, etc.: see the second element. ΚΠ eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxvi. 86 Genim..eac gagel & cneowholen, singrenan, eolonan, redic, wealwyrt, þa greatan netlan, wermod, eorþgeallan. eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. viii. 312 Nim þas wyrte:..fica perfica, se fula wermod, sio greate banwyrt, acleaf. lOE Recipe (Vitell. C.iii) in T. O. Cockayne Leechdoms, Wortcunning, & Starcraft (1864) I. 376 Nim datulus þa wyrt.., þæt is on ure geþeoda þæt greata crauleac. a1400 J. Mirfield Sinonoma Bartholomei (1882) 16 Consolida media, grete dayeseghe. c1400 in T. Hunt Plant Names Medieval Eng. (1989) 64 [Campana] þe grete wodebelle. c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 15 The Dare & þe greyt Roche... Þe greyt cheven... Þe gret Trowt. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 227/2 Great hasyll nutte, aueleine. Great hounde, alant. 1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.iiij^v Hieracium is of two kyndes. The one is called in latin Hieracium magnum. It may be called in englishe greate Haukweede. 1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. F.viij^v Particalis salix is the greate Wylowe tree. 1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 99 The great Horn-Owl or Eagle-Owl. a1722 J. Quincy tr. Dispensatory Royal Coll. Physicians London (1727) 284 Great vervain Mallow. 1756 J. Hill Brit. Herbal ii. 420 Great Hercules Allheal. 1813 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. (ed. 4) II. 273 The black or great ostrich. 1832 E. Lankester Veg. Substances Food 188 The Great Cat's-Tail is a perennial reed..a native of Britain. 1858 H. N. Humphreys Butterfly Vivarium viii. 147 There is not a more genial and pleasing sign of opening summer than the first appearance of the Great White Butterfly. 1882 Garden 4 Feb. 71/1 The Great St. John's Wort. 1917 E. E. Shaw Garden Flowers Autumn III. 119 As Great Lobelia is a swamp plant, it naturally does best when it is placed in bog gardens or some other really moist place. 1922 Boys' Life June 8/3 He surprised a great blue heron, fishing along the water's edge. 1981 Science 2 Jan. 18/1 Great wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella) and mealworm larvae..were only slightly affected by exposure to the ash. 2006 Field Guide Birds N. Amer. (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 5) 104 Smaller Double-crested Cormorant has orange throat pouch..; note also Great Cormorant's larger, blockier head and heavier bill. b. Anatomy and Zoology. Forming names of parts of the body that are the largest of a class, group, or series of structures, or the larger of two such structures, or the larger division of a structure. Cf. greater adj. 4a.See also Compounds 1f. ΚΠ eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) lxxv. 86 Gif mon ða greatan sinwe forslea, gif hie mon gelacnian mæge, þæt hio hal sie, geselle XII scillinga to bote... Gif ða smalan sinwe mon forslea, geselle him mon VI scillinga to bote. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. xlix. 399 Þey beþ inorischid and ifedde in þe neþir grete bowelles. a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 3^v Allux, a grete too. 1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo Most Excellent Wks. Chirurg. i. vi. f. 177^v/1 The great focille is y^t, which susteineth the arme. 1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 997 The great Trochanter..the lesser Trochanter. These two processes are ioyned together by a line which buncheth out behind. 1734 Physical Ess. Parts Human Body & Animal Econ. 215 As for the great Pectoral Muscle we soon can prove it to be of no use in Respiration. 1842 E. Wilson Anatomist's Vade Mecum (ed. 2) 352 The Great Cardiac Vein commences at the apex of the heart. 1857 W. R. Bullock tr. P. Cazeaux Theoret. & Pract. Treat. Midwifery (ed. 2) 27 The great pelvis has a very irregular figure, and forms a species of pavilion to the entrance of the pelvis. 1900 tr. E. W. von Brücke Human Figure (new ed.) 109 The insertion of the great rhomboid muscle (M. rhomboideus major). 1935 L. D. Luard Horse ii. 10 The weight of the fore part of the body is supported from the underside of the shoulder blade by the great Serratus Thoracis muscle. 1982 G. Bosse tr. P. Huber Cerebral Angiography (rev. ed.) 218/1 Other inferior cerebellar veins run below the great horizontal fissure. 2004 M. Gertsch ECG xi. 182/2 A 54-year-old colleague told the author about a slight ‘pulling’ pain localized to the region of the left great pectoral muscle. c. Of a specified part of a building, or a particular building, monument, square, etc., in a town or locality: main, principal (usually by virtue of being the largest). See also great house n. Cf. grand adj. 7c.Cf. also use in place names, distinguishing them from others nearby having identical names with Little, as Great Malvern, Worcestershire, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, Great Snoring, Norfolk, etc. On the history of such names see note in etymology section. Similarly in street names and names of geographical features, as e.g. Great Portland Street, London, the Great Ouse (river) in eastern England, the Great Orme (headland), Llandudno Bay, Conwy, Wales. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [adjective] > main part greata1387 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 395 (MED) Whan he sigh first þe grete halle of Westmynstre, he seide þat it was to lite by þe halvendel. 1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 174 To þe dores yn þe halle and to þe Entrynge of þe grete Chamber. c1450 (?a1300) Stations of Rome (Calig.) 24 Fowr & twenty gret ȝates þer be, Pryncypall ouur oþur, y tell þe. c1453 Brut (Harl. 53) 558 Þe gret hall..was ryolly hanget with cloþes of gold and of Arras. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxliij^v The Dukes of Norffolke and Suffolk, led hym into the great chamber again and the kyng created hym, Duke of Richemond and Somerset. 1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 385 William Rufus builded the great Hall there [sc. at Westminster], about the yeare of Christ, 1097. 1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. ii. 103 If the great Doore be Arched with some braue Head, cut in fine Stone or Marble for the Key of the Arch. c1720 N. Dubois & G. Leoni tr. A. Palladio Architecture II. xv. 29 The great rooms are arch'd with a Fascia. 1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto v. 177 I saw upon the uppermost banister of the great stairs a hand in armour. 1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall VI. lxviii. 506 Mahomet the second performed the namaz of prayer and thanksgiving on the great altar, where the Christian mysteries had so lately been celebrated. a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I i, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 239 You torch-bearers advance to the great gate. 1873 Jrnl. Amer. Geogr. Soc. N.Y. 1872 3 277 This headland, which rises 760 feet above the great plaza of the city, looks from below like a high, abrupt hill. 1900 Church Times 2 Feb. 119/3 Canon Gore will lecture on the Apostles' Creed..in the Great Hall of the Church House. 1936 Stage June 62/3 Every cobblestone and pilaster of the great square is authentic. 2000 C. Christie Brit. Country House in 18th Cent. 182 At the foot of the great staircase was the sub-hall. d. Of a letter: capital. Cf. big adj. 4b. Now archaic or historical. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [adjective] > large or capital great1481 capital1584 big1688 majuscule1701 uncial1712 semi-uncial1742 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 12 A marble stone polyshed as clere as ony glas and theron was hewen in grete lettres in this wyse coppe chanteklers doughter..lyeth hier vnder buryed. 1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Miv^v They affyrme it to be a muche great offence, if one doe write, MAGISTER NOSTER otherwyse than with great letters. 1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus H 1 b I began to sweare all the crisse crosse row ouer, beginning at great A, litle a, til I cam to w, x, y. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xx. f. 155 6. collums, euery front or head whereof is noted with three great letters, D.M.S. signifying degrees, minutes and seconds. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. v. 86 Thus makes shee her [printed het] great P's. View more context for this quotation 1634 H. Peacham Gentlemans Exercise (new ed.) 16 Pensills of Broome, with which they shadow great letters with common Inke in Coppy bookes. 1774 D. Garrick Let. 3 July (1963) III. 945 Shall I tell you of a very small..fault, that you commit?—It is writing many insignificant words with a Great Letter. 1809 Educ. Poor xxviii. iv. 323 She then gave them a card, with the great letter A drawn out upon it. 1837 in J. B. Ker Ess. Archæol. Pop. Phrases, & Nursery Rhymes (new ed.) II. 289 Great A, little A, Bouncing B. The cat's in the cupboard, And she can't see. 1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth III. x. 214 Few minds are big enough to be just to great A without being unjust to capital B. 1926 C. M. Cox et al. Early Mental Traits 300 Geniuses 576 Before he had regularly learned to write, he amused himself by copying the figures in Æsop's Fables, contriving to reproduce in great letters the names of his subjects. 1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) ii. 71 One great volume,..which had on its first page my house as its title in great letters. 5. a. Of a woman or female mammal: pregnant; far advanced in pregnancy. Usually (and now only) with with (occasionally also †of) a child, young, etc. Cf. big adj. 6a. See also great ewe n. at Compounds 1e. Now somewhat archaic.Originally a spec. use of sense A. 2b. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective] greatc1175 with childc1175 with childc1300 baggeda1400 bounda1400 pregnant?a1425 quicka1450 greaterc1480 heavyc1480 teeming1530 great-bellied1533 big1535 boundenc1540 impregnate1540 great-wombeda1550 young with child1566 gravid1598 pregnate1598 pagled1599 enceinte1602 child-great1605 conceived1637 big-bellieda1646 brooding1667 in the (also a) family way1688 in the (also that) way1741 undelivered1799 ensient1818 enwombeda1822 in a delicate condition1827 gestant1851 in pod1890 up the (also a) pole1918 in a particular condition1922 preg?1927 in the spud line1937 up the spout1937 preggy1938 up the stick1941 preggers1942 in pig1945 primigravid1949 preggo1951 in a certain condition1958 gestating1961 up the creek1961 in the (pudding) cluba1966 gravidated- c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2479 Ȝho wass waxenn summ del græt. &..wass wiþþ childe. c1300 St. Michael (Laud) l. 141 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 303 A womman grete with childe cam In atþen ende. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 453 His wif..thanne was with childe grete. a1425 Long Charter of Christ, C Text (Royal 17 C.xvii) (1901) l. 84 Vergyn mary..gret with chyld. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccxvij/2 To whom her husbond answerd..dame..thou art grete and the perylles of the see ben wythout nombre, thou myghtest lyghtely perysshe. 1560 tr. Albertus Magnus' Bk. Secretes sig. A.iiii^v Geue it to a bytche, or to another beast, & it shall be greate with a yonge one in the owne kynde, and shall bringe forth the byrth in the owne kynde. a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalm vii. 13 in Compl. Wks. (1923) III. 411 [Variant reading.] Great of child. 1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Hord, a Cow great with Calfe. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 24 Dolphins..go great 10 months. 1648 A. Ross Mystagogvs Poeticvs (ed. 2) viii. 155 Being great of Paris, she dreamed that she had a burning firebrand in her belly. 1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 55 Shee chanc't to be with Child,..and being very great, and that her time was come to be delivered. 1744 S. Johnson Acct. Life R. Savage 3 The Child, with which she was then great. 1769 in D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Scots Songs 104 O silly lassie, what wilt thou do? If thou grow great, they'll heez thee hie. 1801 Asiatick Researches (London ed.) 6 517 An unwary traveller, riding upon a mare great with foal, stumbled into it. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in Poems (new ed.) II. 50 She [sc. a sow]..Lay great with pig, wallowing in sun and mud. 1904 Hymns Anc. & Mod. No. 55 A maiden pure and undefiled Is by the Spirit great with child. 1983 R. Curtis & R. Atkinson Black Adder in R. Curtis et al. Blackadder: Whole Damn Dynasty (1998) 87/2 Three months later, I was great with child. 2009 D. Hardy Lovers' Knot 294 She was..sleek and fat like a brood mare or a cow great with calf. b. figurative and in figurative contexts. With with, †of. ΚΠ 1546 J. Bale tr. John Frederick I in tr. J. Jonas True Hystorie Christen Departynge M. Luther f. 32^v The blasphemouse Pope and Emproure haue now conceyued myschefe, they trauayle all great with iniquyte. 1566 in J. Fowler tr. P. Frarinus Oration against Vnlawfull Insurrections Protestantes Table sig. Kiv^v Caluin in his chamber fiue yeres taught a Nonne Tyll she was great with Gospell and swolne with a sonne. 1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iii. sig. D4^v My heart is great of thoughts. 1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. iii. sig. H^v Art not great of thanks To gratious heauen? 1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. sig. G The Asse is great with child of some ill newes. 1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xxi. 95 I am great with woe, and shall deliuer weeping. View more context for this quotation 1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick Ep. Ded. sig. A4^v The smattering..Soul of Lapsed man..often taking shews and shaddows for substances, gets the minde great of Distemperature. 1868 W. C. Bennett Contrib. Ballad Hist. Eng. 144 O my land, my own land, Earth is great with nations sown By you. 1914 T. S. Moore Sea is Kind 97 To-day is great with Yesterday's child To-morrow. a1948 R. Benedict in M. Mead Anthropologist at Work (1959) vi. 476 Though you grow great with god, desire shall be A song you know not. 2000 C. Houselander & T. Hoffman Child in Winter 91 The whole world is great with child, and still we are not prepared for childbirth. 6. Of the heart, soul, speech, etc.: (originally) full of emotion or an emotional quality, as courage, anger, or pride; angry, grieved; proud, arrogant; (now) filled or bursting with emotion, significance, etc. (cf. sense A. 5b). great of heart: courageous, noble (now archaic and rare). Cf. great-hearted adj., and also sense A. 18b. Now literary. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > [adjective] > full of or affected by emotion > of the heart fullOE greatc1225 heart-quaking1623 c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 210 [Þ]e reue feng to rudnin igrome of great heorte. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 254 Of alle cuðe sunnen as of prude. of great oðer of hech heorte. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12622 We habbeoð writen ibroht þe word swiðe grate [c1300 Otho grete]. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 6314 Edmond..is grete herte wiþ drou & ensentede to is red. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2859 Þe Sarsyns þanne on him fulle, alle wiþ herte grete. ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 126 The wise Sarra þat made no gret ansueres vnto her chambrere. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 960 They wente betynge hym... But he seyde never a worde as he whych was grete of herte. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxvii. 357 He [sc. Jesus] spake neuer, by nyght ne day, No wordes greatte. ?1536 tr. Erasmus Serm. Chylde Jesus ii. sig. B.vi Bearing ourselfes bold of this grace, let vs with a great hert and stomacke enterrpryse y^e studie to folow y^e chylde Iesus. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 185 Than thelamon..spake Grete wordis..all in grym yre. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 229 My heart is great, but it must breake with silence. View more context for this quotation 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. ii. 108 The heart: who great and pufft vp with this retinew, doth any deed of courage. View more context for this quotation 1608 J. Dod & R. Cleaver Plaine Expos. Prov. xi–xii 6 So standeth the case with all proud persons, theire great heart doth threaten some greate mischiefe to bee nigh vnto them. 1784 in G. Caw Poet. Museum 27 Dickie's heart it grew sae great,..That ne'er a bit o't he dought to eat. 1832 W. Motherwell Jeanie Morrison 79 Oh! say gin e'er your heart grows grit Wi' dreamings o' langsyne? 1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish iii For he was great of heart, magnanimous, courtly, courageous. 1869 Le M. Hunt Peeps at Brittany i. iii. 76 Trying to frighten their listeners into heaven by thundering two of the few words great with import. 1881 Friend (Honolulu) Mar. 19/1 The young pastor's heart grew great with hope, and longing, and tender desire. 1915 C. W. Brackett Jocelyn 74 Her soul is great with words unsaid and with songs she has never sung. 1941 A. G. Daniells Christ our Righteousness ii. 26 God's messages and providences are always great with meaning. 2010 C. Kelly tr. J.-J. Rousseau Emile i. 89 His heart great with sighs he does not dare to breathe. 7. Of an animal or (occasionally) a person: full-grown; grown up. Now chiefly in Hunting, of animals (esp. buck or male deer) above a particular age. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > family unit > [adjective] > mature ripec1325 greata1375 flight-ripe1398 well-moutheda1425 staggy1933 the world > people > person > adult > [adjective] mucha1154 of (formerly also at, to) agec1300 perfect agec1384 full-growna1393 ripea1393 greatc1515 adult1531 maturate1556 mellowed1575 mellow1592 full-aged1596 mature1609 timed1611 grown-upa1640 adulted1645 grown1645 upgrown1667 matured1805 coming of age1858 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 215 So komes þer a werwolf..grimly after a gret hert. c1450 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle (1883) 15 For the cheven chobe..with a lyne of vj herys. For þe trowyt..and þe greyt cheven..ix herys. For þe gret Trowt..with a lyne of xij herys. 1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. biij^v/1 He ete..a quarter of moton, or ij hennes, or a grete ghoos. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) v. 9 We be grete ynow to be made knyghtes. a1547 in Gentleman's Mag. (1813) May 427 Grene Gesse from Ester till mydsomer y^e pece, vjjd. Gesse grett from mydsomer tell shroftyde y^e pece, viijd. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Great Buck, the Sixth Year. Great Hare, the Third Year and afterwards. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. 128 The buck is..called..the fifth [year], a buck of the first head; and the sixth, a great buck. 1857 Fraser's Mag. Aug. 211/2 A buck of the first head came out of the grove near to the nearest old or Great Buck. 1929 Boys' Life May 64/4 Putting her on the track, he would count on her bringing the great buck round to him. 2004 C. Boddington Fair Chase in N. Amer. xi. 154 Expect a chance at one great buck in a week's hard hunting. 8. (a) (Of flowing water, a river) swollen with rain or snow melt, in high flood (now English regional (northern)); (b) (of the sea) having large waves, running high. Eng. Dial. Dict. (at cited word) records sense (a) as still in use in north Yorkshire in 1905. ΚΠ a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 158 (MED) This ȝere were so grete wateres þat þei broke down walles in Temse and oþir places, ouyrcured þe londis, and kyllid many bestes. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) f. 70^v A citie called Uendebone, situate vpon a ryuer,..and beinge in wynter, and the waters great, & very weate wether. c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 8 The governour..remanit..on the syid of Twead, becaus the wattir was greit. c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1850) I. 236 Seing thay wantit boites, and culd not ryd the water, being great. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 3 We had a very great Sea from the West. 1692 A. Symson Large Descr. Galloway (1823) 30 A rivulet called Pinkill Bourn, which is sometimes so great, that [etc.]. 1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) II. 252 There is no possibility of landing on account of the great sea. 1888 R. L. Stevenson in Scribner's Mag. Dec. 701/2 The ninth dawn was cold and black, with a great sea running, and every mark of foul weather. 1969 P. O'Brian Master & Commander vi. 175 Stephen heard him say, ‘There's a hellish great sea running tonight.’ 2003 E. D. Ziebach Second Head of Chocalata v. 40 The crew strained in the blowing gale looking on each wave for the orange life preserver that held their friend, but the wind and the seas were too great. II. Senses relating primarily to quantity or degree. 9. Considerable in degree, intensity, or extent. a. Of qualities, emotions, behaviour, effects, events, etc.Not always clearly distinguishable from sense A. 15b(b). ΚΠ eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xlii. 106 Of gealadle, sio biþ of þære geolwan, cymeþ great yfel; sio biþ ealra adla ricust. lOE Royal Charter: Cnut to Old Minster, Winchester (Sawyer 976) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 51 Þet syndan hamsocne and forsteallas and myndbræcas and ælces wytes smales and greates. a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 231 (MED) He nam him to rede þat heom wolde ȝearceon anæ grate laðienge and þider ȝeclepien all his underþeod. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13174 Þæ andswarede þe kaisere mid grættere [c1300 Otho grettere] wræððe. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7730 Suiþe þilke [read þikke] mon he was, & of grete strengþe. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 222 He mai habbe grat merite ase to þe zaule. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14219 His kin..for þair frend gret murning made. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 251 Som gret myschaunce. ?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 302 Feyned religious..amortisen many grete lordischipis bi..gret ypocrisie. 1450 W. Lomnor in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 36 Wretyn yn gret haste at London. a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 1102 She deide for gre [te] louyng. 1506–7 Old City Acct. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. (1886) 43 171 To the gertte coost & damage of all the suters befor named & to ther grett hyndranse. ?1521 J. Fisher Serm. agayn Luther sig. Aii^v To y^e graete trouble & vexacyon of his chyrch. 1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. xii. 198 If this Law were obserued the people shold be eased of great expenses, iudges & iustices of great trauel. 1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 298 He is likewise commended for a picture of spindle worke, wherein the threads of every spinning woman seem to make very great haste. a1644 F. Quarles Shepheards Oracles (1646) x. 117 There's great talk about A strange predictious Star. 1714 T. Hearne in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 355 I will take great care of them. 1779 F. Hervey et al. Naval Hist. Great Brit. III. v. ii. 413 Between forty and fifty of them [sc. mortars]..began in the night to play upon the citadel, and continued it four days with great success. 1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 81 The Bishop..whose great popularity at Tours..made him a person of much consideration. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ii. 42 Great ignorance is the fruit of great poverty. 1891 F. W. Blackmar Spanish Inst. Southwest xi. 238 To the invaders the Indian question was one of great importance. 1924 E. M. Forster Passage to India ix. 106 This is a great relief to us, it is very good of you to call, Doctor Sahib. 1960 C. C. Gillispie Edge of Objectivity xi. 79 He placed great emphasis on comparative analysis. 1992 Afr. Amer. Rev. 26 31/1 The shock is too great for Paul D, and he accuses her of overloving. b. With regard to action or movement: of considerable physical force; strong, vigorous, powerful, violent. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > of action: involving or requiring vigour > carried out or proceeding with vigour stiffc1250 busyc1275 greatc1275 sternc1275 smart?a1400 stark1489 thronga1525 vigorous1524 stout1582 intensive1605 spiritful?1611 warm1627 intense1645 mettlesome1645 spirited1670 mettled1682 sturdy1697 energetic1700 vivid1702 robustful1800 toughish1840 lively1844 full out1920 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1142 Moni greatne dunt..þolede ich on folde. 1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) i. iii–v. sig. aiij Hys enemyes..dyd a grete bataylle vpon his men. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) cxi. 382 Huon, who was lyger and light, lept by the syde of the serpent and gaue hym a great stroke. 1584 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 82 The Earle..up with his fiste and gave the poore man a great blow upon the face. 1650 Perfect Diurnall No. 4. 40 This is not much unlike that great blow of Gun-powder at Torrington in the West; where 80 Barrels of Powder were fired in the Church by the Enemy. 1706 G. Farquhar Recruiting Officer iii. i. 29 He entertain'd me with a fine Story of a great Fight between the Hungarians, I think it was, and the Irish. 1775 N. Cresswell Jrnl. 5 July (1925) 71 There was a great Battle fought here. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 119 At Naseby took place the first great encounter between the royalists and the remodelled army. 1898 A. Wilberforce Great Battles all Nations II. xxiii. 497 (heading) The great fight off Copenhagen. 1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore iii. 81 If you should see that damned loblolly-boy, give him a great kick, will you. 1996 S. Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 187 Wi a gryte yark o his hurdies an a skelp o his flippers, Zeffirino brakk frae the sea tae fob. 2011 M. Midkiff (title) The great collision: a unidirectional model of the universe. c. Of weather or other natural phenomena (as fires or outbreaks of infectious disease): severe, violent, and (sometimes) of long duration; (of rain, snow, etc.) heavy.Frequently in the names of specific events, as Great Frost (cf. quot. c1683), Great Plague (cf. quot. 1776); cf. also Great Famine n. at Compounds 1e, Great Fire n. at Compounds 1e. Cf. sense A. 15b(b). ΚΠ c1300 St. Bridget (Laud) l. 38 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 193 So gret rein ore louerd to eorþe sende Þat hire cloþes al wete weren. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxiv. 1008 Þe tendre leues þerof... Beþ constreigned in wynter wiþ grete froste [L. gelu & pruina] and wiþ smale. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 388 That we may frely passen forth oure wey Whan þ^t the grete shour is goon awey. c1410 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Harl. 7334) (1885) §2783 Þe ydel man excuseþ him in wynter by cause of þe grete colde. And in somer by enchesoun of þe grete hete. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 251 Som gret myschaunce or gret disese. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1192 Ful eke of wyndowes As flakes falle in grete snowes. a1500 Walter of Henley's Husbandry (Sloane) (1890) 47 (MED) Sowe your wyntur corne tymely, so þat your lande may be sadid & your corne rotyd afore þat grete wyntur com. 1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 320 The great heates are abated. 1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. 6 One ship over-beares the other, that is, was able in a great gale of wind, to carry out more sayles then the other. c1683 (title of ballad) A true description of Blanket Fair upon the river Thames in the time of the Great Frost. 1706 tr. L. Liger Compl. Florist in tr. F. Gentil Le Jardinier Solitaire 167 Fowls are apt, after a great Drought, to welter in the Ground, or Dust, to cleanse their Feathers. 1729 W. Mackintosh Ess. on Inclosing Scotl. 273 Whether the Ices, covering these Abysses, keeps them [sc. fish] undisturbed from the Motion and Agitation so great Storms occasion. 1776 tr. J. Ihre Lett. in tr. U. von Troil Lett. on Iceland (1780) 305 The close of the thirteenth century, when the black death or the great plague..checked the progress of poetry. 1814 Let. 22 Sept. in T. Bowdler Short View Life & Char. Lieutenant-General Villettes (1815) 72 If a great avalanche happens, they go to the place, even at the hazard of their own lives. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 Sept. 8/2 A great fire broke out..in the extensive tannery works. 1929 H. W. Haggard Devils, Drugs, & Doctors iv. 66 In 1773 a great epidemic of puerperal fever more than decimated the lying-in hospitals of Europe. 1958 New Scientist 5 June 105 (caption) Clearing Tunbridge Wells three hours after the great hailstorm of 6 August 1956. 2009 N. Rothwell Red Highway 153 Finlayson was travelling at the height of a great heatwave, which devastated the wildlife of the Centre. d. Of the voice, sound, etc.: loud; full, resounding; very noisy. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective] loud971 stithc1000 strongOE greata1375 stiff1377 wrastc1400 boistousc1430 stourc1440 big1549 routing1567 thundering?1576 full-mouthed1594 thunderous1606 tonitruous1606 thundery1608 trump-like1609 full-mouth1624 voluminousa1635 rousing1640 altisonous1661 lusty1672 tonitrual1693 rending1719 trumpet-like1814 foudroyant1840 clarion1842 trumpeting1850 trumpet-toned1851 loudish1860 tonitruant1861 tonant1891 thunderful1898 high1923 wham-bam1960 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1827 (MED) Þei þat misseden here mete wold make gret noyse, & record it redeli in rome al a-boute. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) 2 Esdras viii. 6 Esdras blesside to the Lord God with a gret vois. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 2171 (MED) Now rist..So gret bray, so gret crieyng..Þe þonder ne had nouȝth ben herd. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John xviii. 40 The Iewes..with a great lowde voyce cryed [etc.]. 1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 6 Sa gret vproir, tumult, and terrible clamour. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. iii. lx. 129 To masker their troubled heads the more, hee assaileth them with a great shout and maine violence. 1730 H. Fielding Tom Thumb ii. ii. 9 A Noise, Great as the Kettle Drums of twenty Armies. 1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 312 Makes a great scream when taken. 1834 W. H. Ainsworth Rookwood II. iii. v. 344 My father..Was a merchant of capers gay, Who cut his last fling with great applause. 1870 Harper's New Monthly Mag. May 859/2 A great cry of joy went up. 1918 G. Lee Diary 30 Mar. in Home Fires Burning (2006) 250 We jumped out of bed, startled from sleep by a great crash. 1953 J. Krumgold …& now Miguel vii. 101 By the time I got out to the barnyard it [sc. a tractor] started up with a great roar. 2006 S. Cooper Victory 31 My father gave a scornful snort, and let go a great fart for good measure. †e. Of the pulse: of normal strength or duration, strong, full; (also) excessively strong or forceful. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xxiii. 124 On hatte a greet [L. magnus] puls whanne he sprediþ in lengþe and brede and depnes of þe veyne. And þis puls grete and strong [L. fortis et grossus] comeþ of þe strengþe of þe spirit. 1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) i. ii. f. 2 Pulse great and full. 1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. xvi. 19 Ther pulse is great, and stryketh seeldome. 1634 ‘Philiatreus’ Gen. Pract. Med. sig. C3 The pulse great and strong is a token of force, on the which is builded the hope of recoverie of the health. 1697 J. Pechey Plain Introd. Art Physick 107 There are such great Differences of the Pulse among Authors, that it is impossible to distinguish them; wherefore I shall only set down those that are useful in Practice, and these Differences are four, great and small, strong and weak, equal and unequal, frequent and rare. 1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 27 The Pulse is called great, high, or a full Pulse. 1747 tr. J. Astruc Academical Lect. Fevers 23 This rapid motion of the humours, produces heat and rarefaction of the blood, dilates the vessels, and gives rise to a full and great pulse. 1801 W. C. Brown tr. G. Borsieri de Kanifeld Inst. Pract. Med. II. 116 Violent headach, ardent heat, a strong great pulse, excessive thirst, and internal heat, as they give reason for suspecting inflammation, so do they seem to indicate bleeding. 1823 Encycl. Britannica XVII. 495/2 A great pulse shows a more copious afflux of the blood to the heart, and from thence into the arteries; a little pulse the contrary. f. Of knowledge, experience, ability, influence, etc.: considerable in range or extent; thorough; wide. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > extensive or on a large scale > specifically of people or their faculties largec1440 great?1473 extensivea1631 ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 7^v They of Crete seeyng þ^e right grete wysedom of their kyng, assemblid to gyder dyuerce tymes & named hym a god. 1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. A.iii Men of great knowledge and experience. 1624 N. De Lawne tr. P. Du Moulin Elements Logick 176 A man of great capacitie. 1670 A. Wood Life 12 Nov. He had, in his great reading, collected some old words for his use. 1736 H. Fielding Pasquin v. 61 Places, requiring Learning and great Parts. 1779 S. Johnson Waller in Wks. (1787) II. 235 Waller had a brother-in-law..who was a clerk of the Queen's council, and..had a very numerous acquaintance, and great influence, in the city. 1810 H. J. Todd Inq. Origin Paradise Lost in S. Johnson & R. Chalmers Wks. Eng. Poets VII. 326 Milton was an universal scholar, as famous for his great reading as for the extent of his genius. 1869 C. Darwin Origin of Species (ed. 5) xiii. 515 Professor Häckel..has recently brought his great knowledge and abilities to bear on what he calls phylogeny, or the lines of descent of all organic beings. 1904 Collier's 7 May 5/2 From the English idea of a college president, Mr. Butler would not be called a man of great learning. 1961 J. Gunston Profit from Sheep i. 11 Great experience of local conditions and practice is the only real guide to the proper management of mountain sheep. 2008 F. Garrett Relig., Med. & Human Embryo in Tibet 160 Despite their great travels,..individuals possess an inherent relationship with a certain region. 10. a. Measurably large; large in terms of quantity or extent. (a) Of a collective: made up of a large number or quantity; consisting of many members. ΚΠ c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 155 Ane heorde of heorten swiðe greate [c1300 Otho grete]. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 616 Þe quene..gret ost made & strong. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1213 (MED) Þan ride to-gedere a gret route of rinkes ful nobul. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 20^v Comyn to þe kyng in companies grete Mony stith man. 1576 W. Lambard Perambulation Kent 217 So haue we testimonie of three great armies that haue mustred at it. 1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. 10 b There flocked a great throng of souldiers about him. a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) i. x. 124 Locusts..in great swarms shall disperse themselves over the face of the whole earth. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 202. ⁋5 There was a great crowd in my Antichamber, who expected Audience. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200. ⁋6 A back room, where he always breakfasted when he had not great company. 1807 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (ed. 4) I. i. v. 102 In the three great groups of islands which have been noticed, vice appears to be a most prominent feature. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 106 To raise a great army had always been the King's first object. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Sept. 8/2 A great gathering of Oddfellows was held last evening. 1920 C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson xxvi. 267 After..the great herd had bedded down. 1960 Mariner's Mirror 56 102 The great collection of relics from ships wrecked in Scilly..consists principally of fiddleheads, figureheads..nameboards and sternboards. 2009 N. Cave Death Bunny Munro (2010) xxvii. 235 A great band of bruised thunderheads garnering together over a grey and swollen sea. (b) Of a thing, quality, etc., capable of being measured or quantified: measurably large; large as a proportion of a whole.See also great part (of) at part n.¹ 3b, a great deal at deal n.¹ 3a. ΚΠ a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. xii. 731 Þey hadde a grete partie of Asia vndir here lordeshepe. 1426 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 6 Þe processe in gret part ther-of is fal<se and vn>trewe. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 130 How necessarie it is þat the kynge haue grete possescions. a1500 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Adv.) (1810) l. 124 (MED) A marchande..had greyt rentes be yere. ?1521 A. Barclay Bk. Codrus & Mynalcas sig. a.iv Great store, of butter, chese, and woll. ?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xvii. sig. E iij ^v And yet in conueying of waters any great distance, very experience wil bewray an error. 1658 Bp. J. Taylor Let. 21 June in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 5 Her duty to you..does..make a very great part of her religion to God. 1687 Cynthia 121 With great speed we boarded our Enemies. 1724 J. Swift Let. to Shop-keepers of Ireland (new ed.) 5 We are at a great Distance from the King's Court. 1787 A. Young Jrnl. 28 May in Trav. France (1792) i. 11 The stone drawn up by lanthorn wheels of a great diameter. 1819 W. Irving Sketch Bk. v. 344 We derive a great portion of our pleasures from the mere beauties of nature. 1870 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 15 37 The great difference which he supposed to exist between the bottom of the sea and the surface of the land. 1920 F. S. Fitzgerald This Side of Paradise i. iv. 149 Amory ‘ran it out’ at a great rate, bringing the most eccentric characters to dinner. 2001 G. D. Sharp in B. A. Block & E. D. Stevens Tuna ix. 367 This bycatch, although not great in weight, turns out to be huge in terms of numbers of individuals. (c) Of dimensions, measurements, quantities, etc.great deal, many, plenty: see the second element. ΚΠ 1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 Greet noumbre of men armed. 1454 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Cleo. F.v) (1790) 16 (MED) Soo greet a nombre of people..must be abregged and reduced to a resonnable..felisship. a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ* (Harl. 3909) (1926) l. 8919 (MED) The space that betwene is..of as grete widenes i-wis as is vche heuen of quantite. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. iij Her heire hangyng doune to her backe, of a very great length. 1584 R. Hakluyt Let. 7 Jan. in D. B. Quinn et al. New Amer. World (1979) III. 272/1 Perosse... Sawe great quantities of buff hides which they brought home. 1607 T. Cony Household-bk. in Archaeologia (1794) 11 31 All this great total sum I Thomas Cony do confess, that in my very conscience it is too little valued. 1671 R. Boyle Three Tracts iii. 16 Sometimes at the Bottom of the Deep waters there seem'd to be a stagnation of the Sea for a great depth. 1721 D. Spence Arithmetick Compendiz'd (new ed.) iii. 9 When in Addition of divers Denominations the Sums in one Column..amount to a great Total..it will be fit that you put a Point at a certain Period. 1779 T. Forrest Voy. New Guinea 381 They carry to China great quantities of blackwood. 1813 R. B. Hoppner tr. I. F. Kruzenshtern Voy. Round World I. i. 28 (note) La Perouse has adopted this great width of the straits of Sangar after the Dutch captain Vries. 1844 J. H. Stocqueler Hand-bk. India 250 A few of the streets in the European town are of great dimensions. 1901 H. Paasch From Keel to Truck (ed. 3) 81/1 Web-plate, term given to a plate of great breadth and thickness. 1950 R. M. Bourne in J. J. Murray Ess. Mod. European Hist. 104 A great number of wealthy merchants..were asking the Queen to remove him. 2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 284/1 Bernard Heuvelmans also cites the great length of squid arms found in whale stomachs. b. Of material things: a great number or quantity of; a great deal of; many, much. Now rare except in extended use in great smoke n. at Compounds 1e. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] mickleeOE wideOE largec1300 greata1325 muchc1330 mightyc1390 millionc1390 dreicha1400 rudea1450 massive1581 massy1588 heavy1728 magnitudinous1777 powerful1800 almighty1824 tall1842 hefty1930 honking1943 mondo1968 the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] feleOE felefoldc1000 manifoldOE unfewc1175 mucha1225 many one?a1300 greata1325 manyc1450 numerous1622 maint1706 right smart1825 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > great (of quantity/amount) greata1325 no smalla1450 round1596 vengeance1602 main1609 vast1637 any1758 right smart1825 high-level1860 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > much/a great amount/quantity of mickleeOE muchc1200 greata1325 felea1400 muchee1722 queer1865 lotta1870 mucho1870 lotsa1890 a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 853 Wunded ðor was gret folc and slagen. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) viii. l. 284 Ful gret [e] blood shad in that mortal fiht. 1543 Chron. J. Hardyng f. xxiiii^v Greate people dyed. 1638 H. Adamson Muses Threnodie 50 Many to ground were born, great bloud was shed, He was the prettiest man that fastest fled. 1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 134 Great Dust they raised. 1771 R. Sanders Compl. Eng. Traveller 117/1 A gentleman being up in his study saw great smoke proceeding from the rope yard. 1893 F. Scrimshaw Dogs & Fleas 55 The dogs of the Majority were very happy, and took a day off..to bark and stand on their heads and burn fuel and make great smoke and stench. 1921 Proc. 10th Ann. Congr. National Safety Council 443 There was great smoke and severe heat. c. With the. That constitutes more than half, larger, as the great body (of), the great part (of), etc. Cf. greater adj. 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority the more partOE the best part ofOE (the) more parta1350 (the) most parta1350 (the) most part alla1350 (the) most party1372 for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387 the better part ofa1393 the mo?a1400 most forcea1400 substancea1413 corsec1420 generalty?c1430 the greater partc1430 three quartersc1470 generalityc1485 the most feck1488 corpse1533 most1553 nine-tenths?1556 better half1566 generality?1570 pluralityc1570 body1574 the great body (of)1588 flush1592 three fourths1600 best1601 heap1609 gross1625 lump1709 bulk1711 majority1714 nineteen in twenty1730 balance1747 sweighta1800 heft1816 chief1841 the force1842 thick end1847 a1450 Complaint J. Brome in Warwickshire Antiquarian Mag. (1869) 4 181 (MED) The same persons..toke and bare away dyuers godes..yn rifelyng the said hous the grete part of all that nyght. c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 9 King Arthur..conquerid the gret part of the regions be west of Rome. 1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. iv. vii. f. ccvi^v Such holy doctours and sayntes, as are well acquaynted wyth Chrystes phrases and parables, and in the studye therof, haue spent the great parte of all theyr lyues. ?1567 Def. Priestes Mariages (new ed.) 79 Thei haue so bewitched the people, yea, the greate part of the wise of the worlde. 1588 E. Aggas tr. F. de La Noue Politicke & Mil. Disc. 380 The great bodie of that battell wherein they were, being at the first onset ouerthrowne..yet stood they fast in the place where they had bene aranged. 1668 D. Lloyd Memoires 365 The great part of the Peers..withdrew to weaken those designs. 1700 S. Clark & E. Veale Poole's Annot. upon Holy Bible (ed. 4) II. Jeremiah xxxi Which promise the Apostle..proveth to have been by God made good, notwithstanding the rejection of the great Body of that People. 1761 J. Freinsheim tr. Livy Rom. Hist. I. i. ix. 23 The great part are hurried away, without any distinction, by those into whose hands they sell. 1798 Monthly Mag. Apr. 258/2 Is it not also evident, that the great proportion of every burthen must rest upon labour? 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 159 To no such plan could the great body of Cavaliers listen with patience. 1872 C. Rhodes Let. in B. Williams Cecil Rhodes (1921) iv. 29 You must not however think that every diamond one finds is a beauty, the great proportion are nothing but splints. 1905 G. K. Chesterton Heretics 106 The great part of the..reproaches directed against the Omarite morality are..false and babyish. 1961 E. F. Jacob Fifteenth Cent., 1399–1485 vi. 275 The great body of cases coming before the official in the fifteenth century was concerned with matrimony, probate and testamentary bequests. 2000 Independent 18 Nov. (Mag.) 19/1 The great proportion of the brassicas are large, coarse crops to be grown in the vegetable garden or on the home farm. †d. Scottish. Used postpositively. Equal to the specified unit or quantity in Flemish groats, as shilling great, pound great. Cf. sense B. 6. Obsolete.As a money of account, the ‘shilling’ was equal to 12, and the ‘pound’ to 240, Flemish groats. Cf. a shilling of groats at groat n. 1, a pound of groats at groat n. 1. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific Scottish poundc1400 shilling great1474 society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > other specific European shilling great1474 cent1816 grano1858 dinar1882 para1885 single European currency1950 Euro1971 EUR1996 mark1997 1474 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 34/1 Johne..sall..pay for ilk pund grete sevin nobillis. 1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 48 A pound grete Moneye of flaundres. 1518 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 94 Tua s. grett Flandris money. 1527 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 119 Gilbert Menzeis, provest, tua lib. grit. 1546 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 234 Ane Flemis ell of welwet cost xi s. grit. 1578 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 65 Quhill the sowme of twentye foir pundis greit be payit to him. 1590 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 351 That..the said conseruatour vplift of ilk refuisar..fourtie schiliingis grite. 11. Of long duration; lasting, or having lasted, a long time. a. Of a period of time. ΚΠ c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 903 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 315 (MED) Sche fil to grounde, And lai aswoue a wel gret stounde. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 22 (MED) So fer bare a woulfe þe hede, & kept it a grete while. a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) l. 1667 (MED) Þare he lifed a grete sesowne With rotes and raw venysowne. a1530 T. Lupset Treat. Charitie (1533) f. 27^v Ye will saye that my lady princes hath lyen a great whyle atte Eltham, and yet her grace hath not lien there one yere. 1578 B. Garter Receyuing Queenes Maiestie Norwich sig. Aiii^v The acclamations and cries of the people..ratled so loude, as hardly for a great time coulde any thing be hearde. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 105 Like poyson giuen to worke a great time after. View more context for this quotation 1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 3 Saxo making mention of such a Country a great while before. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 128. ⁋7 I..have for a great while entertained the Addresses of a Man who I thought lov'd me more than Life. 1778 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Mar. 231 A great period in the system of probationary creatures will succeed the general resurrection, and that period..will terminate the day of trial to all the children of Adam. 1826 J. Galt Last of Lairds xiv. 129 It must be a great while since ye were at a practeesing, for really ye're very stiff in the joints. a1856 H. Miller Pop. Geol. (1860) 20 The great period during which the little annelide or sand-boring worm was the sole tenant of this wide earth..has passed. 1900 Colliery Engineer Dec. 229/1 The eruptions must have been vast and continued at intervals for a great period of time. 1983 J. Blake Royal Seduction xix. 382 It was no great time since he had been shot in No Man's Land. 1996 City Paper (Baltimore) 16 Oct. 41/1 Once in a great while punk rockers come along who understand the ‘roll’ half of the ‘rock-and-roll’ equation. b. With reference to the age of a person, building, etc. Frequently modifying years. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [adjective] greata1398 the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [noun] eld971 old agec1330 agec1380 last agea1382 oldc1385 aldereldea1400 winterc1425 vilessec1430 annosityc1450 senectute1481 the black ox1546 golden years1559 years1561 great1587 afterlife1589 setting sun1597 antiquity1600 chair-daysa1616 the vale of yearsa1616 grandevity1623 green old age1634 eldship1647 senioritya1688 the other side of the hill1691 the decline of life1711 senectude1756 senility1791 senectitude1796 post-climacteric1826 Anno Domini1885 senium1911 golden age1946 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. iii. 1114 Ȝif þey be ygelded and passeþ in gret age, þanne here hete fayleþ by double cause. c1500 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 112 Into a gret age when ye be crept,..Be lyberall of the good that ye haue kept. 1587 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnius Herbal for Bible xlviii. 238 When a man is stricken in great yeers, the delights of this life be loathsome and vnpleasant vnto him. 1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 489 That he should in so great yeares be set vpon by two of his owne sonnes. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 108 His great yeares were more propense to ease then tumult. 1654 P. Heylyn Theologia Veterum vii. xi. 260 The Feast of holy Thursday, of the Lords Ascension, is of as great Antiquity as eminencie in the Christian Church. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ i. v. §2 The great age of some men in ancient times, who are supposed to have lived 1000 years. 1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 71 There was also one Laurentius in the Parish of Waes..who arrived at a great Age. 1774 D. Henry Hist. Acct. Voy. Eng. Navigators I. 226 The King himself is a man of great years, and hath an hundred wives. 1819 J. Storer Hist. & Antiq. Cathedral Churches of Great Brit. IV. Worcester: p. (g) The crypt or croft furnishes the most unquestionable evidence of the great antiquity of this building. 1863 Zoologist 21 8521 There are..one or two much larger than any roe heads of Scotland: I believe they are mostly of great age. 1906 H. J. Elwes & A. Henry Trees Great Brit. & Ireland (1907) II. 325 I have certainly seen oaks felled which, though of great age and completely hollow, were supported in their original position by a mere shell. 1952 A. MacLeish Let. 26 July (1983) 359 I loved your tall ladies of great years and limber tongues. 1996 J. Lanchester Debt to Pleasure (1997) 55 They were (are) a pair of brothers of very great antiquity.., full of unpredictable, unrefusable kindnesses. 12. Modifying a noun denoting a family relationship (now usually only those of grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece). a. Directly modifying such a noun: showing the same family relationship at one remove in generation. For the main uses see Compounds 1d; also great-grandfather n., great-grandmother n., great-grandparent n., great-grandsire n. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [adjective] > by specific degree great1436 removed1502 once removed1601 1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We by th'avys of..our grete ouncle that Cardynel [Beaufort]..have notable purveyd [etc.]. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. i. f. lxxviij And the Mule ansuerd, my grete fader was an hors. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries xv. f. cxcvj^v After the kynge was dead the gouernement was committed to Iames Hamelton Erle of Arrayne, whiche was the kinges greate cosyn. 1592 in Of Good & Perfect Remembrance: Bolton Wills & Inventories (1987) 101 I geve unto everye one that I Am great father unto 4 d Apec. 1609 T. Pickering tr. W. Perkins Christian Oeconomie v. 31 The great grand-vncle by the mothers side, or great grand-mothers mothers brother. 1689 in W. H. L. Melville Leven & Melville Papers (1843) 251 We..wish you may live to see your grat-grand-bairns. 1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell i. 2 Another of the Kettlewell's, a Merchant of good Credit,..who was..Great Grand Uncle to our Mr. Kettlewell. 1769 Hist. Amintor & Teresa 64 The great grand-mamma, good Christiana. 1808 W. Scott Mem. Early Life in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1839) I. 5 William Scott of Raeburn, my great-grand-uncle. 1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 133 A doting, scolding great-grandmama. 1865 Harper's Young People 7 Apr. 366/1 A great-cousin of mine. 1922 M. Pedler Moon out of Reach 55 One day I shall do something which will make the burden too heavy to be shunted on to great-grandmamma! 1994 D. Healy Goat's Song (1995) 159 That same Father Pat was my great grand-uncle. 2011 Daily Tel. 17 Mar. 15/5 Rose was a much-loved wife, mum of four, nan to 10 grandchildren and great-nanny to three great-grandchildren. b. Modifying such a noun already modified by great (one or more times): showing the same family relationship at one additional remove in generation. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > [adjective] > distantly removed1502 great1549 distant1671 far-away1817 far-off1828 far1859 shirttail1875 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. 1 Tim. i. f. iii^v A perplexe ordre of pedegree rehearsed from grandefathers, great grandefathers, and great great grandefathers. ?1649 tr. H. Wotton Panegyrick King Charles 33 Your great great-grandfather Henry the seventh. 1747 Scots Mag. Mar. 146/2 At his death he was grandfather to 56 children, great-grandfather to 19, great-great-grandfather to 11, and great-great-great-grandfather to 4. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I lvi. 31 Her great great grandmamma. 1823 J. G. Lockhart Reginald Dalton I. ii. ii. 213 That old body that says she is Shakespeare's great-great-great-great-great-great-grand-niece-in-law. 1826 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1827) II. 899 The infant's godfathers..were..his great-great-great-great uncle..and..his great-great-great uncles. His godmothers..were..his great-great-great-great aunt;..his great-great-grandmother; and..his great grandmother. 1870 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) I. App. 705 Can we conceive a man marrying the great-great-niece of his own brother-in-law? 1896 Westm. Gaz. 3 Oct. 7/2 A great-great-granddaughter of the author of the ‘School for Scandal’. 1926 W. R. Inge Lay Thoughts 181 Its great-great-grand-offspring. 2008 New Yorker 4 Feb. 22/2 Yeboah's royal lineage comes from his great-great-grandmother. III. Having significant effects, importance, distinction, etc. 13. Of things, places, actions, events, etc. a. Of considerable importance, significance, or distinction; important, weighty; distinguished, prominent; famous, renowned; impressive. Also in weakened sense: highly commendable, praiseworthy (passing into sense A. 22). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > of high or great importance worthlyeOE mickleeOE greatc1225 right hand?c1225 solemna1387 materialc1475 superior1526 grand1542 weighty1558 main1581 pregnant1591 pregnate1598 materious1611 moliminous1642 momentous1656 magic1696 all-important1748 big1748 eventful1756 colossal1775 bread and butter1822 bada1825 key1832 all-absorbing1834 earth-moving?1834 earth-shaking1835 earth-shatteringa1859 high-ranking1874 beaucoup1917 major league1951 earth-stopping1956 crucial1957 c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 47 (MED) Ȝe beoð mit to-swollen nawt wið wit ah wið wind of ane wlonke wordes þet þuncheð so greate ant beoð godlese. c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218 Þis is þe miracle þet þet godspel of te dai us telþ, ac great is þe tokningge. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 240 Þe mayster..to him zede þet he hedde grat þing y-do. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 1629 Of gret effect men write yn place lite. 1442 in A. T. Bannister Reg. Thome Spofford (1919) 251 (MED) The grete causes the whiche drowe, meved, and stured you..for to leve the said cloyster. ?1510 T. More tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. a.ii They be born to the accheuing of some gret thing. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Magnus Magnum facere, to doe some great mattier. 1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lxix, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. E4 Theyr great deeds and valarous emprize. a1639 D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 90 Great matters..could not but be full of great difficulties. 1675 H. Neville tr. N. Machiavelli Prince xvii, in tr. N. Machiavelli Wks. 222 Instances of Hannibal's great Conduct. 1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal II. i. ii. 10 I dream'd..that I saw you at court, on some great occasion. 1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 3 These little things are great to little man. 1821 Ld. Byron Let. 13 Dec. (1831) II. 390 O talk not to me of a name great in story. 1828 C. Lamb Vision of Horns in Elia 2nd Ser. 45 This shows that use is a great thing. 1840 J. H. Newman Lett. & Corr. (1891) II. 315 I do not think anything great of the Continental churches, as you seem to think, or of the Roman Catholics at home. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 469 The executive government could undertake nothing great without the support of the Commons. 1865 Ld. Tennyson Captain 19 He..Hoped to make the name Of his vessel great in story. a1891 J. R. Lowell Old Eng. Dramatists (1892) iii. 76 There is the same confusion at times of what is big with what is great. 1921 Herald & Presbyter 12 Oct. 9/1 The great matters of faith are put distinctly and forcefully. 1971 Italica 48 38 Where a joust is boys' play, great deeds and eternal fame are the affairs of heroes. 2004 T. C. Johnson Educ. & Social Change in Liberia 128 Like all other great questions of national survival and historical continuity, this question is a strategic one that demands a critically reflective approach. b. Of a nation, city, etc.: important, powerful, famous, (and usually also of considerable physical or numerical size). (a) Generally, with common nouns. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > [adjective] > types of land or country merryOE greatc1325 homeless1725 less developed1857 Bongo Bongo1932 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7806 He wende him in to france..Þe grete cite of medes suþþe afure he sette. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. ii. 691 Þe erþe is yhiȝte with so many grete citees and bowrys. c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1897) 12 2 He..toke londe nygh to a gret citee that was called Couleigne. 1574 J. Studley tr. J. Bale Pageant of Popes f. 43 It is manifest to all the world, that Rome had the soueraignitye and Empyre of all the world, and that it was then the great Cittie. 1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 231 Hee could not fiddle; but he could make a small Towne to become a great Citie. 1722 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. 7 The Quakers..are become a great people. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 24 La Motte avoided the great towns. 1803 W. Wordsworth in Morning Post 17 Sept. i. xvii When I have borne in memory what has tam'd Great nations. 1869 A. J. Russell Red River Country xxv. 110 Mere fertility of soil never made a country great in history. 1905 Forum Apr. 598 The city, aside from being a great industrial..centre, enjoys..a high moral record. 1938 C. Hunt You want to be Journalist? iii. 29 It is when staff increase—on county papers, dailies published from the great cities, London nationals—that specialisation develops. 1940 H. Bolitho Amer. Expects 158 In London or Paris..the diplomats from the Argentine and Japan, from Italy and France, have their little courts, but they are drowned in the spacious life of a great capital. 2004 Univ. Oxf. Bot. Garden News Summer 3/1 Exploitation saw botanic gardens and economic botany as central to the manipulation of the rest of the world by the Great Nations of Europe. (b) attributive. Chiefly poetic. With proper names. ΚΠ c1330 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Auch.) (1952) l. 85 He hoteþ quicliche al his men Trussen to grete Faacen. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1474 His lettres come Jn to þe cite of grete Rome. a1500 (?c1450) Bone Florence (1976) l. 1584 (MED) Emere..broght hym fro hys strenkyþfull stedd To grete Rome agayne. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 25 Grete Troye was vp tild with mony toures vmbe. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. x. 9 Great Troy is ours. View more context for this quotation 1696 E. S. Rowe Wish 15 in Poems on Several Occasions Still my muse despairs to do great Athens right. 1731 S. Boyse Transl. & Poems 125 Great Carthage rises from Oblivion's Womb. 1820 E. B. Barrett Battle of Marathon i. 15 Say, shall great Persia, next to Rome most dear To Venus breast, shall Persia learn to fear? 1846 New Monthly Mag. May 107/1 Great Constantinople's empress Has departed from her home. 1901 R. Allen Siege Peking Legations ix. 291 One could fancy the Emperor..saying in his heart, like Nebuchadnezzar: ‘Is not this great Peking, which I have built by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ 1957 H. Agar Price of Power v. 112 The outside world..could not be blamed for wondering whether the whole of great America was cowering before an evil fear-monger. 2003 A. M. Martin tr. K. K. Pavlova in M. Siefert Extending Borders Russ. Hist. 67 It was fine for Pushkin to exclaim with poetic rapture,..: ‘Burn, great Moscow!’ (c) the Great, following a place name. Now archaic and literary.For a different use in Britain the Great see quot. ?a1400 at Britain n.² etymology, and discussion of Great Britain there. ΚΠ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xvii. 5 Babilon the greet [L. magna], modir of fornycaciouns, and of abhomynaciouns of erthe. 1507 A. Chertsey tr. Honorius Augustodunensis Lucydarye (de Worde) sig. D.iv Mayster frome whens came the fyrst ydolatres My chylde they were fyrst founde in abell the whiche is now called babylon the grete. 1611 Bible (King James) Rev. xviii. 2 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of deuils. View more context for this quotation 1644 J. Boden Alarme beat vp in Sion 3 Rome the great is fallen, is fallen. 1791 Consolatory Let. Rev. J. Clayton 21 Where is that foot, so adventrous, as even to go in quest of the spot where Babylon the Great once stood? 1859 J. W. Blakesley Four Months in Algeria xiii. 387 The time when Carthage the Great was destroyed. 1929 H. A. R. Gibb tr. Ibn Battuta Trav. Asia & Afr. iv. 157 Our entry into Constantinople the Great was made about noon or a little later. 1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come xv. 303 Being 'im young an' im spirit hot, Babylon de Great look good to 'im. (d) Esp. in great power (often in plural). ΘΚΠ society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation potentate1624 power1658 great power1660 world power1855 1660 G. Bridges tr. Duc de Rohan Divers Politique Disc. vi. 32 in tr. Duc de Rohan Memoires France and Spain are the two great Powers of Europe. 1735 Visct. Bolingbroke Diss. upon Parties (ed. 2) 11 They, who are eager..to sacrifice her Commerce, by intangling Her..with the other great Powers of Europe. 1807 in Hansard Parl. Deb. (1812) VIII. 308 France is a great power on the continent, England is a great power by sea. 1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. ii. 21 All States except the five great Powers are exempt from the duty of watching over the general safety. 1919 Contemp. Rev. July 41 A small nation which possesses petroleum, or forests, or ‘strategical position’ is..deliberately hunted to death by a Great Power or a Group of Great Powers. 1955 Times 11 May 10/3 Moscow invariably speaks of a meeting of the Great Powers rather than the four Powers. 2008 Daily Tel. 26 May (Business section) b4/1 For 700 years Ireland was Britain's outer defence..against the great powers of continental Europe. c. With the. Most important of its kind; pre-eminent; chief, main. Earliest in Great Day n. 1 (see also sense A. 13d). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective] firsteOE headOE highOE greatc1350 upperestc1374 chief1377 singular1377 principala1382 royalc1425 cardinal1440 pre-eminenta1460 praisea1475 main1480 maina1525 primary1565 captain1566 arch1574 mistressa1586 capital1597 topless1609 primea1616 metropolitan1635 transeminent1660 whole1675 uppermost1680 primus inter pares1688 topping1694 Sudder1787 par excellence1839 banner1840 primatial1892 c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 51 (MED) Þe grete day of wraþþe is comen, & who may stonde? a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 4 The grete Senne original..In Paradis it was mystymed. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 505 Þere was som Epistel hem by-twene, That wolde..wel contene Neigh half þis bok of which hym lyst not write. How sholde I þanne a lyne of it endyte? But to þe grete effect þan sey I þus. 1533 T. More Apologye vi. f. 45 In suche maters thys is the great questyon in dede. 1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. v. §7 This..was the great rule the Jews went by. 1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Acct. Voy. Athens 175 Their Doctrine..is at this day the great Theme of our Schools. 1756 J. Hanway Ess. Tea xvii, in Jrnl. Eight Days Journey 297 Gain is the great object of our pursuit. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 3 We have been able to scan a few of the secondary causes..of nature, and think we are thus prepared to form some feeble notion of the First Great Cause. 1894 J. Fiske Hist. Amer. 342 Not Congress, but the ‘squatters’ were to be the supreme authority on the great question. 1947 Pop. Mech. Oct. 264/2 The great advantage is that there is no lost motion. 2012 S. Ball Livable Communities for Aging Populations i. i. 3 Longevity was the great gift of the twentieth century. d. Of times, days, etc.: having important results; critical. Cf. Great Day n. 1. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > making greater in importance > made greater in importance uphovenc1175 uplifteda1300 uplift1303 greata1400 stately1586 aggrandized1790 weighted1879 high-level1909 a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 88 Þat dredful day..Whanne thou schalt come to iuge the world..a gret day and riȝt biter. 1587 J. Harmar tr. T. de Bèze Serm. xxii. 300 This great day which hath brought this spouse vnto vs comming in person and declaring vnto vs clearly and particularly, the whole counsell of God his father touching our saluation. 1672 J. Crowne Hist. Charles VIII iii. 30 In this great hour shall France or Naples fall. 1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i. 148 That minute sure was lucky. Oh 'twas great. 1779 H. Walpole Let. 5 June (1904) X. 421 There are great moments when every man is called on to exert himself. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 35 The great day of the Exclusion Bill. 1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. v. xvi. 286 It is one of the great moments in the ascensive work begun by Stephen. 1902 J. K. Bangs Emblemland 124 That'll be a great day.., when we Earth people have our air-ships and go off exploring the Universe. 1940 H. Bolitho Amer. Expects 181 It is a great hour of self-discipline, care and thought, to hold the attention of the tremendous audience, without a scraping foot or a tell-tale figure creeping out. 1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 22 Dec. c1/2 It may not have been a great moment in the history of art, but it did hit a note of human reality. 14. Of a person or (less commonly) an animal or personified thing: exceptional in ability or achievement; outstanding in the activity, field, or context specified; eminent, important. Later also in weakened sense: having considerable knowledge of a subject or skill in doing or dealing with something. a. attributive. (a) Modifying an agent noun or equivalent.Passing into sense A. 15b(a). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] > specifically of person wenlichc1200 greatc1300 sovereignc1330 singular1485 supreme?1611 superstar1915 c1300 St. Clement (Laud) 255 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 330 Gret clerk was þis olde Man; he desputede wel faste A-ȝein þe þreo breþren with gret reson. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 1163 A worthi clerc, a Surgien And ek a gret Phisicien, Of al that lond the wisest on. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 665 Þe grete clerk Innocent. c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 118 In the cyte off Arge ther dwellyd a gret phylysophyr. 1539 J. Gough tr. J. Le Maire Abbreuyacyon Gen. Councellys sig. F.iii^v He was a great warriour & a good man of armes, for he droue the sarasyns out of Calabre. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias lxiii. f. 129^v Two horses out of Persia, the which were great runners. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iv. ii. 10 A great scholler. View more context for this quotation 1666 App. upon Capt. Everards Epist. 39 in M. Poole Nullity Romish Faith Gods Spirit is the great helper and assistant by which [etc.]. 1718 Free-thinker No. 53. 1 The Great Poet and the Great Painter think alike. 1798 A. Barnard Let. 6 June in W. H. Wilkins S. Afr. Cent. Ago (1901) 156 A young lady, like a great general, is nothing without a proper staff. 1842 Merry's Museum 4 49/1 Frogs are the best of all four-footed swimmers; they never deign to walk or run; but they are great jumpers. 1876 M. M. Dodge Theophilus & Others 126 Come with me to the chief domain of the great magician, he who fills the thousand lamps which Aladdins uncounted are now rubbing in bewildered delight. 1913 E. G. Lawrence How to master Spoken Word 299 Burke..was a great constructor of speeches. 1956 Virginia Q. Rev. 32 221 ‘He told me he was a great criminal,’ Henry said... ‘Swiped some peanuts when he was a kid, I suppose?’ 2011 S. T. Bailey Gauntlet Runner xv. 181 He..turned out to be a great guard dog for the family. (b) colloquial. Modifying a generic noun or indefinite pronoun, with for. A person who likes or supports something very much, or who practises something often; a devotee, champion, or admirer of something; now chiefly in a great one for (cf. one pron. 12a). ΚΠ 1646 T. Edwards Gangræna: Pt. 1 66 (margin) Many Sectaries to blast my preaching and writing from doing good, have given out falsly to many, that I was a great time server, and a great man for the Bishops and their wayes. 1687 T. Grantham Presumption No Proof Pref. p. vii Dr. Hammond was a great Man for Infant-sprinkling, yet he rejects this Fable of Mr. Firmin's. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. i. 7 Sir Richard Wigmore, a great man for hunting, and for all such sports, to which King James was out of measure addicted. 1778 W. Moorhouse Faith in God 32 The pharisees were great men for praying, but their hearts were gone after other things. 1837 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. xiii. 120 Most of the women had gone to meetin (for they were great hands for pretty sarmons). 1845 H. Milton Lady Cecilia Farrencourt I. iii. 75 She's a great one for fidelity, and all that sort o' thing. 1885 M. S. Tiernan Suzette xxv. 240 Then Innis said, that in old times they rewarded slaves for saving life by giving them their freedom—Innis is a great girl for freedom. 1918 Metropolitan July 12/1 The English are great ones for football. 1957 J. Kirkup Only Child ix. 127 Isa was a great one for the proprieties. 2011 J. Dailey Bannon Brothers vii. 114 My dad was a great one for documenting everything. b. predicatively. (a) With preposition, as in, as, with, etc., introducing a subject, skill, activity, or place of activity, means of activity, etc. Also (colloquial) with at. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > at something spec. goodeOE great1552 singular1606 hot1845 a whale on1893 smoking1934 tasty1974 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > intellectual command, mastery > [adjective] well-learedeOE well-learned1425 ripe1458 well-informeda1500 well-studied1530 travailed1551 great1552 learned1556 read1574 well-read1574 long on1875 1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Kiij I harde ones a Doctor of Diuinitie, whiche was not so great in knowlege as he was in title. 1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f.115^r Melchior Guillandin Beruce, a man great in science and doctrine. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xiii. 290 Teucer..is great in fights of stand. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 3 Great on the Bench, Great in the Saddle. 1708 B. Farrow Pract. Expos. Catech. Church Eng. v. 33 He is great in Counsel, and mighty in Working. 1742 London Mag. June 289/1 He was great in the Field and in Council. 1761 J. Mills tr. J. B. L. Crevier Hist. Rom. Emperors X. Index Julius Severus..he was not less great as a magistrate, than as a commander. 1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 344 The very air of the south of France is almost a specific for it [consumption], to say nothing of the faculty there, who are peculiarly great in this malady. 1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 113 At the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great. 1848 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. (rev. ed.) vii. viii. 417 Your weighty men, though slow to devise, being always great at ‘negativing’. 1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 30 Great in council and great in war. 1894 Forum (U.S.) May 304 Pindar..said no one was great who was not great with his hands and feet. 1946 Rotarian Mar. 30/3 Great as a journalist, too. 1966 C. Keil Urban Blues Introd. 26 As far as he and his women are concerned, he spends his money freely, dresses well, and is great in bed. 1986 B. Dennen in B. Young et al. Wanna Play?! 27 She's great at games She always wins I'd like to kick her in the shins. 2012 in J. MacNutt Angels are Real vi. 121 A family there owns a big dog that has always been great with children. (b) spec. Outstanding as a performer in a play, opera, etc., as a character in a play, etc., on a musical instrument, at a dramatic genre, etc. ΚΠ 1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle IV. ciii. 112 In Pierre he is great, in Othello excellent, but in Zanga beyond all imitation. 1774 ‘J. Collier’ Musical Trav. 9 He is great on the violoncello. 1824 Edinb. Dramat. Rev. 4 Feb. 127 Mr. Calcraft is truly great in the part of Edgar. 1854 Dwight's Jrnl. Music 23 Dec. 92/2 Johanna Wagner was great as Eglantine. 1872 Dublin Univ. Mag. Oct. 381/1 Striking his forehead with his clenched hand, and throwing himself into a tragic attitude (he was great at tragedy, was Mr. Trump). 1908 Manch. Guardian 13 Nov. 14 Dr. Richter is not great in Berlioz as he is in Bach and Beethoven. 1948 Classical Jrnl. 43 389/2 The artist great in tragedy must subvert himself or turn himself inside out in order to execute great comedy. 1959 H. Traubel & R. G. Hubler St. Louis Woman vi. 60 I appeared with great artists such as..Hans Kindler, great on the cello. 2012 T. Clark Hollyweird 35 ‘You were great as Don,’ I said, not wanting him to diminish his debut role. (c) colloquial. With on. Knowledgeable about or experienced in, conversant with; interesting or informative on the subject of. Also: (in weakened sense) very interested in or occupied with. ΚΠ 1826 Mirror 9 Sept. 148/1 My companion broke out as follows: (he was great on bores)—‘The excellence of the gun I now hold, my dear sir, is such, [etc.].’ 1857 J. G. Holland Bay Path 232 in R. H. Thornton Amer. Gloss. (1912) I'm great on cutting hair. I don't suppose there's anybody in the settlement can shingle like me. 1878 R. Jefferies Gamekeeper at Home i. 12 He is very ‘great’ on dogs. 1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xxvii. 323 They are also great on fur caps, and one may sometimes meet a man wearing a cap worth as much as all the rest of his clothes put together. 1919 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 341/1 I don't care much for nouns, but I'm great on verbs—active verbs in the present tense. 1964 Life 17 Apr. 45/1 (advt) If you're great on fun…get a kick out of music, ball games, or just a news broadcast, there's a Philco radio tailored for you. 2009 P. Theroux Dead Hand (2010) xvii. 245 Ever read Nirad Chaudhuri?.. He's great on Calcutta. 15. a. Modifying an agent noun or equivalent: in the habit of performing the specified action often or intensively; (esp. with reference to ownership of property, employment of others, etc.) that is what is specified on a large scale. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree greatc1300 no smalla1450 spacious1600 immense1631 far gone1829 strong1897 c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 677 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 319 He schal beo..Of nesche her and no-þing crips, gret slepare and slovȝ þar-to. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xvi. 312 He is a greet spender of his lordes good. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 341 An housholdere, and that a greet was hee. a1500 Merchant & Son 7 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 133 He was a grete tenement man and ryche of londe and lede. a1500 Disciplina Clericalis in Western Reserve Univ. Bull. (1919) 22 43 We have but litel brede and our felaw is a grete eter. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) f. 164^v Epimenides..was .x. yere a great worshypper of the goddis, yet he was banysshed frome Athenes for the loue of women. 1575 tr. L. Daneau Dialogue Witches iv. sig. F.v Satan of his owne nature is a great lyer, yea the father of lyes. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. iii. 83 I am a great eater of beefe. View more context for this quotation 1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 323 To marry so great an inheritrix. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 21 I inten to practise riding to keep you company who is so grat a hors woman. 1706 A. Pope Let. 10 Apr. in Corr. (1956) I. 16 The great dealers in Wit. 1771 A. Young Sylvæ in Farmer's Lett. (ed. 3) I. 453 (note) If he gets by a larger tenure, it must arise from some overplus in the terms of the bargain. Here the great owner is overreached, or in other words, the Landlord. 1807 W. Thackeray Rep. in 5th Rep. Select Comm. Affairs E. India Company (1812) 988 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 377) VII. 1 If great landlords are better than small, on account of the capital, government must be the best of all. 1870 W. Arnot in A. Fleming Life (1877) x. 442 They are great introducers, hand shakers, questioners. 1894 Season 10 No. 9. 36/2 For great dancers plain satin shoes are the most economical. 1922 G. S. Hall Senescence iii. 123 He is a great dreamer and forgets where he puts things. 1956 N. Algren Walk on Wild Side i. 4 They had seen how the great landowner, the moment he got a few black hands in, put up his feet on his fine white porch and let the world go hang. 2010 Argus (Irel.) (Nexis) 10 Aug. He cycled daily even into his eighties, and was a great walker. b. That is an extreme or outstanding example of what is specified; especially remarkable. In later use also (colloquial) used simply as an intensifier. (a) Modifying the designation of a person.Cf. sense A. 14. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree > entitled to designation in high degree fullOE muchc1275 greata1398 very1712 veritable1862 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. i. 1097 Somme beþ grete glotouns [L. magne auiditatis]. ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 81 Men ben grete foolis þat bien þes bulles of pardon so dere. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cxl. [cxxxvi.] 391 A Scotte (who be great theves) had stollen hym awaye. 1622 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 306 Sir Anthony Magnie, a great papist. 1646 T. Edwards Gangræna: Pt. 1 66 (margin) Many Sectaries..have given out falsly to many, that I was a great time server. 1688 W. Sherlock Vindic. Preservative against Popery ii. ii. 70 The Pope is a great Cheat for selling Pardons for ten and twenty thousand Years, if no man be in danger of lying one thousand Years in Purgatory. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 202 One Mrs. Steward, reckoned a very great beauty. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World iii. 80 When we came into the channel, our Pilot seem'd to be as great a stranger to it as myself. 1768 A. Portal Indiscreet Lover ii. 34 What do you laugh at, you great Oaf? 1799 Witch, & Maid of Honour II. 42 She is a stirring girl, and is a great help indeed. 1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales II. xxx. 258 A great scoundrel. 1849 J. P. Townsend Rambles & Observ. New S. Wales 168 Oh, you great fool! we came out here because we could not help it; but you..were lagged with your own consent! 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb ix. 69 The dominie's nae gryte deykn at the common coontin' 'imsel'. 1919 Everybody's Mag. Jan. 51/3 She ran away with her tenor, the great love of her life, Nicolini. 1959 Kenya Nat. Assembly Official Rec. 24 Nov. 4/2 He has been a great servant to this country. 2012 Independent 10 Mar. 49/4 He..was a great fan..of both Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother. (b) Modifying the designation of a thing, quality, etc.Not always clearly distinguishable from senses A. 9a, A. 10a(c). ΚΠ 1440 R. Repps in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 22 Our lordes..haue take the seide cite of Arflet, the qwych is a gret juell to all En[g]lond and in especiall to our cuntre. 1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace ii. xxv. f. 103 In the olde tyme it was a great abhomynacyon,..yf clarkes, namely, preestes, or bysshops, had taken harnes or weaponed them selues. a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 102 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) A Borsolder over them, should be not onely a great indignitie, but also a danger. 1612 J. Day Davids Desire 25 Variety of houses in every age hath been a great salue for this soare. 1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 93 They are persuaded 'tis a great preservative of health. 1749 London Mag. Aug. 383/1 It was a great pity, that people as bad as himself, should be allowed to swear mens lives away, for the sake of the reward. 1792 J. Émïn Life & Adventures Joseph Émïn 330 I will carry it to my wife as a great rarity. 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 15/2 In this state it is a great dainty for those who disregard a pungent and fetid smell. 1866 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 292 Great shame—put him in pop—gentleman's son. 1898 M. Marchesi Marchesi & Music vii. 75 It was not the hostile party alone, but a whole series of mishaps which contributed to the great fiasco of my opera. 1949 M. Muggeridge Affairs of Heart iii. 47 Even the atomic bomb..may prove a great deception, only serving to radio-activate yet another attempt to re-define human rights. 1972 Country Life 28 Dec. 1783/2 The great rarities in this sale were two Dutch engraved Newcastle glasses of the mid-18th century. 1995 Garden Nov. 682/2 It is a great shame that the pot-plant trade, almost without exception, fails to provide a cultivar name on the label. 2011 S. Daitch Paper Conspiracies 202 Marie Antoinette..declined to buy the necklace, but through a great con, her name became linked to it. 16. a. Of a person (or family): of high social or official position; of high birth or rank; having much wealth or power; occupying a position towards the top of a hierarchy. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > exalted in rank higheOE stern of slatec1300 greatc1325 differentc1384 excellentc1400 haught1470 upper1477 elevate?1504 of sort1606 sublime1606 eminenta1616 exalted1623 elevated1665 uppish1797 ranking1847 high-up1848 high-ranking1850 superimposed1861 salt1868 top-ranking1936 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10111 (MED) Þe king..spousede..An grete erles doȝter. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 256 (MED) Senekes zayþ þet þer ne lackeþ to greate lhordes bote zoþ ziggeres. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12063 Þe gret lauerdinges. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 122 The payment off the wages and ffees off the kynges grete officers. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiii. 135 Ich be a yoman..of the kyng..Sond from a greatt lordyng. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xxii. 59 b Which is not to be reputed as spoken of the women of bare estate or condition, but likewise of the great and notable dames. 1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 266 Let him liue about great persons and his best discourses will be lye-blowne with tales of honour. 1634 W. Habington Castara ii. 47 That Kings, to ballance true content, shall say; Would they were great as we, we blest as they. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 81 Dishes..much esteemed, and sought for by the Great Ones. a1678 Countess of Warwick Autobiogr. (1848) 13 He was descended from a very great and honourable family. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 2. ⁋3 I avoid speaking of Things which may offend Great Persons. 1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. xiv. 334 The secrets of grit folk..are just like the wild beasts that are shut up in cages. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. x. 562 The great man, at whose frown, a few days before, the whole kingdom had trembled. 1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 181 Mr. Dickson was a great man in Sparston. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 651/2 Badly received by the great aristocratic family of the Walid-sidi-Sheikh, he re-entered Morocco. 1912 C. S. Churchill Let. 14 July in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) iv. 68 They want them to..touch their caps & drop curtsies when the great people go by. 1970 A. Aspinall Later Corr. George III V. Introd. p. xlii Ryder gently hinted that the part he was proposing to take was not the most fitting for a great aristocrat. 2000 D. Gemmell Hero in Shadows 81 Sly Red had been using her hour of daylight to practice the movements she had observed among the great ladies of the capital. b. In official titles: highest in rank or authority, chief, head. Now chiefly historical.Cf. grand adj. 5, high adj. 9a, Compounds 1c.See also Great Master n., Great Chamberlain (of Scotland) at chamberlain n. 2a, Lord Great Chamberlain n. at lord n. and int. Compounds 2, and other titles listed at Compounds 1e. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > superior greata1382 higha1400 seniora1513 superordinate1615 high-ranking1850 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxv. 25 He shal dwelle þere to þe tyme þat þe grete prest [L. sacerdos magnus]..deyȝe. 1456 T. Bekington Let. in G. Williams Mem. Reign Henry VI (1872) II. 163 (MED) William Merquas, Erle of Soffolch and Penbrok, grett chamberlayn of Inglond. 1526 in M. Livingstone Reg. Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum (1908) I. 522/2 To the Kingis grete custumaris of Edinburgh. ?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Dii The great chamberlayn, le chambrier. 1547 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 248 Grit admirale of Scotland. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. vii. 70 Great Marshall to Henry the sixt. 1707 London Gaz. No. 4322/2 His Grace made a Visit to the Great Pensionary. 1755 J. Spotiswood Acct. Relig. Houses Scotl. in R. Keith Large New Catal. Bishops Scotl. 267 This Order was first composed of eight Languages or Nations; whereof the Grand Prior of France is Great Commendator, the Prior of Auvergne is great Marshal, the Prior of the Isle de France is great Hospitalier,..the Prior of Arragon is Great Conservator, the Prior of Germany is Great Bailiff, the Prior of Castile is Great Chancellor, and the Prior of England is Great Turcopolier, or Colonel of the Cavalry. 1848 Secret Societies, Templars 244 The Great-priors, Great-preceptors, or Provincial Masters..of the three Provinces of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and Antioch. 1908 J. M. Bulloch Gay Gordons 49 The second [Morsztyn girl]..married Casimir Louis Bielinski, Great Marshal of the Crown of Poland. 1985 N. Schuster in Y. Y. Haddad Women, Relig., & Social Change v. 94 She was constantly being invited to court to discuss literature and trade compositions with Emperor Xiao-wu, the Great Preceptor Si-ma Dao-zi..and court scholars. 2001 B. Noak in K. A. E. Enenkel et al. Recreating Anc. Hist. 353 Van den Bosch's sharp attacks against the Great Pensionary after the latter's death in 1672..have become familiar. c. Relating to a high social or official position; conferring high status or considerable power. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > relating to person of rank or importance worshipfula1375 greatc1390 c1390 (?c1350) St. Euphrosyne 5 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 174/1 (MED) A wyf he tok of grete blode. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 596 Þou maist aske wiþouten blame Whi god him ȝaf so greet a name. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 133 To hym fallen alle þe grete marriages off his lande, wich he mey dispose as hym liste. 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxiii. f. 77 Such a man is neither mete to be a nigh counsailour, nor to say the truthe in any great office. 1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) (heading) Of great Place. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 427 When any of great place dyeth. 1709 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 197 He being not of great Birth, as appears from his arms. 1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Characters 2/2 This was considered a great marriage for Golaum Doast, the Munchi being descended from a family of Cids. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xi. 24 The great office of Groom of the Stole. 1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 7 They were going to a very great house. 1911 H. Craik Life Ld. Clarendon II. xxiii. 232 Too proud to be a courtier, and too sensible of the responsibility of great lineage and high station to be a rebel. 1949 Life 7 Feb. 61 In my long political experience I had held most of the great offices of State. 2001 Tulsa (Oklahoma) World (Nexis) 18 May Oswald, a modern-day bum of a stepfather who entertains those around him with tales of his being a former plantation owner, a man of great birth. 17. With a personal name or unique designation: usually combining other senses, as pre-eminent, admirable, famous, illustrious, exceptional in ability, achievement, or personal qualities, but sometimes simply as a conventional honorific epithet. a. Of God or a god. Cf. sense A. 17c(a). ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > [adjective] holyc825 divinec1374 greatc1380 sainta1400 divinelyc1400 deific1490 ethereala1522 deifical1563 godly1582 numinous1647 numinal1652 deiform1654 deical1662 sacred1697 theistic1854 c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 867 (MED) Þe grete god þe helpe & spede & kepe þe fram þy fos! c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 765 ‘I graunt,’ quod þe grete God; ‘graunt mercy,’ þat oþer. c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 193 Þat grete god Amon. a1500 (a1400) Ipomedon (Chetham) (1889) l. 395 Grette god kepe the in hele. 1549 T. Cooper Lanquet's Epitome of Crons. ii. f. 19^v The great lorde shall appere in erthe as a man. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III v. viii. 8 Great God of heauen saie Amen to all. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 82 By great Mars the Captaine of vs all. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xii, in Poems 6 While the Creator Great His constellations set. 1710 L. Welsted Poem to Memory Mr. Philips 11 Great Jove reward you, Sirs. 1761 Library Aug. 254 May the great Allah grant thee health and serenity of mind! 1792 W. Jones et al. Diss. & Misc. Pieces Asia I. 340 Janaca, whose daughter Si'ta' was the constant, but unfortunate wife of the great Ra'ma, the hero of Va'lmic's poem. 1820 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 81/2 Is thy strength exhausted too, Great Thor? 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxxiv. 1 Great Diana protecteth us. 1898 A. Conan Doyle Trag. Korosko vi. 156 That we should go cheerfully whither the Great Hand guides us. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xix. 363 They should be alive and frisky, and acknowledge the great god Pan. 1965 Negro Digest Apr. 32/2 [Teilhard de] Chardin believes that man was planned by the great Creator. 2010 M. Perko & H. Shahinian Khamsin xiii. 84 He prayed to the great Allah, his most merciful. b. attributive. Chiefly poetic. With personal names of famous figures. Cf. sense A. 17c(b). ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > holiness > saint > [adjective] > great greata1616 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 497 Also þat tyme deide Iohn de temporibus, þat..hadde i-be a squyer wiþ the grete Charles. a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 219 (MED) Boneface, þe ferþe pope fro grete Gregorie. 1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel (vii.) f. 98 The leoparde or spotted panthere..signifieth the kingdom of great Alexander. 1594 S. Daniel Cleopatra v. ii, in Delia (new ed.) sig. N2 Brighter then the Sunne, Glittering in all its pompous ritch aray, Great Cleopatra sate. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 55 From heart of very heart, great Hector welcome. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. i. 154 To keepe our great Saint Georges Feast withall. View more context for this quotation 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 589 The Roman Legions and great Cæsar found Our Fathers no mean Foes. a1770 M. Akenside Pleasures Imag. in Poems (1772) iii. 188 From those brave tribes Chaonian or Molossian whom the race Of great Achilles governs. 1807 J. Belfour tr. T. de Yriarte Music iv. 110 Great Cyrus' faith and bravery set forth. 1825 S. Morrison Curraghmore 16 Great Scott and Southey, here with Bloomfield come. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women vi, in Poems (new ed.) 123 Those melodious bursts, that fill The spacious times of great Elizabeth With sounds that echo still. 1914 G. B. Shaw (title) Great Catherine: a thumbnail sketch of court life in St. Petersburgh in the 18th century. 1959 L. Lockert tr. Sertorius iii, in Moot Plays Corneille 216 I still ask if mine eyes have not deceived me When I within these walls behold great Pompey. 1996 A. Makkai tr. A. S. Horvát in In Quest of ‘Miracle Stag’ iii. 68 Great Saint John the Baptist urged workers to be thrifty. c. the Great used postpositively.Recorded earlier with place names: see sense A. 13b(c). [This use, which is paralleled in all the modern European languages, is inherited from the similar application of classical Latin magnus, ancient Greek ὁ μέγας.] (a) Chiefly literary. Following a name of God or a god. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [adjective] > specific epithets for persons of rank goodOE worshipful1398 the Greata1413 the Grand1426 honourablea1440 Right Honourable?1449 granda1460 Hon'ble?1541 Hon.1587 Right Hon.1587 Rt. Hon.1660 magnificent1717 a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 1230 As wysly helpe me god þe grete. I neuere dide a þing with more peyne. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. Vrania in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. 534 O! shall we neuer hear you sing the glory Of God, the great, the good, the iust, the holy? 1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) lxxx. i Shepherd of Souls, the Great, the Good. 1806 Balance & Columbian Repository 8 Apr. 105/3 Decrees of fate, Bind all the gods, e'en Jove the Great. 1840 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights II. x. 108 By Allah the Great, the God of Moosa and Ibráheem, I have had no knowledge of that which thou mentionest. 1889 Overland Monthly July 76/2 The god of battles,—the god of our forefathers,—Thor the Great. 1951 C. Fremantle & A. Fremantle tr. O. Englebert Lives Saints 166 For having infringed our holy laws and refused to sacrifice to Diana the Great, this man is condemned to be stoned. 2008 B. F. Ndi Gods in Ivory Towers 8 But God the Great will wonders do! (b) Following personal names of historical, mythological, or legendary figures, chiefly monarchs and popes, often serving to distinguish them from others of the same name.Cf. the Grand at grand adj. 2. ΚΠ c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 6155 In al hast, Agamenoun þe grete..Made a trompet to schipward to blowe. c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 56 Aristotill seide to Alexander the grete: [etc.]. 1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. bij/2 Thys noble Charlemayn otherwyse called Charles the grete. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 159^v Agomynon the gret. 1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Ded. sig. aaij That mightie kyng..Alexander the great. 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 136 It pleased them to thinke me worthie of Pompey the great . View more context for this quotation 1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. i. 5 The famous Canon of the General Councel of Ephesus, which Gregory the Great reverenced as one of the four Gospels. 1696 M. Geddes Church-Hist. Ethiopia 416 St. James the Great, the Patron of Spain and Portugal. 1723 A. de la Mottraye Trav. II. iii. 127 Drinking her Health under the Title of Anne the Great. 1758 W. Dobson (title) The Prussian campaign, a poem celebrating the atchievements of Frederick the Great, in the years 1756–57. 1805 J. Sansom Lett. from Europe II. xix. 22 The absolvatory penance of grievous Sinners..was commuted with courtly indulgence, by Leo the Great. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 294/2 Alexander III., commonly called the Great, son of Philip II. king of Macedon. 1854 R. W. Fraser Turkey xvi. 217 The young monarch..was understood to possess a considerable degree of likeness to Mohammad the Great, the conqueror of Constantinople. 1894 A. E. Waite (title) The hermetic and alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombast, of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great. 1929 G. P. Merrill Minerals from Earth & Sky ii. iv. 204 The large gem given by Gustavus III of Sweden to Catherine the Great. 1962 C. L. S. Linnell Norfolk Church Ded. 16 There are also three dedications for St. Gregory the Great. 2000 J. Mann Murder, Magic, & Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 135 These were probably friends of Alfred the Great. d. In exclamations, expressing surprise, amazement, annoyance, admiration, etc., as Great Caesar!, Great God!, Great Jove!, etc. Formerly also in euphemistic variant † Great Sun! (for Great God!) (obsolete). See also Great Scott int.Cf. use in other exclamations not using names, as great grief! at grief n. 8a, great guns! at great gun n. 3, great heavens at heaven n. Phrases 3b, great snakes! at snake n. 1c. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > exclamation of emotion [interjection] goodness1623 agad1672 Godsokers1672 Oh dear!1694 law1763 lud1767 Dear me!1773 Lor1776 dear knows!1805 Great God!1819 Great Scott1852 Jehoshaphat1857 lors1860 Great Sun!1867 Great Caesar!1870 gracious me!1884 my (giddy, sainted, etc.) aunt!1886 snakes1891 lieber Gott1898 my gosh!1920 cor1931 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > exclamation of wonder [interjection] ahaa1400 ocha1522 heydaya1529 ah1538 ah me!a1547 fore me!a1547 o me!a1547 gossea1556 ay me!1591 o (also oh) rare!1596 law1598 strangec1670 lack-a-day1695 stap my vitals1697 alackaday1705 prodigious1707 my word1722 (by) golly1743 gosh1757 Dear me!1805 Madre de Dios1815 Great Jove!1819 I snum1825 crikey1826 my eye1826 crackey1830 snakes1839 Great Scott1852 holy mackerel!1855 whoops1870 this beats my grandmother1883 wow1892 great balls of fire1893 oo-er1909 zowiec1913 crimes1929 yowa1943 wowee1963 Madre mia!1964 yikes1971 whee1978 chingas1984 1707 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs ii. 129 Great God! on what a slender Thread Hang everlasting Things!] 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. ii. 11 Great God! that such a father should be mine! 1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Athens II. 567 Great Jove! a grateful spectacle—if thus May it be said unsinning. 1865 Memphis (Tennessee) Daily Argus 19 Nov. 3/2 Great Caesar! 1867 tr. Finette vii. 82 ‘By the great sun!’ he cried, ‘that is spoken like a lady.’ 1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-snaps 269 Great Caesar! Who are heathen, if the makers of this bread are not? 1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. viii. 164 Great sun! I think I see it now. 1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly II. xiii. 195 Great Jehoshaphat!..can't you see when a gentleman is on the stump? 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat vi. 81 Great Cæsar! man,..you don't mean to say you have covered over carved oak with blue wall-paper? 1920 E. M. Dell Top of World iv. viii. 504 ‘Donovan and I deceived Burke. He supplied the money and I put it back.’ ‘Great Jove!’ 1953 J. Thurber Let. 7 Dec. (2002) 604 He..gripped my arm, and said, ‘Great God, Jimmy, this is my 59th birthday’! 1984 T. Southern in Evergreen Rev. 98 154/1 ‘What in great devil!’ exclaimed the Plimp, startled into annoyance by the abruptness of my outcry. 2010 Sherbrooke (Quebec) Record (Nexis) 12 Oct. 6 He constantly screamed ‘Great Caesar's Ghost’. 18. a. Of a person: having the highest qualities of mind, character, or conduct; of the most admirable kind; in later use often implying magnanimity and integrity. Esp. in great man and (in later use) great woman. ΚΠ ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 144^v (MED) Þer is anoþer maner of curyng rupturez shewed to me bi a grete man in grete secretenesse. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 372 Þe bischope trowed in verite Þat a grete man þe childe suld be. 1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon Treat. House Holde f. 63 He may be called a very great man in dede, the whiche doth very greatte actes, more by prudence and wisedome, than through the strength of his body. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxiii. 612 He was a greate man, full of godlynes and vertue, and woonderfull to all men. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. iv. 9 + 45 Rightly to be great, Is not to stirre without great argument, But greatly to find quarrell in a straw When honour's at the stake. 1614 T. Lodge tr. Seneca Of Consol. to Marcia iii, in tr. Seneca Wks. 712 But if thou fashion thy selfe according to the example of this great woman, which is more milde and moderate, thou shalt not vaile bonnet vnder thy sorrow. 1675 W. Cave Apparatus i. p. xix, in Bp. J. Taylor & W. Cave Antiquitates Christianæ More concerning this great and good Man,..if the Reader desire to know, he may [etc.]. 1686 W. Sherlock Serm. Funeral B. Calamy 28 When we speak of so great a man, it is below his Character to mention such things as would be thought considerable Attainments in meaner persons. 1719 N. F. Haym Brit. Treasury I. 99 Several Authors speak of this great Woman, and particularly Lucian. 1792 E. Burke Let. 29 Feb. in Corr. (1968) VII. 83 He is a great man, eloquent in conception and in Language. 1819 Plough Boy (Albany, N.Y.) 6 Nov. 178/2 Here also are deposited the remains of Elizabeth, the only great woman that ever governed in Great Britain. 1861 J. Pycroft Ways & Words 19 We may call all men Great who have succeeded in stamping their character on the generations among which they lived. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 75 The truly great man is not a lover of himself but of justice. 1935 Z. Gale in C. P. Gilman Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman p. xxxvii One of the great women of the two centuries, she has the supreme reward of standing, in the mind of to-day, for that for which she has striven. 1965 R. H. Van Gulik Willow Pattern xiv. 106 She..sought to escape from her sorrow by telling herself that her husband was a great and good man. 2001 J. Gough Juno & Juliet ii. li. 168 Their mother was English, well French-English, a Hampstead Huguenot, great woman altogether, anyway. b. Of the soul, ideas, etc.: of a noble or elevated nature, lofty, magnanimous. Cf. sense A. 6. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > [adjective] > high-minded or magnanimous athelmodc1275 freec1380 worthya1393 great-heartedc1425 noble1447 magnanimec1475 greata1500 haught1530 magnanimous1547 heartya1555 high-minded1556 noble-natured1576 generous1581 noble-minded1586 liberal-minded1592 ingenious1597 ingenuous1598 large-hearted1607 noble-tempered1654 big-hearted1711 broad-hearted1719 megalopsychic1896 big1910 a1500 Let. Alexander l. 261 in Mediaeval Stud. (1979) 41 129 (MED) But my knyghtis wern of grete soule [L. Militibus meis ingentes erant animi] whatsumever wounderful to whiche, and feelyng of victories, with their strengthis thei overcam it and put it vnderfoote. 1575 G. Fenton Golden Epist. f. 129^v Loue alwaies enabling his subiects to high actions, & raising their thoughtes to great purposes. 1596 M. Drayton Tragicall Legend Robert Duke of Normandy sig. B8^v The very height to which great thoughts aspire. 1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. ii. 75 His soule more great and noble than the whole world. 1658 E. Reynolds Comfort & Crown of Great Actions 23 Faith..undertaketh the most honorable things, eyeth great objects, pursueth great ends. 1727 J. Gay Fables I. xvii. 57 Great souls with gen'rous pity melt. 1739 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière Feasts of Versailles in Molière Wks. X. 187 Her great Heart, fond of the publick Good, Gives her a generous Contempt of Dangers. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 185. ⁋12 Nothing can be great which is not right. 1807 tr. J.-F. Marmontel Mem. (1st Amer. ed.) I. vi. 157 He has cultivated but few of those studies that elevate the soul, and fill the imagination with great objects and great ideas. 1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) iv. 77 Great is song Used to great ends. 1884 (title) Great thoughts from master minds. 1897 H. Drummond Ideal Life 107 Great living is being appreciated for its own sake. 1920 Yale Rev. 9 205 He has touched shoulders with great intentions, walked alongside historic presences. 1951 E. Corle Gila ii. x. 106 Had he been born a Hindu or a Jew he would have preached differently, but he still would have had a great soul. 1997 J. Weatherford Hist. Money ii. 44 This language proved capable of conveying great ideas far beyond the needs of simple market exchange. 19. a. With with. Much in use or request; in considerable favour; very popular. (a) Of people. Frequently and now chiefly in great with God.When used of personal relationships sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense A. 19b. ΚΠ a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 49 (MED) He was so gret wyth þe Emperour. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 68 She was grete wyth the quene and wel belouyd. 1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. cxix The saynte was greate with God when he was a lyve, as it appereth by the myracles which God shewed for him, he must therfore be greate now say they. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 426 I am in favour, or I am great, or in conceyte with a person. 1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 64 It is his desire also that they should become great or in fauour with God in heauen. 1685 E. Stillingfleet Origines Britannicæ iv. 190 This St. German was so great with Hilary, Bishop of Arles, that [etc.]. 1710 B. Jenks tr. R. F. R. Bellarmino Ouranography iii. ix. 125 Be sure, none so Great, as they that are Great with God. 1812 H. Weber Tales of East II. 418 I removed thither, because I had a relation there, whom I loved very well, and who was very great with the king of Moussel's grand visier. 1903 Christian Work & Evangelist 12 Dec. 827/2 Richard Owen was a great preacher, a successful evangelist, because he was great with his God, and successful at the throne of grace. 2011 P. Standún Godfool ii. 8 Jesus..wanted us to be great with God. (b) Of things, esp. words. ΚΠ 1627 H. Burton Baiting Popes Bull 67 Apostolike is a great word with you, and serueth at all turnes. a1687 Duke of Buckingham Key to Rehearsal in Misc. Wks. (1705) II. 12 A great Word with Mr. Edward Howard. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 263 You was a great many Wenches, was you not, my Dear? for that's a great Word with her. 1848 Mammoth (Hopedale, Mass.) 12 Jan. 54/1 Then give us ‘Multum in Parvo,’ said I—that being a great phrase with him. 1870 Rep. Commissioner Police Metropolis 48/2 He slept the previous night at Watford (a great place with casuals). 1919 H. M. Krammer With Seeing Eyes vii. 118 ‘I'm telling the world,’ was a great expression with the Yanks. 1976 S. Beckett That Time 12 Turning-point that was a great word with you before they dried up altogether always having turning-points. 2009 T. Denault Jacques Plante (2010) xiv. 142 The mask was a great thing with everybody when he went those eighteen straight games without a loss. b. Of two persons: having a very close, friendly, or intimate relationship (frequently with together). Of one or more persons: very close, friendly, or intimate with another. Now chiefly Irish English.In earlier use sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense A. 19a(a).Apparently not directly connected with great friend n. at Compounds 1e. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective] holdc893 friendOE fellowly?c1225 couthlyc1275 friendfulc1379 amiablea1382 commonc1384 queema1400 lovely1409 acquaintablea1425 familiarc1425 great1483 friendlikea1500 towardly15.. amicable1532 friendable1569 amical1580 graceful?1593 accostable1611 amicous1676 lovable1691 clever1758 unchilled1794 tosh1821 mately1822 1483 Vulgaria abs Terencio (T. Rood & T. Hunte) sig. niij They are grete or homely to gydre. 1516 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. ix. 19 My Lord Cardynall & S^r Will^m Compton be marvelous gret. 1669 S. Pepys Diary 16 Jan. (1976) IX. 417 The Duchess of York and the Duke of York are mighty great with her. 1691 Lady Russell Let. 5 Feb. (1826) 231 The dean and he are not great; that is, I mean the dean is not his creature. 1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iii. ii Awa, awa! the deil's owre grit wi' you. a1726 J. Vanbrugh Journey to London (1728) iii. i. 35 I love her dearly already, we are growing very great together. 1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil ii. vii. 286 As great as the Devil and Dr. Faustus. 1727 J. Swift Horace Imitated in J. Swift Misc. Last Vol. iii. 39 My lord and he are grown so great, Always together, tête à tête. 1799 T. Moore Let. 14 Nov. in Mem. (1853) I. 96 Johnson and I got very great: he is to introduce me to Colman, the manager and author. 1860 J. F. Campbell Pop. Tales West Highlands II. xix. 17 Your father and I were very great with each other. 1877 F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness (at cited word) Oor lad an your's is varry greeat just noo. 1899 F. H. Groome Gypsy Folk Tales 268 So him being sweet upon a daughter at this big hall, her and Jack got very great together. 1910 P. W. Joyce Eng. as we speak it in Ireland xii. 268 Tom Long and Jack Gogarty are very great. 1962 S. Ennis tr. P. Sayers Old Woman's Refl. x. 69 It was a sister of Kate's was married to Owen, and that made them very great with each other. 1996 S. Moylan Lang. Kilkenny 142 Didn't he get great with this one an' marry her? 20. Of things. Very effective or productive in the context specified or for the use or result specified. a. attributive. Modifying an agent noun or equivalent. ΚΠ 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliii^v O glorie, glorie, thou arte none other thynge to thousandes of folke, but a great sweller of eeres. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 91^v The fruite is yellowe..: the kernelles, like the kernelles of a Peare, a great resister of poysons. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 272 It [sc. aloe] is..a great healer. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. v. 233 Peace is a great maker of Cuckolds. View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 86. 233 Modesty..is..the great Guardian of Innocence. 1743 H. Fielding Journey from this World to Next i. xxi. 183 The Lenitive which..softens every other Calamity; I mean that great Reliever, Hope. 1801 H. More Let. in J. Aitken Eng. Lett. XIX Cent. (1946) 52 I have instituted..friendly benefit societies for poor women, which have proved a great relief to the sick and lying-in. 1832 T. Moore Wks. VIII. 108 (note) Eclipses and comets have been always looked to as great changers of administrations. 1879 G. J. Holyoake Hist. Co-operation in Eng. II. xviii. 299 Tradesmen..fear that the railroad (the great bringer of business) may injure them. 1924 Rotarian Aug. 74/1 They had a great treatment for the national rash. 1956 Bull. Atomic Scientists May 157/1 The threat of the A-bomb has not proved to be a great persuader in the political-psychological cold war. 2003 S. Belber Death of Frank i. 13 Love is the great mender, the great builder of bridges. b. predicatively. With preposition, as in, as, for, etc. ΚΠ 1791 Presbyterio-Catholicon 73 It is great in pulling down and bringing to ruin. 1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. ii. ii. 79 She..could get along very nearly as fast with the wind a-head, as when it was a-poop—and was particularly great in a calm. 1853 Anglo-Amer. Mag. May 528/2 This treatment is great for giving a fellor (goose he meant) a great liver. 1913 L. Chadwick Baseball Joe at Yale vii. 61 ‘It's made of cheese, isn't it?’ ‘And other stuff. Great for making you dream.’ 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 5- e (advt.) Our all polyester knit shirt is great for leisure suits. 2007 It's Fate Apr. 17/3 Dong Quai..is a marvellous all rounder and great as a tonic after your period at any age. †21. Distinguished or grand in appearance; imposing. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > proper pride or self-respect > [adjective] > dignified estatelyc1374 burlya1400 portlyc1484 stately1496 great1547 stateful1604 commandinga1616 stately1725 presidential1804 dignifieda1812 splendid1833 1547 J. Wilkinson tr. Aristotle Ethiques xix. sig. E.iij Making costly apparell and other greate apperaunce, and thynke there by to be exalted. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xi. 46 Certayne monumentes of olde walles beyng of great apparence [Fr. de grand apparence]. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 56 They wear this Cap..with a Handkerchief of fine stuff, wrought with flowers of Gold and Silk, which makes them look Great. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 222 Such Dido was; with such becoming State, Amidst the Crowd, she walks serenely great [L. se laeta ferebat]. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxviii. 101 I shall have the Chariot to carry me home to you. Tho' this will look too great for me. 1851 Friend 11 Apr. 245/2 If parents were concerned to teach their children, and..were less concerned to deck and set them off, and provide things to make them look great in the world. 1861 C. J. Hempel tr. F. Schiller Compl. Wks. II. 588 A portrait-painter may treat his subject in a common, and likewise in a great manner. 22. colloquial (originally U.S.). As a general term of approval: excellent, admirable, very pleasing, first-rate. Cf. sense A. 13a. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] faireOE bremea1000 goodlyOE goodfulc1275 noblec1300 pricec1300 specialc1325 gentlec1330 fine?c1335 singulara1340 thrivena1350 thriven and throa1350 gaya1375 properc1380 before-passinga1382 daintiful1393 principala1398 gradelya1400 burlyc1400 daintyc1400 thrivingc1400 voundec1400 virtuousc1425 hathelc1440 curiousc1475 singlerc1500 beautiful1502 rare?a1534 gallant1539 eximious1547 jolly1548 egregious?c1550 jellyc1560 goodlike1562 brawc1565 of worth1576 brave?1577 surprising1580 finger-licking1584 admirablea1586 excellinga1586 ambrosial1598 sublimated1603 excellent1604 valiant1604 fabulous1609 pure1609 starryc1610 topgallant1613 lovely1614 soaringa1616 twanging1616 preclarent1623 primea1637 prestantious1638 splendid1644 sterling1647 licking1648 spankinga1666 rattling1690 tearing1693 famous1695 capital1713 yrare1737 pure and —1742 daisy1757 immense1762 elegant1764 super-extra1774 trimming1778 grand1781 gallows1789 budgeree1793 crack1793 dandy1794 first rate1799 smick-smack1802 severe1805 neat1806 swell1810 stamming1814 divine1818 great1818 slap-up1823 slapping1825 high-grade1826 supernacular1828 heavenly1831 jam-up1832 slick1833 rip-roaring1834 boss1836 lummy1838 flash1840 slap1840 tall1840 high-graded1841 awful1843 way up1843 exalting1844 hot1845 ripsnorting1846 clipping1848 stupendous1848 stunning1849 raving1850 shrewd1851 jammy1853 slashing1854 rip-staving1856 ripping1858 screaming1859 up to dick1863 nifty1865 premier cru1866 slap-bang1866 clinking1868 marvellous1868 rorty1868 terrific1871 spiffing1872 all wool and a yard wide1882 gorgeous1883 nailing1883 stellar1883 gaudy1884 fizzing1885 réussi1885 ding-dong1887 jim-dandy1888 extra-special1889 yum-yum1890 out of sight1891 outasight1893 smooth1893 corking1895 large1895 super1895 hot dog1896 to die for1898 yummy1899 deevy1900 peachy1900 hi1901 v.g.1901 v.h.c.1901 divvy1903 doozy1903 game ball1905 goodo1905 bosker1906 crackerjack1910 smashinga1911 jake1914 keen1914 posh1914 bobby-dazzling1915 juicy1916 pie on1916 jakeloo1919 snodger1919 whizz-bang1920 wicked1920 four-star1921 wow1921 Rolls-Royce1922 whizz-bang1922 wizard1922 barry1923 nummy1923 ripe1923 shrieking1926 crazy1927 righteous1930 marvy1932 cool1933 plenty1933 brahmaa1935 smoking1934 solid1935 mellow1936 groovy1937 tough1937 bottler1938 fantastic1938 readyc1938 ridge1938 super-duper1938 extraordinaire1940 rumpty1940 sharp1940 dodger1941 grouse1941 perfecto1941 pipperoo1945 real gone1946 bosting1947 supersonic1947 whizzo1948 neato1951 peachy-keen1951 ridgey-dite1953 ridgy-didge1953 top1953 whizzing1953 badass1955 wild1955 belting1956 magic1956 bitching1957 swinging1958 ridiculous1959 a treat1959 fab1961 bad-assed1962 uptight1962 diggish1963 cracker1964 marv1964 radical1964 bakgat1965 unreal1965 pearly1966 together1968 safe1970 bad1971 brilliant1971 fabby1971 schmick1972 butt-kicking1973 ripper1973 Tiffany1973 bodacious1976 rad1976 kif1978 awesome1979 death1979 killer1979 fly1980 shiok1980 stonking1980 brill1981 dope1981 to die1982 mint1982 epic1983 kicking1983 fabbo1984 mega1985 ill1986 posho1989 pukka1991 lovely jubbly1992 awesomesauce2001 nang2002 bess2006 amazeballs2009 boasty2009 daebak2009 beaut2013 1818 [implied in: A. Royall Let. 19 Feb. in Lett. from Alabama (1830) 102 There's to be the greatest doins that ever was heard on. (at greatest adj.)]. ?c1834 [implied in: J. Wetherell Adventures (1953) 41 Six dozen lashes on his bare posteriors. Great. (at great int.)]. 1839 F. Marryat Diary in Amer. II. 225 The word great is oddly used for fine, splendid. ‘She's the greatest gal in the whole Union’. 1857 C. E. De long Jrnl. 4 July in Calif. Hist. Soc. Q. (1930) 9 151 Had a great time. 1868 G. Wilkes in H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. Introd. p. xviii At the end of a few years [he] gave a great animal to the country in place of what had been only a good animal before. 1895 Daily News 18 Oct. 3/2 Amphora and..Attainment, the two top weights in the Orleans Nursery, ran a great race. 1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous i. 5 Say, wouldn't it be great if we ran one [sc. a boat] down? 1913 Techn. World Mag. Mar. 19 ‘That's great!’ cried one of the ‘vaudevillians’, clapping his hands appreciatively. 1949 Boys' Life May 7/1 Could you go with us? It'd be great if you could, hunh? 1968 Listener 26 Sept. 423/2 Gary's mum's bread pudding is great. 1988 InfoWorld 20 June 81/1 If you are a serial multitasker, this software is just great. 2000 J. Goodwin Danny Boy vi. 123 It was a great party. Loads of drink, plenty of drugs and lots of totally wasted girls. IV. Expressing relative or indefinite size. 23. Relatively large; having (more or less, or a specified) size, thickness, bulk, extent, or number. ΚΠ 1381 [implied in: Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 74 Mak þereof [sc. of pork, spices, and eggyolks] a farsure formed of þe gretnesse of a onyoun. (at greatness n. 5)]. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 5236 Hij maden fyres vertuous Fyue hundreþ, vche gret als an hous. a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 158 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 133 (MED) Wynde it to balles as grete as apples. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 278 A ȝerde mai growe so greet, and be so stiff in his strengþe þat men shal not wriþe it. a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 359 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 310 A stafe, A fyngur gret, two wharters long. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 131 Anaximenes the rhetorician had a panche as fatte and greate as he..was hable to lugge away with all. 1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 5 Let him take thereof in hys mouth so great as a small beane. 1572 L. Mascall Bk. Plant & Graffe Trees Exhort. sig. C.iij It shall be good to strike downe to the bottom of euery hole two short stakes as great as your arme. 1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum viii. xiii. 898 This greatest kinde..hath a root sometimes as great as ones arme. 1728 R. Bradley Dict. Botanicum Malus, vel Pomum adami... The Leaves are fair and large, almost as great as those of Citron or Lemon-Tree, pounced with Holes in the like Manner. 1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxxix. 459 We cannot therefore suppose the distances of the atoms of matter in general to be so great as the hundred millionth of an inch. 1870 T. L. Phipson tr. A. Guillemin Sun iii. 123 If all the planets known, together with their satellites, were fused together into one globe, we should find that the volume of the Sun was still 600 times as great as this agglomerated mass. 1937 Pop. Mech. Oct. 488/1 Estimated mileage of the plane is slightly more than 6,600, although the air-line distance is not that great. 1971 J. E. Meade Controlled Econ. xxiii. 358 Even if the elasticities of supply and demand for the product are not so great that the tax revenue is actually reduced, [etc.]. 2007 in J. A. Smith Handbk. Managem. Accounting (ed. 4) b. vii. 118 Does the rival have any strategic value to its parent company?..What is this value and how great is it? B. n. †1. Thickness; great size, magnitude; loudness. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun] > great thickness thicknessc1000 greatnessOE greatc1175 crassitudec1420 crassity1656 c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 22 Wæron heo [sc. the rods] togadere iwæxene & hæfden ane ælne iwæxen on lenge & oðre on græte. c1300 St. Laurence (Laud) 93 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 342 Blod orn bi is limes a-doun, boþe in lengþe and in grete. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxi. 1386 Armonica distingueþ grete and smale in sounes, and hihe and lowe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 8244 Þat was þe stauin for to strenthe, And knaw þe wax of gret and lenthe. 1629 G. Chapman tr. Juvenal Fifth Satyre in Iustification Nero 20 Before him see a huge Goose-liuer set; A Capon cramb'd, euen with that Goose for great [L. anseribus par altilis]. 2. a. With the and singular agreement. That which is great (in various senses); great things, aspects, qualities, etc., collectively. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important muchity1534 importance1570 something1582 significancy1656 thing1748 great1787 important1824 big stuff1883 big whoop1988 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 233 Alse schal þe schriueð him. efter þe greate schuuen vt þe smelre. c1300 St. John Evangelist (Laud) 386 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 414 To holden up his folie smale þingues he nam, Aftur þe smale he tok þe grete and strong þef he bi-cam. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 81 Servauntes..þat conneþ nouȝt knowe and makeþ non difference bytwene þe smale and þe grete [?a1475 anon. tr. a grete thynge from a lytelle]. a1425 ( H. Daniel Liber Uricrisiarum (Wellcome 225) 55 Throgh þe seve is þe clene separat & divysed, þe small fra þe gret, þe clene fra þe foule, & þe coveabyll fra þe uncoveabyll. 1538 M. Coverdale tr. M. Luther Expos. Magnificat sig. D.v Yf they dyd prayse God in the leest, they shuld haue abundauntly the greate. 1675 S. Loveday Alarm to Slumbring Christians 264 If we cannot do the great if we do the less, it shall be rewarded. 1712 tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Longinus's Treat. on Sublime xxvii. 69 in tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Wks. II. The Great is of it self, and by its Character of Greatness, slippery and dangerous. 1787 G. Canning in Microcosm No. 30. ⁋7 Uniting the great and sublime of epic grandeur with the little and the low of common life. a1800 W. Cowper Yardley-Oak in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1804) III. 412 Comparing still The great and little of thy lot. 1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1887) vi. 25 To exclude the great is to magnify the little. 1847 R. W. Emerson Uses Great Men in Wks. (1906) I. 274 The search after the great is the dream of youth. 1864 L. Aikin Mem. 157 The same misapprehension everywhere of the grand for the great. 1918 G. Ferrero Europe's Fateful Hour i. 41 The difference between the colossal and the great is both intellectual and moral. 1961 V. Vycinas Earth & Gods iv. 135 The decline of the great is the beginning of the small which stays small even though it may ‘progress’. 2001 A. Solomon Noonday Demon (2002) viii. 295 He [sc. Marsilio Ficino] believed that melancholy..is the manifestation of our yearning for the great and the eternal. b. With plural agreement. Persons who are great (in various senses); esp. with reference to social status, frequently in great and small (also small and great at small n.² 4). Now usually with the. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people greata1325 principalsa1425 the great and the good1624 constellationa1631 grand1667 Pleiad1856 prominenti1927 tycoonery1956 a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2892 Hem-seluen he..holden ðe tigeles tale, And elten and eilden grete & smale. c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 100 Heil þou..Kyng of gret and smalle. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2830 By þe grete, poer folk ben greuyd. c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. l. 250 By gouernanmce [read gouernaunce] of grete and of good age. a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 96 All spake of hym, bothe grete & smalle. 1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 79 To the tombe where they did heare this wonder straunge was donne, The great, the small, the riche, the poore, the yong, the olde, With hasty pace do ronne. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 180 So as the great, may have no greater hope of impunity. 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 97 Quacking Mountebanks are admitted in the Bed-chambers of great & small. 1757 T. Gray Ode I iii. iii, in Odes 11 Beneath the Good how far—but far above the Great. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 208 The houses and society of the great. a1791 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 77 He..has sae mony taking arts Wi' Great an' Sma'. 1834 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) I. ii. 19 Supported by the great and the many. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 161 The masques which were exhibited at the mansions of the great. 1886 Kappa Alpha Jrnl. Mar. 5 The ploughman with the millionaire, scholars, workmen, high and low, great and small, came at their country's call. 1916 A. Goodrich Sign of Freedom viii. 102 The stage was Matt Brierly's passion, and his attitude toward its great was one of frank worship. 1955 C. S. Lewis Surprised by Joy vi. 88 They had all the flattery, unofficial influence, favor, and privileges which the mistresses of the great have always enjoyed in adult society. 1992 J. Critchley Floating Voter (BNC) 19 An annual opportunity for the spear-carriers and party bit-players to travel to a seaside resort out of season to spend a few days in the proximity of the great. 3. †a. With the and of. The main point or part; the essence; the general drift or gist (of a story). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] > gist great1340 gist1820 flower1837 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 245 Þe laste yefþe and þe meste and þe heȝeste is þe ȝefþe of wysdom... Þis is þet greate of perfeccion, þe ende of contemplacion. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. l. 222 Of your compleynt seith to me the grete. c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf. 16) (1879) Prol. l. 574 That thou reherce of al hir lyfe the grete. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 315 The grete of this mater longeth vn-to hym. b. A large part or amount (of). Cf. sense A. 10a(b).Some later examples may show errors for a great deal of. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount felec825 muchc1230 good wone1297 plentyc1300 bushelc1374 sight1390 mickle-whata1393 forcea1400 manynessa1400 multitudea1400 packc1400 a good dealc1430 greata1450 sackful1484 power1489 horseloadc1500 mile1508 lump1523 a deal?1532 peckc1535 heapa1547 mass1566 mass1569 gallon1575 armful1579 cart-load1587 mickle1599 bushelful1600–12 a load1609 wreck1612 parisha1616 herd1618 fair share1650 heapa1661 muchness1674 reams1681 hantle1693 mort1694 doll?1719 lift1755 acre1759 beaucoup1760 ton1770 boxload1795 boatload1807 lot1811 dollop1819 swag1819 faggald1824 screed1826 Niagara1828 wad1828 lashings1829 butt1831 slew1839 ocean1840 any amount (of)1848 rake1851 slather1857 horde1860 torrent1864 sheaf1865 oodlesa1867 dead load1869 scad1869 stack1870 jorum1872 a heap sight1874 firlot1883 oodlings1886 chunka1889 whips1888 God's quantity1895 streetful1901 bag1917 fid1920 fleetful1923 mob1927 bucketload1930 pisspot1944 shitload1954 megaton1957 mob-o-ton1975 gazillion1978 buttload1988 shit ton1991 a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1932) III. l. 27622 (MED) For he hym Markede with swich a myht, that a gret of his flesch he smot down ryht. 1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Diall Princes f. 107/2 Haue no respecte to y^e litel which we do offer; but to y^e great, which (if we were able) we would giue. 1636 D. Lupton Emblems of Rarities 186 They conquered a great of Europe, and did occupy many Citties in Asia. 1724 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1900) XXXVI. 337 Mackey's sloop sunk at Boston, & spoild a great of our English goods. 1800 Brit. Critic Dec. 676 My strong chest, in which I kept not only my own, but a great of money belonging to others. 1847 J. R. M’Culloch & D. Haskel M’Culloch’s Universal Gazetteer I. 42/2 There remains still farther to the southward a great of unknown territory. 1900 Rep. Comm. War Office Contracts 412/2 There has been a great of discussion about this. 1982 Kenya Nat. Assembly Official Rec. 7 Apr. 843/2 There is a great of violence in this country. 2011 G. Dickie Little Brackens Island xi. 242 That little construction project took a great of imagination and time. 4. A large thing. Chiefly in the proverb (now U.S. regional and rare) many (a) small makes a great and variants (cf. many a little makes a mickle at mickle pron. 4). ΚΠ a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2366 (MED) Many smale makeþ a grete. 1557 W. Barker tr. St. Basil of Caesarea Exhort. to Younge Kynsemen sig. C.vii Many a litle maketh a gret, as a mighty flod, of a smale fountayne. 1592 W. Wyrley Lord Chandos in True Vse Armorie 82 No earthly great, but wasted is with time. 1626 W. Vaughan Golden Fleece iii. x. 64 As the..Prouerbe implieth, many a small makes a great, and mountaines were made of small motes or atomes. 1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 9/1 in Lex. Tetraglotton (1660) Many small make a great. 1782 J. Elphinston in tr. Martial Epigrams Comm. 512/1 Democritus..had nothing left for his Great Cause, but Earth: which, by deep investigation, he found to consist, as of smalls all greats, of infinitely little, next to indivisible particles called (in Greek) Atoms. 1853 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 19 Feb. 126/2 Most of us have formed in our minds a standard of a great and a small in mere surface dimensions. 1870 J. J. Sylvester Laws of Verse 114 The doctrine of limits and of infinitely greats and smalls. 1953 C. I. Keelan in Streamlining Office Equipm. & Services Amer. Managem. Assoc. Office Managem. Ser. No. 135. ii. 27 I have often been asked if it is worth while to make such small savings. Remember that many a small makes a great. 1992 W. Mieder et al. Dict. Amer. Prov. (1996) at Small Many small makes a great. Rec. dist.: Ky., Tenn. 5. A great, eminent, or distinguished person; (in later use frequently) an eminent or leading figure in a specified field (frequently in plural in the greats of). Also: a person styled ‘the Great’. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] kingeOE master-spiritc1175 douzepersc1330 sire1362 worthya1375 lantern1382 sira1400 greatc1400 noblec1400 persona1425 lightc1425 magnate?a1439 worthyman1439 personagec1460 giant1535 honourablec1540 triedc1540 magnifico1573 ornament1573 signor1583 hero1592 grandee1604 prominent1608 name1611 magnificent1612 choice spirita1616 illustricity1637 luminary1692 lion1715 swell1786 notable1796 top-sawyer1826 star1829 celebrity1831 notability1832 notoriety1841 mighty1853 tycoon1861 reputation1870 public figure1871 star turn1885 headliner1896 front-pager1899 legend1899 celeb1907 big name1909 big-timer1917 Hall of Famer1948 megastar1969 c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2490 (MED) When wyst þe grete Þat gode G[awayn] watz commen, gayn hit hym þoȝt. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 177^v While this gode was in gederyng the grettes among. 1610 G. Marcelline Triumphs King James 64 Hee is The Great of Greats, the Chiefest and the most Great of all. 1635 G. Hakewill Apol. (rev. ed.) iv. xi. 538 So have wee had three Greats, not in name only but in deed, such as were Constantine the great..and Charles the great. a1649 W. Drummond Poems (1656) 167 Till thou the greatest be amongst the Greats. 1770 Bibliotheca Hagana Historico-philologico-theologica III. 216 Duties of the Greats [published title Great], by D. Dodd. D. D. 1769. 1829 S. Morgan Bk. Boudoir II. 179 The greats are fond of presents. 1858 H. C. Fish & D. W. Poor Select Disc. A. Monod, Krummacher, Tholuck, & J. Müller 16 Bossuet, Fénélon, Flechiere, or Bourdaloue—the so-called ‘greats’ of the Roman Catholic Church in France. 1912 E. Pound in Poetry Oct. 7 You also, our first great, Had tried all ways. 1947 R. de Toledano Frontiers of Jazz xvi. 176 The passing of another one-time great. 1963 J. Walsh Shroud (1964) viii. 73 Statues and paintings of the greats of French science and literature. 1996 A. Ghosh Calcutta Chromosome (1997) xi. 68 Manson's one of the all-time greats; he's lived in China so long he can skin a python with chopsticks; he's the guy who wrote the book on filaria, the bug that causes elephantiasis. 2012 M. T. Burton Devil's Odds xvi. 160 Men like the Medicis and their sort... Who wrote poetry and painted and patronized such greats as Petrarch and Botticelli. †6. Scottish. A groat. Cf. sense A. 10d. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > coin of 4d > groat groat1362 great1473 chekasyde1543 flag1567 gunhole groata1577 Harry groat1641 1473–4 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 48 Gevin to Androu Mowbra for xxx gret of money of Flandris,..lxvj li. xiij s. iiij d. 1480–1 in J. Fullarton Rec. Burgh Prestwick (1834) 29 Wrangwisly he helde ane Inglis grete of xvj^d fra him. 1506 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 55 Ane hundreth gret..payit to the said schireff,..cclxvj li. xiij s. iv d. 1508 Rentale Dunkeldense (Adv. 34.1.1) f. 45^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Grete Twa burdis of beltis of welwois, the price sex schillingis aucht greit. 1541 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 517 Ane herald to be sent to the king of France for doun-getting of the gryte. 1593 Edinb. Test. XXV. f. 190, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Grit Thrie pund of flachtit caddes at v s. vj grit. 1625 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 198 Ane..impost of all guides imported..fra the..Law Cuntreyis,..ane pak towes, thrie grit,..ane poik vneoun seid, thrie gritt. 7. Music. = great organ n. at Compounds 1e. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > partial organ > specific choir organ1606 chair-organ1636 swelling organ1712 swell1822 pedal organ1829 great1833 solo organ1843 récit1851 1833 W. Taylor Ann. St. Mary Overy 124 Couplet movements unite the Swell and Great. 1909 F. F. Harker Stainer's Organ 27 The occasional use of the Great without the Swell coupler..will be found to produce a very pure and ‘fresh’ effect. 1997 B. Owen Registration Baroque Organ Music iv. xviii. 195 The standard organ layout was a small-to-moderately sized three manual, with full compass Great and Choir, short compass Swell, and usually no Pedal. 2009 Cathedral Music May 34/1 Each note on the Great and on the Swell has two pallets, one for reeds and one for flutes, resulting in action which is quite firm. 8. colloquial. An ancestor one degree further removed upwards from that previously stated or understood from the context. Often with repetition of great. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > [noun] > distant relative Scotch cousin1776 great1841 1835 E. M.Potts Moonshine III. App. 302 (note) So rapidly do generations accumulate, that I must hereby authorise the reader to put as many great-greats [to the word ‘grandmother’] as he pleases.] 1841 H. Miller Old Red Sandstone iii. 39 A grandfather removed..to a remote degree of consanguinity, by the intervention of a few hundred thousand great-greats. 1881 M. H. Mathews Dr. Gilbert's Daughters xii. 171 I knew your grandfathers and grandmothers down to the great-great-great-greats! 1905 Mrs. H. Ward Marriage of William Ashe i. ii. 33 ‘We—you and I—are a little bit cousins too, aren't we?’.. ‘Was our “great-great” the same person?’ he said, laughing. 1907 A. Quiller-Couch Major Vigoureux xxii Your grandfathers and grandmothers, and right back into the greats and great-greats. 2008 C. Congdon et al. Open Road Anthol. in A.-A. Hansel & J. F. Dubiner Humana Festival 2007 322 My great-great-greats lived in Georgia since the time of their great-great-greats. 9. British colloquial (originally and chiefly Oxford University). In plural. Originally: the final examination for the degree of B.A. (cf. earlier great go n. 2). At Oxford now: spec. the final examination for honours in classics, philosophy, and ancient history (‘literae humaniores’). Also: the subjects or courses leading up to such an examination. Cf. small n.² 11. Science Greats: (formerly, at Oxford) a B.A. in science; (outside Oxford) a B.A. (actual or proposed) combining science and arts subjects. Cf. modern Greats n. at modern adj. and n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations fellowship examination1787 collections1799 responsions1810 response1813 little go1816 great go1820 Previous Examination1824 school1826 smalls1836 senate-house examination1837 tripos1842 honours examination1851 biennial1853 great1854 moderations1857 Mods1858 professional1890 Trip1909 previous1950 society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations > at specific university May examination1848 May1852 great1854 honour moderations1877 honour mods1877 additional1882 Divvers1905 1854 ‘C. Bede’ Further Adventures Mr. Verdant Green (ed. 2) xi. 95 The little gentleman was going in for his Degree, alias Great-go, alias Greats. 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. x. 163 In our second term we..begin to feel ourselves at home, while both ‘smalls’ and ‘greats’ are sufficiently distant to be altogether ignored. 1875 Ulula (Manch. Gram. School) June 264 J. D. Wilde, of B. N. C, is in the Schools for Classical Greats; L. Fletcher, of Balliol, and R. R. Corkling, of Magdalen, for Mathematical Greats; J. Richmond, of Merton, for Science Greats. 1884 G. Allen Strange Stories 175 Since I have begun reading philosophy for my Greats. 1921 M. Diver Far to Seek iii. x. 228 Was this the same Dyán who had ridden and argued and read ‘Greats’ with him only four years ago? 1948 Observer Profiles 157 Winchester, a Balliol scholarship, Classical Greats,..a Balliol Fellowship in Ancient History. 1956 New Scientist 22 Nov. 13/2 For what future would these pupils be preparing? For specialised work at the universities..; certainly for a ‘Science Greats’ if such a course were introduced. 1980 J. M. Ziman Teaching & Learning about Sci. & Society vii. 117 The concept of a ‘Science Greats’, a genuinely transdisciplinary general education, is strong as an ideal in the educational philosophy of the STS [sc. Science, Technology, and Society] movement. 2010 Cathedral Music May 29/2 After Christ Church, Oxford, where he read Greats..he furthered his musical studies at the Royal College of Music. C. adv. †1. To a great extent, in a great degree; extensively, exceedingly; highly; much, very; = greatly adv. 1. a. Modifying verbs. Obsolete.With quot. a1325 cf. sense C. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] stronglyeOE felec950 strongeOE highlyOE highOE greatlya1200 stourlya1225 greata1325 dreec1330 deeplya1400 mightya1400 dreichlyc1400 mighty?a1425 sorec1440 mainlyc1450 greatumly1456 madc1487 profoundly1489 stronglya1492 muchwhata1513 shrewlya1529 heapa1547 vengeance?1548 sorely1562 smartlyc1580 mightly1582 mightily1587 violently1601 intensively1604 almightily1612 violent1629 seriously1643 intensely1646 importunately1660 shrewdly1664 gey1686 sadly1738 plenty1775 vitally1787 substantively1795 badly1813 far1814 heavily1819 serious1825 measurably1834 dearly1843 bally1939 majorly1955 sizzlingly1956 majorly1978 fecking1983 a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 2468 (MED) As þe apostles stode..In þe temple..hit gan to þondri grete. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7233 (MED) Þare es nan sa gret mai greif Als traitur dern and priue theif. c1450 (?a1370) Wynnere & Wastoure (1990) l. 224 Thoo þat spedfully will spare and spend not to grete, Lyve appon littill-whattes I lufe hym the bettir. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 501 In beldinge of tombes þei trauaileþ grete To chargen her chirche-flore. 1609 S. Rowlands Dr. Merrie-man 6 Horses that labour great, Are cast in ditches for the Dogges to eate. b. Modifying adjectives and adverbs. Obsolete (English regional in later use).Cf. adjectival use at sense A. 3b. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very tooc888 swith971 wellOE wellOE fullOE rightc1175 muchc1225 wellac1275 gainlya1375 endlyc1440 hard?1440 very1448 odda1500 great1535 jolly1549 fellc1600 veryvery1649 gooda1655 vastly1664 strange1667 bloody1676 ever so1686 heartily1727 real1771 precious1775 quarely1805 murry1818 très1819 freely1820 powerfula1822 gurt1824 almighty1830 heap1832 all-fired1833 gradely1850 real1856 bonny1857 heavens1858 veddy1859 canny1867 some1867 oh-so1881 storming1883 spanking1886 socking1896 hefty1898 velly1898 fair dinkum1904 plurry1907 Pygmalion1914 dinkum1915 beaucoup1918 dirty1920 molto1923 snorting1924 honking1929 hellishing1931 thumpingly1948 way1965 mega1966 mondo1968 seriously1970 totally1972 mucho1978 stonking1990 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Susanna 4 Now Ioachim..was a greate rich man. 1556 in J. G. Nichols Chron. Grey Friars (1852) 6 Thys yere was a grete dere yere. 1580 E. Spenser in E. Spenser & G. Harvey Three Proper & Wittie Lett. 5 I doubt not but you haue some great important matter in hande, which al this while restraineth youre Penne. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 379 Say that he thriue, as 'tis great like he will [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1711 Fingall MSS in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 138 Athlone..being the great-important pass into the province of Connaught. c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) Great, very; as ‘great much’, very much. 1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 75 Great likly, very likely. ‘Ay, ay, great likly, great likly’. 1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Great-likely,..very likely, almost certainly. †2. In or into large particles or pieces; coarsely, roughly. Also: vulgarly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > lack of refinement > [adverb] > coarsely swinelyeOE greata1425 swinishly1542 coarsely1678 coarse1680 crudely1881 swinely1881 crassly1883 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [adverb] > unmannerly > roughly or with lack of refinement homelyc1390 rudelyc1405 greata1425 swinishly1542 clubbishly1548 carterly1556 homelily1556 brutishly1580 loutishly1580 boorishly1605 brutely1605 inurbanely1610 mechanically1613 porterly1659 coarsely1678 coarse1680 brutally1824 vulgarly1831 crudely1881 cubbishly1883 yobbishly1984 a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 75 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 115 Perboile erbis & hewe hem grete, & cast hem in a pot. ?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 435 Take onyons and mynce hom grete. ?a1475 Noble Bk. Cookry in Middle Eng. Dict. at Gret Tak the swet brothe of a capon..put ther to saige cut gret. a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 1789 ‘Fole,’ he sayd, ‘þou bourdist grete’. †3. Loudly; = greatly adv. 2. Obsolete.Cf. quot. a1325 at sense C. 1a. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adverb] loud971 bremeOE strongly1340 sternly?a1400 lustilyc1400 great1534 vociferously1637 stentorophonically1693 thunderously1842 full blast1936 1534 T. Elyot Castell of Helthe ii. xxxv. f. 52 Nothynge dothe profite vnto helthe of the body, but to inforce hym selfe to synge greatte, for therby moche ayre drawen in by fetchyng of breath, thrustyth forth the breast and stomacke. ?1562 W. Ward tr. R. Roussat Most Excellent Bk. Doctour & Astrologien Arcandam sig. R.iiij^v The antiuocates, that is to saye, they that speake great at the fyrst and smale at the laste, and haue a sharpe voyce are full of wrath. 1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 204 He speaketh of the Lord as of a magnificent and maiestical prince, speaking great, like the sound of thunder. †4. In a manner befitting or characteristic of a great person; nobly. Cf. greatly adv. 3. Obsolete.Frequently with verbs that can take an adjective complement (esp. live: see live v.¹ 4), in contexts where a conjoined adverbial suggests interpretation as an adverb. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adverb] micklelyeOE worthlyeOE noblelyc1300 lordlya1398 greatlya1400 kinglyc1425 princely1548 lordlikea1555 princelike1567 majestically1577 kinglike1582 elevatedly1593 great1616 grandly1647 augustly1649 magnificently1660 grand1729 lordfully1836 queenly1840 exaltedly1852 regally1852 nobilmente1899 1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes cxvii, in Wks. I. 807 To liue great, was better, then great borne. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 279 To pay their Respects to their Governor in Chief, who receives them very great. 1699 M. Lister Journey to Paris (new ed.) 105 He lives great, and has a House which joins upon the King's Library. 1728 J. Swift Let. 16 July (1741) 113 I never knew him live so great and expensively. 1759 T. Stephens Castle-builders Ded. p. xi Some had rather live Great, than die so. 1800 Baretti's Dict. Spanish & Eng, & Eng. & Spanish (new ed.) Triunfar,..to live great or extravagantly. 1874 Mich. Freemason Jan. 332 He lived great and died great—and he is buried great. †5. Arrogantly, presumptuously, proudly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > [adverb] sideOE highOE proudlyOE proudc1384 moodilyc1400 highlya1425 orgulousa1470 strutlyc1480 orgulouslya1500 loftily1548 stoutlya1554 state1579 garishly1593 pridefullya1600 aloft1613 great1625 pridinglya1677 Olympically1839 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) xxviii. 152 When he had carried the Consulship for a Friend of his, against the pursuit of Sylla and that Sylla did a little resent thereat, and began to speak great, Pompey turned vpon him againe. 1699 T. Cockman tr. Cicero Offices i. xxxix. 130 'Tis a very unbecoming thing for a Man to Talk great of himself in Discourse. 1704 B. Mandeville Typhon 28 Don't mince the matter, rattle 'em off; And to be sure talk great enough: Tell 'em they're Mortals, and what odds There must be between them and Gods. 1733 E. Budgell Bee IV. 33 The Officers of the Confederate Army continue to speak very great. 6. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). In a highly satisfactory or successful manner; excellently, very well. Frequently with do, go. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adverb] fairlyOE goodlyc1275 finec1330 properlyc1390 daintily?a1400 thrivinglya1400 goodlily?1457 excellent1483 excellently1527 excellently1529 curiously1548 jollilyc1563 admirably1570 beautifully1570 singularly1576 bravelyc1600 famouslya1616 manlya1616 primely1622 prime1648 eximiously1650 topping1683 egregiously1693 purely1695 trimmingly1719 toppinglya1739 surprisingly1749 capitally1750 brawly1796 jellily18.. stammingly1814 divinely1822 stunningly1823 rippingly1828 jam up1835 out of sight1835 first-rately1843 first rate1844 like a charm1845 stunning1851 marvellously1859 magnificently1868 first class1871 splendidly1883 sterlingly1883 tip-top1888 like one o'clock1901 deevily1905 goodo1907 dandy1908 bonzer1914 great1916 juicily1916 corkingly1917 champion1925 unbeatably1928 snodger1946 beaut1953 smashingly1956 groovily1970 awesome1984 1916 Everybody's Mag. Dec. 704/2 When they come home, the queen thought they done great. 1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §261/6 Successfully, big, great, swimmingly, with kites flying. 1976 Business Week 22 Nov. 64/2 Everything else we have is going great. 1991 M. Dorris & L. Erdrich Crown of Columbus v. 92 You're doing great, almost in transition. 2011 J. McCullough On Other Hand 86 They behaved great this morning. D. int. colloquial (originally U.S.). Expressing approval or satisfaction. ΚΠ ?c1834 J. Wetherell Adventures (1953) i. 41 Six dozen lashes on his bare posteriors. Great. 1899 W. J. Kountz Billy Baxter's Lett. 41 Wasn't it immense where the main lady spurned the leering villain's gold and exclaimed, with flashing eye, ‘Rags are royal raiment, when worn for virtue's sake!’ Great! 1967 Listener 12 Oct. 465 Great! I see a great headline. 1969 D. Francis Enquiry v. 66 ‘We're going down to the yard.’ ‘Great,’ said Roberta... ‘I'll come too.’ 2004 Metro (Toronto) 2 Nov. 17/1 If you're fortunate enough to have a stationary bicycle, treadmill or elliptical machine at home, great! Phrases P1. Phrases showing the adjective. a. For the many uses in prepositional phrases, as at (a) great expense, by the great horn spoon, in great measure, of great reputation, on a great suddenty, to a great nicety, upon a very great sudden, with great advice, etc., see generally the first noun. For many other phrases see the most prominent or least variable element, whether verb (as to carry a great stroke, to exercise the great horse, to go a great way towards, to join the great majority, to make a great account, to run a great horse, etc.) or noun (as to go a great length, to be in great mind, to make great play of, to keep in great suspense, to lie in great wait, etc.). For uses with no great (as to have no great opinion of, no great shakes, no great thanks, etc.), and with anticipatory it (as it was great beauty, it is great marvel, it stands to great reason, etc.), see the noun. See also as great as inkle-weavers n. at inkle n. Compounds 2, etc. b. In various proverbial uses. (a) great boast and small roast: see roast n. Phrases 3. (b) great cry and little wool: see cry n. Phrases 1. (c) great oaks from little acorns grow: see acorn n. 2c. (d) a great rooser was never a good rider: see rooser n. (e) time is a great healer: see time n., int., and conj. Phrases 6b. (f) great minds think alike: see mind n.¹ 21c. (g) it's a great life if you don't weaken: see life n. Phrases 9f. P2. The noun in prepositional phrases. a. See a great adv. †b. in great. [Compare French en gros in a large quantity, in gross (c1200 in Old French), German im Grossen (c1800), Dutch in 't groot on the whole, mostly (late 17th cent.).] (a) In total; in all. Also all in great. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > in all or altogether by numbera1375 in numbera1375 in allc1380 first and lastc1390 all wholea1393 in companya1393 in sum1399 full and whole1402 in great1421 whole and somec1425 in (the) whole1432 one with another1436 in (the) hale1437 all in great1533 up and down1562 one and other1569 in (the) aggregate1644 all told1814 1421 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1710) X. 162 (MED) The said Ambassiatours shall..profre hym that Some in grete. 1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. Pref. sig. Bbv In that parte also the man bryngeth in two placys all in great, which he hathe pyked out..amonge all my bokes. (b) = by the great at Phrases 2c, in various senses. Also occasionally in the great, (Scottish) in greats. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in large quantities by (also at, in) wholesale1417 in great1447 by greatc1475 by the whole1592 by the yard1845 in block1870 in bulk1908 like peas1959 1447–8 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) ii. 92 (MED) Theire custumes..iiij d. of every pipe..that is there y-boghte to be solde ayen yn grete or retaill. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 32 Thinketh not..that it sufficeth to biholde and thinke the sinnes in gret. 1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 126 For binding and dressing of thre smalle bookes..price in grete vj s. viij d. c1530 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. v–vii. 52 b The publycans bought in greate y^e emperours tribute. 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 833/2 The labourers would in no wise labour by the daie, but all by taske & in great. 1598 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 168 That na inhabitant..gadder the same [victuall] in gryt, and keip the same to ane darth. 1631 in Burgh Laws Dundee (1872) 5 July For selling of salt in greats. 1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) i. 155 Before I come to the particulars of what I saw in Florence, I will consider it in great, and then come to the Detail of it. 1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. II. xv. 186 Every thing is bought in the great, and paid for at once. 1790 J. Bentham Wks. (1838–43) X. 233 Accustomed to view things in the great, this virtue, if it be one, costs me no less, perhaps, than most people. 1792 E. Burke Let. Nov. in Corr. (1968) VII. 301 For want of ever dealing in the Great, they do not know, that, tho' Multitudes may be deluded, they never can be bribed. 1842 A. Vavasour My Last Tour vi. 50 Taking the subject in the great, it is for the general good that the English should travel and sojourn, a little while, on the Continent. (c) On a large or larger scale, esp. in comparison with something with the same proportions but smaller. Also occasionally in the great. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > large [phrase] > on a large scale in folio1590 in large?1601 in great1635 1635 A. Stafford Femall Glory 7 I shall endeavour to limme her soule in little (since in great neither my time, nor ability will let me). 1652 H. Cogan tr. M. de Scudery Ibrahim ii. iii. 49 Having demanded of this pretended Painter, whether he could work in great, as well as in little. 1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode Ep. Ded. sig. Biii Being that in Little, which your Lordship is in Great. 1699 R. Burthogge Of Soul of World in Coll. Scarce & Valuable Tracts (1748) II. 234 The World itself is, after a Sort, an Animal in great. 1769 J. Watt in Q. Rev. (1858) 104 433 The necessary experience in great was wanting. 1795 J. Bentham Wks. (1838–43) X. 307 The Duke..gave him orders for making some [baggage-wagons] in the great [from a small model]. (d) In large letters. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] in greata1642 a1642 J. Suckling Poems 11 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) Not a man in the place But had discontent writ in great [1648 at large] in his face. c. by the great, (earlier) †by great (obsolete). †(a) As a whole, all together. Also: in large quantities or numbers. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase] more and lessa1400 by greatc1475 of greatc1503 more and min1578 as a whole1643 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > in large quantities by (also at, in) wholesale1417 in great1447 by greatc1475 by the whole1592 by the yard1845 in block1870 in bulk1908 like peas1959 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > in/into one place, company, or mass [phrase] in oneOE on heapa1000 at oncea1300 to heapa1300 in (or a) gatheringc1540 into one1577 by great1579–80 c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 33 (MED) Ȝette aȝte he thritte powunde bi grete. 1579–80 T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (1676) 925 Not..to carry away their dead bodies by great altogether, but every city one after another. 1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme iv. sig. H Doe they not thriue best, when they vtter moste, and make it away by the great? a1627 J. Fletcher & T. Middleton Nice Valour i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ttt3^v/1 Bastinadoes by the great. 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. ii. i. 14 Death did at length so many slain forget; And lost the tale, and took 'em by the great. a1754 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. (1755) IV. 237 They are apt to swallow every thing by the great which they see in print. †(b) spec. Of buying and selling: in bulk, wholesale. Cf. by gross adv. at gross n.⁴ 1, in gross at gross n.⁴ 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] heap-mealc897 by greata1513 in gross1538 by wholesale1592 full tide1709 a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxiiii/1 All thyng that was solde by retayle the seller shuld pay y^e Exaccion, & that whyche was solde by great, the byer shulde paye the sayde exaccyon. 1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. F4 ^v A Merchant..that sells commodities of good cheere by the great. 1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Staple, any Towne..appointed for Merchants..to carrie their..commodities vnto, for the better sale of them to other Merchants by the great. a1634 J. Day Parl. Bees (Lansd. 725) f. 34 Yo^w..bought wax and Hony vp byth Great. 1634 H. Peacham Gentlemans Exercise (new ed.) i. x. 38 A friend of mine was notably cozened in a bargaine of timber hee bought by the great, in a mistie morning. 1707 G. Miège Present State Great Brit. I. ix. 137 The Fishmongers of the Town buy it up by the great, and afterwards sell it by retail. 1728 tr. R. Aubert de Vertot D'Aubeuf Hist. Knights of Malta I. vii. 400 He sold by retail what he had bought by the great, and employed the produce of it in keeping his mistresses. (c) spec. Of work: at a fixed price for completion of the whole task or for each piece. Now historical and rare. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > payment > [phrase] > specific payment per job by the great1523 at the great1699 bob a job1944 1523 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/4) Paied to a carpenter by grete for mendyng of Myster Collettis house. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 54^v To let out thy haruest, by great or by day, let this by experience, leade thee awaye. By great will deceiue thee, with lingring it out: by day will dispatch, & put all out of dout. 1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (1588) iv. iv. 471 If any Artificer or Labourer..taking any worke by the great. 1635 Sir E. Verney in F. P. Verney et al. Mem. Verney Family Civil War (1892) I. 128 If you fiend him fidle about his woarke, agree with him by the great. 1659 T. Willsford Architectonice 3 When bricks are deare, and lime is cheap, the workman by the Great will use more morter. ?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 55 Many workmen had rather agree by the Great, and find all materials, than for workman-ship only. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 505. ¶7 I..interpret by the Great for any Gentlewoman who is turned of Sixty, after the rate of half a Crown per Week. 1744 R. North & M. North Life Sir D. North & Rev. J. North 242 To..keep Hirelings in Garrets, at hard Meat, to write and correct by the Great. 1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret i. 3 I have contracted to physic the parish-poor by the great. 1814 Encycl. Londinensis XII. 7/1 Labourers taking work by the great, and leaving the same unfinished..are to suffer one month's imprisonment. 1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 ii. 404 [In Lincolnshire] In harvest..the cutting is done ‘by the grate’...Hay-mowing, corn-cutting, &c., are commonly executed by the ‘grate’. 1862 Mrs. Grote Coll. Papers 158 [Buckinghamshire] Piece-work or ‘by the grate’. 1893 N. Ponce de León Technol. Dict. II. 738/2 Trabajar, to do task work, to job, to work by the great. 2000 R. G. Wilson & A. L. Mackley Creating Paradise v. 148 It was Lord Cardigan's practice to employ few regular full-time men, instead contracting for nearly all work ‘by the great’, a fixed price being agreed with individuals or groups of men. †d. of great: in its entirety. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase] more and lessa1400 by greatc1475 of greatc1503 more and min1578 as a whole1643 c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xxv/2 A duelling hous is hired of gret and aftir leten..to sondry folk..the hirer in gret..shall offir to god..for the rent of all. †e. at the great: at a fixed price for completion of the whole task or for each piece; = Phrases 2c(c). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > payment > [phrase] > specific payment per job by the great1523 at the great1699 bob a job1944 the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > all collectively en masse in generala1393 in gross1508 by the lump1522 in universal1532 at large1598 in the lump1624 in (the) massa1631 at the great1699 by or in (the) slump1795 en masse1802 in a slump1827 en bloc1861 in block1870 in (the) aggregate1973 1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) To take Work at the great, or a great, Entreprendre un Ouvrage. P3. a. the great and the good n. (also the great and good, the good and the great, the good and great) [after ancient Greek καλοί τε κἀγαθοί] now usu. ironic (with plural agreement) distinguished and worthy people generally or collectively. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people greata1325 principalsa1425 the great and the good1624 constellationa1631 grand1667 Pleiad1856 prominenti1927 tycoonery1956 1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον ix. 456 Pallas, and potent Iuno, he despis'd, Leauing the good, and great, to chuse the faire. 1667 J. Caryll Eng. Princess ii. vi. 22 Let all in Heaven and Earth, who sacred be, The great, and good, be Witnesses for me. 1683 A. Littleton tr. Plutarch Life Pericles in J. Dryden et al. tr. Plutarch Lives I. 541 Fellows..who..with their reproaches and evil speeches sacrifice the reputations of their Superiours, the Great and the Good, to the envy and spite of the Rabble. 1696 T. Sprat Disc. Ld. Bp. of Rochester to Clergy 33 Has it not been always found, by Experience, that a flattering Tongue is so far from increasing the Virtues of the Good, and the Great, that it rather serves to deprave the real Worth they might have before? 1715 A. Pope Let. 16 Jan. in Corr. (1956) I. 274 I think nothing more honourable, than to be involved in the same fate with all the great and the good that ever lived; that is, to be envy'd and censur'd by bad writers. 1724 L. Welsted Epist., Odes &c. 56 When to the Shades the Great and Good are born, The Shades rejoice, the while the Living mourn. 1746 M. Clancy Hermon Prince of Choræa v. i. 88 The good, and great Are Heav'n's peculiar Care. 1790 A. Christie Let. 20 May in R. Price Corr. (1994) III. 295 You..had mett with more solid and universal applause, from the Good and the Great, than falls to the lot of most, even the best of Men. 1821 Brit. Critic Aug. 122 The work which they effected far exceeded in virtue the sober and solemn act of the good and great. 1854 G. Bancroft Hist. Amer. Revol. III. xxvii. 552 Franklin when he died, had nations for his mourners, and the great and the good throughout the world as his eulogists. 1906 Christian Reg. (Boston) 17 May 543/2 The great and good who have spent their opening manhood at Oxford. 1938 A. E. Bostwick in E. G. Lockhart My Vocation 218 When one has not only his own ideas to purvey but those of the good and great of all ages. 1964 S. Brittan Treasury under Tories ii. 58 The book of the ‘Great and the Good’..is the list of worthy, public-spirited citizens from whom members of Royal Commissions and other government Committees are chosen. 1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 40 The kind of ex-public schoolboy who..did some drug-impaired carpenting or gardening for the good and the great. 2011 Independent 24 May 32/2 But no measure of woe will ever prevent the great and the good of the small-cap sector having a good old knees-up. b. U.S. colloquial. no great: not a great deal, not or nothing much; also used adverbially. Now rare. ΚΠ 1761 J. Rowe Let. 4 May (1903) 393 I Really Loose no Great by their being taken. 1777 J. M. Hadden Jrnl. & Orderly Bks. (1884) 17 July 486 Our men being in confusion, and made no great of a Battle. 1810 E. Fisher Memoirs 44 It matters no great with me which way things go while I remain. 1854 ‘O. Optic’ In Doors & Out (1876) 186 I've got consider'ble, but I don't care no great about sellin' it. 1885 A. Gray Lett. (1893) 772 No great to see, except a spick and span new Hotel. 1890 Harper's Mag. Apr. 715/1 I wa'n't no great of a boy, an' let little things wear on me. 1890 Harper's Mag. Dec. 146/2 I hadn't been round no great in New York, an' there ain't no general store there. 1904 National Mag. July 409/1 She don't care no great about the sufferings o' humans. 1912 A. T. Slosson Local Colorist 129 I never was no great of a walker. 1920 C. B. Hawes Mutineers vii. xxix. 245 We ain't got no great to give. Compounds C1. Compounds of the adjective. a. †(a) In adverbial relation to present or past participial adjectives or to verbal nouns, as great-born, great-doing, etc. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xii. 5 Syngeth to the Lord, for gret doendely he dide. ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. vii. l. 1522 But ȝoure glorie..how myche conteinþe it in largesse and in greet doynge [L. magnificum]? c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 24 (MED) Tak a halpenyworth of grete groun mustarde. a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) l. 1155 He was grete born[e]. 1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 66 There is nothing more allied to faction then for a great-begotten to prevaile in governement before his time. 1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 39 Some great-borne Frenchman. 1711 Fingall MSS in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 137 His great-triumphing army. 1832 J. Hogg in Fraser's Mag. Nov. 454/1 Flora is a great-born lady, and doubtless the daughter of a king. 1851 T. A. Buckley tr. Homer Iliad ii. 28 Great-counselling Jove. 1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice III. App. 207 Prince Arthur..is more especially the magnificence, or literally, ‘great doing’ of the kingdom of England. (b) In complementary relationship to past participial adjectives. great-grown adj. now literary rare ΚΠ c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) iv. 30 Na our grete growin men, na men our fat. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vii. 117 He helde a shorte grete growen spere, sharp grounden. 1596 M. Drayton Mortimeriados sig. P3^v The tree which serueth for a shade, Whose great growne body doth repulse the wind. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) iv. x. 31 Away..And take the great-growne Traytor vnawares. View more context for this quotation 1751 J. Cleland Mem. Coxcomb iii. 327 Men are only great grown children. 1836 T. Wyse Educ. Reform ii. 434 The child strikes at what is nearest, and revenges on chairs and tables blows he has inflicted on himself. So is it with the great grown child, uncivilised man. 1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. II. v. 13 Shall wend, with them, now great-grown, Sigamer; Who newly, of Heremod, received manly arms. 1933 J. G. Underhill tr. L. F. de V. Carpio King, Greatest Alcalde ii, in B. H. Clark World Drama 108/2 For love is born of a great-grown desire. † great-made adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 148 All great made Dogs for the Wolfe and such like beastes. 1608 J. Day Law-trickes sig. D^v You are a priuate bit, Kept for some great made Diues. a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) v. 13 Oft have I seen encreasing riches grow To be their great-made Owners overthrow. (c) In complementary relationship to present participles, as great-looking, great-tasting, etc. ΚΠ 1857 R. B. Hayes Diary 7 May (1922) I. 514 Mr. Everett is an erect, well-formed, middle-sized man..handsome, but not great-looking. 1860 G. W. Thornbury Turkish Life & Char. 47 Constantinople,..that great-sounding, many-memoried word. 1928 G. H. Ruth Babe Ruth's Own Bk. Baseball vii. 103 I've seen some great looking kids come up to the big leagues. 1989 Bon Appétit Sept. 101/1 Finally, great-tasting smoked sausage that's 90% fat free. 2005 Ebony Sept. 64 Try a great-smelling deep-conditioner that instantly detangles, smoothes and moisturizes your hair. b. Forming parasynthetic adjectives and derived nouns. (a) great-armed adj. ΚΠ 1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 36 Hir pendant feathers, shorte, and great armed, large wide foote, with slender stretchers and talons. 1799 R. Southey Poems II. 95 I wish It were a great-arm'd chair! 1874 Proc. Celebration Centenary R. Tannahill p. xiii, in R. Tannahill Poems & Songs Both sides of the avenue are sheltered by great-armed trees. 1921 R. H. Gabriel Evol. Long Island xvi. 176 The beautiful hills of Shelter Island, topped with a great-armed windmill. 2009 K. Whitfield In Great Waters xix. 200 Out in the bay, the deepsmen seemed vast, long-bodied like horses and great-armed like blacksmiths. great-boned adj. ΚΠ c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 139 Gret bonyd. 1556 T. Hill tr. B. Cocles Brief Epitomye Phisiognomie xxxii. sig. E.ii^v The armes croked, in respecte of the stature, or greate boned, declare those persons to be vnthankeful, shameles, couetouse. 1597 J. Carpenter Preparatiue to Contentation ii. 12 Isachar, though a great boned Asse, shall couch downe betweene two burthens. a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 51 A man..not great-boned nor large-sized. 1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. I. ii. 114 Such an animal will grow fat in the same pasture that would starve an ill made, great boned one. 1853 J. Kendall Rambles Evangelist xi. 66 I dismounted, leading my tall great-boned mare. 1919 G. W. Ogden Land of Last Chance v. 67 His wrists were strong, great boned, and painfully red. 2000 Houston (Texas) Chron. (Nexis) 26 Nov. (Texas Mag.) 4 Grizzled farmers raising great-boned arms to heaven in despair. great-breasted adj. ΚΠ 1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Pectorosus, Great breasted. 1675 D. Manly Hexham's Copious Eng. & Netherdutch Dict. (new ed.) Groot van Borsten, Great Breasted. 1880 A. G. Shiell Year in India iii. 65 A large-limbed, great-breasted woman, with full lips and heavy eyelids. 1926 Winnipeg Free Press 6 Aug. Great-breasted things with sweeping pinions set To rhythm; curves of slow, majestic flight. 2010 W. T. Vollmann Kissing Mask (2011) xxii. 276 A great-breasted, great-buttocked prehistoric fertility goddess. great-buttocked adj. ΚΠ 1574 J. Baret Aluearie B 1496 Great buttocked, lumbosus. 1677 E. Coles Dict. Eng.-Lat. Great-buttock'd. 1974 M. Shechner Joyce in Nighttown iv. 187 Budgen's work..included a quickly sketched, great-buttocked nude. 2010 W. T. Vollmann Kissing Mask (2011) xxii. 276 A great-breasted, great-buttocked prehistoric fertility goddess. great-eared adj. ΚΠ a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 8^v Auriculatus, gretered. 1678 J. P. tr. J. Johnstone Descr. Nature Four-footed Beasts ii. xv. 87/2 Lesse he is then the rest mouse-headed, great eared [L. magnis auriculis]. 1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 45 The Great-Eared Owl..is not much inferior in size to an Eagle. 1848 C. W. Webber Adventures Camanche Country vi. 48 We saw the great-eared rabbit, one of the swiftest animals. 1934 Sci. Monthly July 30/2 This long-legged, great-eared animal suggests a gigantic, stilt-legged, short-tailed edition of the red fox. 2010 A. Fabian Skull Collectors ii. 64 Townsend gobbled up what he found on that trip, discovering a shrew mole,..a great-eared bat, [etc.]. great-grained adj. ΚΠ 1608 Closet for Ladies & Gentlewomen 19 Take two pound of Barbarie Suger, great grained, clarified with the whites of two egges, and boyle it. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. ii. i. 88 Hart, and red Deere..a strong great grained meat. 1798 R. Jameson Outl. Mineral. Shetland Islands 91 It is generally found in fissures, which traverse the great grained granite, in all directions. 1858 R. T. S. Lowell New Priest in Conception Bay I. vii. 59 [They] had looked some time before they could make out any thing like letters on the great grained and wrinkled, and riven surface. 2003 N. Ogata in A. Gómez-Pompa et al. Lowland Maya Area xxiii. 418 Crop plant export occurred from western Ecuador to Peru and Middle America (sweet manioc,..early great-grained corn). great-headed adj. ΚΠ a1475 ( S. Scrope tr. Dicts & Sayings Philosophers (Bodl. 943) (1999) 48 (MED) Ipocras was litille of bodie, corbe, & grete heded. a1500 Robin Hood & Monk in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. 97 Beside hym stod a gret-hedid munke. 1530 in D. Laing Reg. Domus de Soltre (1861) 156 xxv^c greit hiddit nalis. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 84 Grey grete-hedede quenes. 1743 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds I. 8 The Great King-Fisher..is great-headed, short-necked. 1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 160 Pochard... Also called..Great-headed wigeon. 1928 Burlington Mag. Jan. 50/2 In the inter-sections of the arches are great-headed crocodiles and flying Garudas. 2009 R. A. T. George Veg. Seed Production (ed. 3) xiv. 259 Great-headed garlic..is propagated from cloves which are less pungent than garlic. great-leaved adj. ΚΠ 1590 J. Hammon tr. B. Aneau Αλεκτορ i. iii. 18 Wee rode cheerefullie one morning vnder the shaddow of the great leaued trees. 1676 M. Cook Manner of raising Forrest-trees i. 2 If you bud the great-leaved Elm upon the small-leaved whilest it is young and full of sap, it will have larger leaves. 1768 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. (ed. 8) I. at Mildew This dew has been observed in the great leaved Cherries. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 200 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The great-leaved magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) is a superb tree of tropical appearance. 1933 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 20 535 The distinctive form and color of its leaves at once distinguish it from the other great-leaved species. 2001 R. Heller Crucifixion Barbecue iv. 79 Its legacy continues to this day, flourishing amidst the great-leaved tobacco, yellowing in the fierce, white sun. great-lipped adj. ΚΠ 1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Becudo Great-lipped. 1615 J. Loiseau de Tourval tr. H. de Feynes Exact Surv. E. Indies 21 I entred into that [Kingdome] of Malebar, where they are exceeding black, but yet not curled, flat nosde, or great lipt, as the Negroes be. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. xvi. 279 All are found to be small of stature, curle-pated,..great-lip't, white-toothed, black-eyed. 1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (new ed.) II. 147 The Great-lipped Mullet. 1892 A. W. Rollins From Palm to Glacier 127 Sometimes a great snowy mass..glides slowly past..; sometimes one arches over like a great-lipped shell. 1995 T. Hughes in Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 26 Feb. (Review Suppl.) 32 A colossal snake, looped and coiled across the map, with a huge great-lipped mouth resting on the edge of the sea. great-minded adj. ΚΠ a1586 [see great-mindedness n.]. 1594 G. Gifford Treat. True Fortitude sig. C2^v The godly great minded man, ouerthroweth the enemies of God. 1681 Brief Acct. Designs Papists against Earl of Shaftsbury 3 This conduced nothing to make this free Generous and great minded Person to crouch and stoop to the exorbitant pleasure of those he judged Enemies. 1754 Hist. Ministerial Conduct Chief Governors Ireland 85 These truly great-minded men could look into the breasts of the people, and see the glow of affection that burns towards them. 1808 Anticipation in Politics, Commerce & Finance, during Present Crisis 19 Mar. 24/1 We hope that this subject will be viewed in that great-minded way that such an object deserves. 1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda IV. viii. lxii. 233 Always poor..but..great-minded. 1927 A. E. Hull Music ii. ix. 171 This great-minded musician [sc. Liszt], too versatile for many minds to grasp, has never been accorded the honour due to him. 2011 Queensland Country Life (Nexis) 24 Nov. 83 I really think a lot of this mare, she is great-minded and really balanced, she rates cattle so well and is happy to just sit on their hip. great-mindedness n. ΚΠ a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. xvi. sig. K6^v For in her euery thing was goodly, and stately; yet so, that it might seeme that great-mindednes was but the auncient-bearer to humblenes. 1830 Westm. Rev. Apr. 311 Záboj is represented as..in the midst of all..exercising wonderful great-mindedness towards the fallen. a1832 J. Bentham Deontology (1834) II. i. 62 Magnanimity is a word which, for popular use, might be conveniently translated into great-mindedness. 1929 C. F. Thwing Educ. & Relig. ii. 43 Carlyle, a John the Baptist, proclaiming his own coming indeed, a combination of great-mindedness and of shattered nerves. 2001 J. S. Luke & D. W. Hart in T. L. Cooper Handbk. Admin. Ethics (ed. 2) xxv. 530 It includes such characteristics as magnanimity, or great-mindedness, as well as honesty and acting consistently with high standards. great-named adj. now literary [In later use translating ancient Greek μεγαλώνυμος.] ΚΠ c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) ii. l. 881 (MED) Looke that ye lese not youre grete named loos. a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 87 In his tyme was not Flaundres so rich ne so grete-named as it is now. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiii How many great named and many great in worthynesse losed. 1867 L.-H. Rudd tr. Aristophanes Clouds in Eight Comedies 145 And thee, great-named [Gk. μεγαλώνυμον], who feedest all. 2005 J. E. Thomas tr. Sophocles Antigone 18 Since great-named [Gk. μεγαλώνυμος] Victory came,..let us enjoy oblivion of the recent wars. great-nosed adj. ΚΠ 1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. R.iij^v/1 Great nosed, naso. 1634 W. Saltonstall Clavis ad Portam sig. C8 Great nosed. 1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie ii. 158 He is great-nosed. 1753 J. Stirling tr. Horace Satires i. ii. 196/2 in Horace's Wks. II. i She is low hipped, great nosed, with a..splay foot. 1832 Polish Chiefs II. ii. 21 The officer wrote a pass for them, describing Bill as a long-bearded ourang-outang, and his man, as a great-nosed Scotchman, cut shorter. 1902 F. S. Peer Cross Country with Horse & Hound xxix. 330 Several hounds rush to her side, Trumpeter among others; but even that great-nosed hound cannot hit it off. 2009 Telegram & Gaz. (Mass.) (Nexis) 29 Sept. c3 His big, wooded backyard had an expert team of long-eared, great-nosed, tough dogs that lived to hunt. great-paunched adj. ΚΠ 1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. bvii There were fryres two or thre In fayth as grett panched as he With bellies more then a barell. 1794 J. Ebers Vollständiges Wörterbuch der Englischen Sprache II. 325/2 Great paunched, dickbäuchig. 1922 N. Springer Blood Ship ii. 16 A tall, great paunched man, who bulked gigantic as he perched on a high stool at the end of the bar. † great-reasoned adj. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes 14 b/2 Grete reasoned men and phylosophers haue dowted therof. great-sized adj. ΚΠ 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 141 A great siz'd monster of ingratitudes. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. xi. 26 Thou great siz'd coward. View more context for this quotation 1696 Tryal & Condemnation Sir W. Parkyns 24 They were no great sized Horses. 1796 J. Donaldson Mod. Agric. III. xxi. 206 Great sized, large boned, coarse looking animals, were prevalent in all the better pastures. 1832 Edinb. Encycl. (Amer. ed.) XVI. 534/2 Even great-sized feet..are highly praised. 1919 Dixie Beekeeper (Waycross, Georgia) Sept. 4/1 Sometimes a great sized swarm is dumped into any empty hive. 2012 Hervey Bay (Queensland) Observer (Nexis) 20 Jan. 38 Some great-sized whiting off the sand banks and flats. great-souled adj. ΚΠ ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads i. 4 Why should the great-soul'd Greekes Supply thy lost prise, out of theirs? 1725 R. Wolcott Poet. Medit. 65 Making his Sword at each enforced blow Send great Soul'd Heroes to the shades below. 1848 T. A. Buckley tr. Homer Iliad 248 The great-souled son of Oïleus. 1930 O. A. Sherrard Life J. Wilkes iv. 41 The hectic bravado of youth produces a feeling of great-souled defiance at twenty-six. 2007 P. Parsons City Sharp-nosed Fish xi. 187 Were you born under Aries? Expect to be brilliant,..great-souled, unstable, [etc.]. great-spirited adj. ΚΠ 1616 T. Gainsford Rich Cabinet f. 164 There hath beene as valiant, wise, godly, magnaninous, pollitick, iudicious, great spirited, and learned women as men. 1731 Remarks Trag. Eurydice 13 He is a just, merciful, great-spirited Monarch. 1808 T. M. Harris Disc. delivered at Plymouth 10 The settlement which had been formed..in the vicinity of the Pequots, roused the indignation of that great-spirited and warlike nation. 1886 Cent. Mag. Nov. 22/2 This great-spirited child, battling year after year against his evil star. 1958 P. A. W. Wallace 30,000 Miles with J. Heckewelder Introd. 26 An impulse was released that was to give this small but great-spirited church a beneficent influence throughout the world. 2011 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 19 Dec. a9 Please, Santa Feans, find out about one of the many great-spirited teachers who educate our children. great-witted adj. now literary rare ΚΠ c1450 J. Metham Physiognomy in Wks. (1916) 118 (MED) Tweyn scolerrys off maystyr Ypocras, the qwyche were gret wyttyd men. a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 138 A grete-wittid man sayd þus, [etc.]. ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Aiij^v A great wytted man may sone be enrychyd That laboryth and studyeth for ryches only. 1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) iii. iv. i. i. 689 Great witted Aristotles workes are as much authenticall to them as Scriptures. 1998 P. Fallon News of World 128 I could have followed, scat to scat, or fitted my footprints to their bruting of the beaten path, signs of great-witted hoof and contradicting dew claw. 2006 W. Swanscombe Fresh Flesh 4 Mina and I..thought she meant to run for freedom; and that is what a lesser-hearted and lesser-witted woman might have done... Artemisia, great-hearted and great-witted, did nothing of the kind. (b) great-bellied adj. having a large belly (in various senses); pregnant; also figurative and in figurative contexts. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective] greatc1175 with childc1175 with childc1300 baggeda1400 bounda1400 pregnant?a1425 quicka1450 greaterc1480 heavyc1480 teeming1530 great-bellied1533 big1535 boundenc1540 impregnate1540 great-wombeda1550 young with child1566 gravid1598 pregnate1598 pagled1599 enceinte1602 child-great1605 conceived1637 big-bellieda1646 brooding1667 in the (also a) family way1688 in the (also that) way1741 undelivered1799 ensient1818 enwombeda1822 in a delicate condition1827 gestant1851 in pod1890 up the (also a) pole1918 in a particular condition1922 preg?1927 in the spud line1937 up the spout1937 preggy1938 up the stick1941 preggers1942 in pig1945 primigravid1949 preggo1951 in a certain condition1958 gestating1961 up the creek1961 in the (pudding) cluba1966 gravidated- the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [adjective] > eventful eventfula1616 great-bellied1647 crowded1791 venturous1813 eventive1843 chanceful1849 fateful1886 incidented1898 1533 T. Paynell tr. U. von Hutten De Morbo Gallico xvii. f. 41^v A certayne great belyed & fatte abbot. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 116^v The Mares..to haue large bodyes,..greate bellyed, with large and square brest and buttockes. 1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 552 Plato..requireth that great bellied women should giue themselues to walking. 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Matt. vi. 34) Thou knowest not what this great-bellied day may bring forth. 1722 D. Turner Art of Surg. II. vii. 130 Fractures of pregnant or great-bellied Women, are more difficultly united and consolidated than others. 1755 World 27 Mar. 83 The beautiful vases, busts and statues..are flung into the garret as lumber, to make room for great-bellied Chinese pagods, red dragons, [etc.]. 1812 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Fox Answer Apol. against J. Osorius in L. Richmond Fathers Eng. Church VIII. 628 What monster do these great-bellied hills calve Out at the length? 1872 S. Powers Afoot & Alone xix. 255 Great-bellied, tranquil cows, waddling home from the hillsides. 1912 G. Moore Hail & Farewell! Salve xvii. 312 You remember Northcote—a great-bellied, big, ugly fellow, whom we used to call the Gorilla. 1972 U. K. Le Guin Farthest Shore 158 A magicians' workroom cluttered with retorts and alembics and great-bellied, crook-necked bottles. 2006 Guardian (Nexis) 28 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) 101 The Goddess of Willendorf is a great-bellied giver of life and a great-breasted source of sustenance. great-eyed adj. having large or prominent eyes; figurative far-seeing, taking a broad view. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > by size, shape, etc. > having goggle-eyedc1384 well-eyed1483 pink-eyed1519 hollow-eyeda1529 small-eyed1555 great-eyed1558 bird-eyed1564 out-eyed1570 large-eyed1575 full-eyed1581 bright-eyed1590 wall-eyed1590 beetle-eyed1594 fire-eyed?1594 young-eyed1600 open-eyed1601 soft-eyed1606 narrow-eyed1607 broad-eyed?1611 saucer-eyed1612 ox-eyed1621 pig-eyed1655 glare-eyed1683 pit-eyed1696 dove-eyed1717 laughing-eyed1784 almond1786 wide-eyed1789 moon-eyed1790 big-eyed1792 gooseberry-eyed1796 red-eyed1800 unsealed1800 screw-eyed1810 starry-eyed1818 pinkie-eyed1824 pop-eyed1830 bead-eyed1835 fishy-eyed1836 almond-eyed1849 boopic1854 sharp-set1865 bug-eyed1872 beady-eyed1873 bias-eyed1877 blank-eyed1881 gape-eyed1889 glass-eyed1889 stone-eyed1890 pie-eyed1900 slitty-eyed1908 steely-eyed1964 megalopic1985 the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > absence of prejudice > [adjective] unpossesseda1586 affectionless1595 respectless1598 unprejudicating1602 spacious1609 unprejudicate1609 unprejudicated1609 undifferencing?1624 unprepossessed1629 imprejudicate1640 unprejudiced1641 unprejudicial1641 unpreoccupated1641 unsuperstitious1652 moderate1654 unforestalled1657 unengaged1659 equipondious1661 uncaptivated1678 unbiased1686 unbigoted1711 Whiggish1715 open-minded1748 progressive1780 liberal1781 prejudiceless1830 broad1832 great-eyed1850 synoptic1852 undogmatic1857 undogmatical1863 superstitionless1879 race-blind1900 personless1932 verlig1968 1558 F. Withers tr. J. ab Indagine Briefe Introd. Art Chiromancy ii. sig. I.ii^v Them that be borne apt or diligent, great eyed, and greate lips. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xiv. 193 The great-eyd Iuno smild. 1709 A. Hill Full Acct. Ottoman Empire xiv. 110 So vast a Value do the Turks Profess for Great Ey'd Ladies. 1850 R. W. Emerson Plato in Representative Men ii. 81 The great-eyed Plato proportioned the lights and shades after the genius of our life. 1904 R. Shackleton Great Adventurer xxvii. 332 A great-eyed gargoyle jutted from a house of faded shabbiness. 2011 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 11 May go9 The Eagles' great-eyed, open-beaked heads weren't sitting on their shoulders, where heads are supposed to be. † great-kinned adj. Obsolete rare of great or noble birth. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of birth well-bornOE ethelbornOE athelOE high-bornc1275 noblec1300 great-kinned?c1450 nobly-born1586 ingenious1638 ingenuous1638 gently-born1871 thegn-born1874 hochgeboren1930 ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 7502 A grete kynd [L. natu nobilis] man and a wyse. 1557 in H. Fishwick Pleadings & Depositions Duchy Court Lancaster (1899) III. (modernized text) 233 Plaintiff is a very poor man..and unable to defend the said suit against defendant who is rich and great kinned. great-mouthed adj. (a) having a large mouth; (b) loud-voiced, vocal; †(c) boastful, bragging (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > boasting or boastfulness > [adjective] > boastful boastyc1300 bragc1315 boastfulc1380 great-moutheda1425 boggishc1440 avauntinga1513 windy1513 blazing1549 thrasonical1564 vauntful1590 vousty1596 braggadocian1599 self-boasting1599 braggart1604 braggartly?1611 braggadocio1615 braggeda1616 ampullous1622 rodomontado1645 vapouring1649 thrasonic1657 rodomontade1660 flounder-mouthed1663 fanfaron1670 vaunty1724 boastivea1763 Falstaffian1809 bounceable1831 jactant1839 braggadocious1853 blow-hard1855 loud-mouthed1867 flannel-mouthed1884 bull-mouthed1896 poppy-show1896 Tartarin1903 a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 10^v Buctatus, grete mowþede. 1591 T. Cokayne Short Treat. Hunting sig. D2^v The otter is chiefly to bee hunted with slow houndes, great mouthed. 1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 215 Great-mouthed Gloriosoes. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 160 This village Dogge ought to be..great mouthed, or barking bigly. 1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 150 The great-mouthed, smooth, oval Dolium. 1801 F. Barrett Magus ii. xi. 95 The great-mouthed school philosophers may mutter or scoff thereat. 1899 C. Morris Little ‘Jim Crow’ 82 She gave a great roar of laughter, and..fairly howled with great-mouthed enjoyment. 2010 M. Forbeck & J. Grubb Ghosts of Ascalon 86 It was a frog-like being..a great-mouthed head topping a round, neckless body. great-stomached adj. rare †(a) high-spirited (see stomach n. 6) (obsolete); (b) having a large stomach. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > lively, vivacious, or animated jollyc1325 lightsomea1382 kedgec1440 fledge?1461 crank1499 frisky?a1500 sprightya1522 frisk1528 sprightful1550 quick-spirited1552 cranking1567 lively1567 quick-sprighted1579 aleger1590 bright-eyed1590 firking1594 sprightly1594 spirituous1601 great-stomached1607 spirity1615 spiritous1628 lifesomec1635 vivacious1645 rattlingc1650 quick-set1653 airy1654 animated1660 sparklinga1704 bob1721 vivace1721 animate1801 high-lifed1859 sassy1859 chippy1865 sparky1883 high-keyed1893 high life1903 peppy1914 pepful1915 jazzy1917 upbeat1947 zappy1969 sparkly1979 the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective] jollyc1325 kedgec1440 fledge?1461 frisky?a1500 sprightya1522 frisk1528 sprightful1550 quick-spirited1552 lively1567 quick-sprighted1579 alive-like1582 aleger1590 firking1594 sprightly1594 sportive1595 mettled1599 alives-like1601 spirited1601 spirituous1601 mettle1606 great-stomached1607 free-spirited1613 spirity1615 spiritous1628 vivacious1645 rattlingc1650 sportful1650 airy1654 animated1660 racy1671 mettlesome1673 sparklinga1704 raffing?1719 bob1721 vivace1721 alive1748 lifey1793 spunky1831 gilpie1835 bubbling1860 chippy1865 bubblesome1879 colourful1882 sparky1883 bubbly1912 jazzy1917 spritzy1973 sparkly1979 kicking1983 the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [adjective] > types of great-wombedc1325 wombedc1325 big-bellied?c1475 gorbellieda1529 tunnisha1529 bellieda1533 gorbelly1532 tun-bellied1551 out-bellied1570 paunch-bellied1586 paunchyc1586 big-bellied1592 round-bellied1606 gutty1607 tun-gutted1607 ventripotent1611 swag-bellieda1616 tun-grown1628 bottle-bellied1646 pot-bellied1647 belly-mountained1654 pauncheda1657 sag-bellied1665 barrel-bellied1694 ventricous1702 poke pudding1705 paunch-gutted1726 pot-gutted1731 paunchfula1763 pottle-bellied1777 tunnified1806 tun-likea1813 shad-bellied1832 ventricose1843 bow-windowed1849 bloated-bellied1871 barrel-stomached1884 stomachy1888 well-stomached1896 jelly-bellied1899 narrow-gutted1903 pus-gutted1915 great-stomached1944 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 306 More liberty: wherewithal a generous and great stomacked beaste is much delighted. 1944 M. Shulman Feather Merchants xvii. 118 ‘A great-minded man,’ I admitted. ‘Great-stomached, too.’ 1996 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Aug. d1 He's a great-stomached and gregarious and extremely hard-working fellow. great-wombed adj. now literary having a large abdomen; having a fertile womb; also figurative and in figurative contexts. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > belly or abdomen > [adjective] > types of great-wombedc1325 wombedc1325 big-bellied?c1475 gorbellieda1529 tunnisha1529 bellieda1533 gorbelly1532 tun-bellied1551 out-bellied1570 paunch-bellied1586 paunchyc1586 big-bellied1592 round-bellied1606 gutty1607 tun-gutted1607 ventripotent1611 swag-bellieda1616 tun-grown1628 bottle-bellied1646 pot-bellied1647 belly-mountained1654 pauncheda1657 sag-bellied1665 barrel-bellied1694 ventricous1702 poke pudding1705 paunch-gutted1726 pot-gutted1731 paunchfula1763 pottle-bellied1777 tunnified1806 tun-likea1813 shad-bellied1832 ventricose1843 bow-windowed1849 bloated-bellied1871 barrel-stomached1884 stomachy1888 well-stomached1896 jelly-bellied1899 narrow-gutted1903 pus-gutted1915 great-stomached1944 the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [adjective] greatc1175 with childc1175 with childc1300 baggeda1400 bounda1400 pregnant?a1425 quicka1450 greaterc1480 heavyc1480 teeming1530 great-bellied1533 big1535 boundenc1540 impregnate1540 great-wombeda1550 young with child1566 gravid1598 pregnate1598 pagled1599 enceinte1602 child-great1605 conceived1637 big-bellieda1646 brooding1667 in the (also a) family way1688 in the (also that) way1741 undelivered1799 ensient1818 enwombeda1822 in a delicate condition1827 gestant1851 in pod1890 up the (also a) pole1918 in a particular condition1922 preg?1927 in the spud line1937 up the spout1937 preggy1938 up the stick1941 preggers1942 in pig1945 primigravid1949 preggo1951 in a certain condition1958 gestating1961 up the creek1961 in the (pudding) cluba1966 gravidated- c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7731 Suiþe þilke [read þikke] mon he was & of grete strengþe, Gret wombede & ballede. a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 9 Bafer, gret wombed. a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) v. l. 1906 Gret wamyt [a1500 Nero gret wayme; a1530 Royal grete warme] wiþ child þis lady wes. ?a1579 Bk. Howth in J. S. Brewer & W. Bullen Cal. Carew MSS (1871) VI. 70 (modernized text) This King Henry was a man..more of kind than of gluttony, great wombed, for he was in likeness to a prince. 1876 J. Todhunter Laurella II. 128 Them followed odorous pears,..Which seasoning hung, great-wombed, till they had seen August's last sultriness. 1910 Now June 99/2 When the great-wombed sea Gave birth to the rock-ribbed shore. 1986 J. Canan Her Magnificent Body iii. 99 On the vast arcs of energy, certain and turbulent, or lost, tossed in your Void, Great Wombed Mother. c. Preceding a numeral, denoting a related larger number. Now chiefly historical. great dozen n. rare a gross, 144. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > a gross gross1411 great dozen1474 1474 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 31/1 A grete dosane of pewder weschel and xx tyn stopis. 1735 W. Pardon Dyche's New Gen. Eng. Dict. Gross, twelve Dozen, by some called the large or great Dozen of any thing, whether by Measure or Tale, as Buttons, Ferrets, etc. 1921 Midland Druggist & Pharmaceut. Rev. Oct. 382 From the experience of pharmacists many physicians would find it difficult to handle even Dr. Baldwin's ‘great dozen’. 2007 M. Hatch Hatch's Order of Magnitude xiv. 160 Gross/great dozen (144). great gross n. twelve gross, 1,728. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > a gross > twelve gross great gross1545 1545 Rates Custome House sig. a.iiii^v Broches of Latten the greate groce. 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. ii. ii. 148 500 of their principall Spaniards..drew toward a guard we kept betweene Rincorran and the Towne (leauing a great grosse for their seconds, vnder the walles). 1640 in J. Entick London (1776) II. 166 Catling, the great gross, qt. 12 small gross of knots. 1701 E. Hatton Merchant's Mag. ii. 14 In adding hereof, you must for every 12 carry 1 to the Dozens place, for every 12 Dozen 1 to the Small Gross, for every 12 Small Gross 1 to the Great Gross. 1745 Accomplish'd Housewife 122 Having the Price of one single Thing, to find the Price of a Dozen...Or, by the Price of the small Gross, to find the Price of the great Gross, or 144 Dozens. 1822 B. Stevens New & Conc. Syst. Arithm. 232 To find the value of goods sold by the great gross. 1940 H. McKay Odd Numbers 211 There are actually traces of the scale of 12 (the duodecimal scale) in our language. We have the dozen (= 12), the gross (= 12²), and the great gross (= 12³). great hundred n. (a) a ‘long hundred’, 120 (abbreviated great C); (b) 112 (the number of pounds in a hundredweight). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > hundred > hundred and twenty great hundreda1450 long hundred1683 a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xiii. l. 450 (MED) Not passeng Of Men Six score Be þe grete hundred, lasse ne more. a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 18 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV The trewe C is v^xx [sc. 5 times 20]..but and a man mak in hys couenawnt to haue the gret hondrythe and xxi for xx, then he most haue vi^xx and vi for the C. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 13 §12 The nomber of the C. of shepe..in some countrey the great C where .vj. Score is accompted for the C. 1684 N.H. Compleat Tradesman xiii. 59 At 4 d. 3 q. the Pound, what is that the great Hundred? Look in the Table for 4 d. 3 q. in the first Colume, and against it in the second, you shall find 2 l. 4 s. 4 d. and so much will 112 l. cost. 1799 J. Fuller Hist. Berwick upon Tweed iv. 253 Calf-skins, salt and dried, of strangers, outwards, by the great hundred—0 0 6. 1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs ii. 112 120 Ells, or one great hundred. 1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. x. 171 The hundred yards of canvas are the great hundred of 120. 1903 World's Work Sept. 358/1 A tax of 10d. per great hundred, and of 5 per cent, on poultry, would yield a gross revenue of £788,771 and £48,953 respectively. 1944 ‘M. na Gopaleen’ in Irish Times 8 Dec. 3/7 With every export of beast, man and great hundred of eggs, we were permanently expatriating a quantum of the essential constituents of the Irish earth. † great million n. Obsolete rare a million million. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > hundred and over > [noun] > million million great million1635 billion1690 trimillion1707 1635 A. Gil Sacred Philos. Holy Script. i. xiii. 101 1124002590827719680000. that is, one thousand one hundred twentie foure millions of great millions, two thousand five hundred and ninetie great millions, eight hundred twenty seven thousand seven hundred and nineteene millions, sixe hundred and fourescore thousand. d. In sense A. 12. See also great-aunt n. (a) great-nephew n. a nephew's or niece's son. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > nephew > one's son's or daughter's nephew great-nephew1580 petty nephew1611 mokopuna1824 1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 143 Edward..withoute delaye pronounced Edgar the outlawes sonne, and his greate Nephew, to bee heire of the Kingdome. 1689 A. Wood Life 20 Dec. The said Mathew Slade also was great nephew..of Mathew Slade who wrote against Vorstius. 1739 Scots Mag. June 288/1 The Prince of Sultzbach..is his great nephew by his sister only. 1895 F. Pollock & F. W. Maitland Hist. Eng. Law II. 294 In a parentelic scheme my great-nephew, since he springs from my father, is nearer to me than my first cousin. 1930 D. L. Sayers Strong Poison xx. 257 She also made a will, dividing her property unequally between her two great- nephews. 2007 Church Times 8 June 30/4 A letter sent by Dietrich Bonhoeffer..to his infant great-nephew on the occasion of his baptism. great-niece n. a nephew's or niece's daughter. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > nephew or niece > [noun] > niece > one's son's or daughter's niece great-niecea1602 mokopuna1824 a1602 W. Perkins Lect. Three First Chapters Reuelation (1604) ii. 196 They..hold that the vncle may marry his neece or his great neece. 1779 F. Hervey et al. Naval Hist. Great Brit. III. v. ii. 486 He bequeathed that noble town residence, to Thomas Archer,..who had married his great niece. 1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 481/2 The great-niece of Mrs. Barbauld. 1948 H. Martindale Some Victorian Portraits & Others 30 To-day four of her nieces and one great-niece are trying to carry on her work. 2011 F. Lareau My Polish-American Mother 167 I came across a Christmas card from her niece. In the card was a picture of her two great nieces. greatsire n. now rare (a) a forefather (in early use spec. Adam), a grandfather (archaic); (b) an animal's grandsire. ΚΠ 1615 T. Adams Englands Sicknes ii. 92 Wee deriue it from our great Sire Adam, with more infallible conueyance then euer sonne inherited his fathers lands. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v Our Primitive great Sire, to meet His god-like Guest, walks forth, without more train. View more context for this quotation 1695 E. Settle Augusta Lachrymans 9 Our Great Sire, by the Creator grac'd, In His Vntill'd, Vnforfeit Eden plac'd. 1704 N. N. tr. T. Boccalini Polit. Touch-stone 95 in Advts. from Parnassus iii He prov'd himself a Grand Child worthy his great Syre by his Mother's side. 1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) i. ii. 35 And will not my great sires leap from the vault, Where lie two doges who preceded me, And pluck me down amongst them? 1844 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 582/1 And rusty armour hang around, that her greatsires had worn. 1893 Wallace's Monthly Aug. 416/1 The first dam of Globard is that other greatsire, George Wilkes. 1922 H. Cox Chasing & Racing ix. 118 From her original stock and her great sire Cackler of Notts are descended nearly every terrier of the breed that is entitled to the prefix ‘Champion’. 1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake i. 68 That same hot coney a la Zingara which our own little Graunya..dished up to the greatsire of Oscar, that son of a Coole. great-uncle n. a father's or mother's uncle. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] > great- or grand-uncle great-uncle1436 grand-unclec1475 1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We by th'avys of..our grete ouncle that Cardynel [Beaufort]..have notable purveyd [etc.]. 1437 in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) V. 438/2 His Uncle Humfrey Duc of Gloucestre, his grete Uncle H. Cardinal of England [etc.]. a1547 Will Hen. VIII in J. Pote Hist. Windsor Castle (1749) 51 The tombes and aultars of King Henry VI. and also of King Edward IV. our great Uncle and graunt~father. 1627 G. Richardson Of State of Europe ix. 58 Philip the second, sonne to Lewis, son to Amadis the eight, & great vncle to Charles the second. 1780 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal iv. i. 43 Here's my great uncle Sir Richard Ravelin. 1861 D. G. Rossetti Early Ital. Poets ii. 437 Geri, son of Bello Alighieri, and Dante's great-uncle. 1896 Daily News 23 Apr. 5/4 The Prince de Joinville, at once great~uncle and grandfather of the bride. 1943 W. Stegner Big Rock Candy Mountain viii. 422 I knew it some, having..second and third cousins, and great-aunts and great-uncles, in a dozen towns where Norwegian is still spoken as much as English. 2011 Vanity Fair Sept. 338 The nightclub's acquisition in 1950 by my great-uncle Martín Fox. (b) With compounds of grand- comb. form. great-grandame n. archaic = great-grandmother n. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandparent > [noun] > grandmother > great-grandmother great-grandmother1530 great-grandame1538 1538 T. Elyot Dict. Proauia, my great grandame. 1543 Necessary Doctr. Christen Man sig. k.iv No man shall marry with his mother, hys graundame, his great graundame. 1665 M. Nedham Medela Medicinæ 33 Diseases of the Female Sex grown more severe than they were in the days of their great Grandames. 1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. C^v We have our Fore-fathers and Great Grand-dames all before us, as they were in Chaucer's Days. 1804 Public Characters 1803–1804‎* xiii. 211 Many of our young ladies doubtless burn with the Same ardour for wealth, splendour, and a ducal coronet, that their grandmothers and great grand-dames exhibited half a century ago. 1858 W. H. Ainsworth Mervyn Clitheroe iii. ix. 303 Your great-grandame, Honoria, Lady Wilburton, was Mrs. Mervyn's aunt. 1901 B. Macfadden Athlete's Conquest (rev. ed.) ix. 211 My daughters shall grow into great grandames. 1921 Flower Grower Apr. 82/2 Were royal great grand-dame more gay Than I with this my flower display? great-grandchild n. a grandchild's child, a great-grandson or great-granddaughter. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > great-grandchild great-grandchild1570 ier-oe1701 1570 A. Golding tr. D. Chytræus Postil 82 The offspring of Heber the great graundchilde of Sem the sonne of Noe. 1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 293 In the same Chappell lyeth Iohn Dering..who was great grandchilde to the foresaid Richard Dering of Surenden. 1753 Scots Mag. Mar. 158/1 He has left 113 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 1827 T. Jarman Powell's Ess. Learning of Devises (ed. 3) II. 301 In Hussey v. Berkeley, Lord Northington expressed an opinion that the word grandchildren would, without further explanation, comprehend great grandchildren. 1920 P. P. Sheehan House with Bad Name xxxvii. 220 His mistress, great-grand-child of the first Tyrone he had ever served. 2012 L. Robertson Wicked Circle ii. 14 She's hoping for great-grandchildren. great-granddaughter n. a grandchild's daughter. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grand-daughter > great-granddaughter great-granddaughter1624 1624 W. Udall tr. W. Camden Hist. Life & Death Mary Stuart 236 Marie Queene of Scotland, the great grand-daughter of Henry the seuenth, by his eldest daughter. 1753 Scots Mag. Oct. 525/2 Miss Cromwel, great-granddaughter of Oliver Cromwel. 1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 29 A great-granddaughter of Henry VII, Lady Jane Grey. 1921 J. Galsworthy To Let 288 The union of the great-grand-daughter of ‘Superior Dosset’ with the heir of a ninth baronet. 1995 Georgia Straight 12 Oct. 19 (advt.) Elder Sq'ucwlikwana (Lucy Mack) is the great grand-daughter of Chief Suncwmay. great-grandnephew n. a nephew's or niece's grandson. ΚΠ 1708 A. Boyer tr. J. Donneau de Visé Hist. Siege of Toulon ii. 103 The Marquis of Sales was great grand Nephew to Sir Francis Sales, Bishop of Geneva. 1810 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 202/2 He must have been grand-nephew to Robert Fitz-Stephens..and great grand-nephew to the said Prince of South Wales. 1897 N. Amer. Rev. July 100 Mr. Smollett—not the historian and novelist, but his great-grandnephew—..dismissed it. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 Sept. c6 He was a great-grand-nephew of poet and diplomat James Russell Lowell and a distant cousin of the poet Amy Lowell. 2011 Vanity Fair Nov. 194/2 A splendid apartment..which was rebuilt in the early 20th-century by Count Giuseppe Primoli, a great-grandnephew of Napoleon's. great-grandniece n. a nephew's or niece's granddaughter. ΚΠ 1785 Scots Mag. Apr. 207/2 Mrs Jean Reid, in the 86th year of her age, great-grand-niece of Mr George Herriot. 1804 ‘E. de Acton’ Tale without Title I. 45 Trustee to her great-grand-niece. 1938 Life 11 Apr. 41/1 (caption) Ann Rutledge, as played by the original's great-grand-niece, listens to a sad poem Lincoln actually wrote in his youth. 2004 Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 25/4 Ruth Emerson, the great-grand-niece of Ralph Waldo Emerson. great-grandson n. a grandchild's son. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > grandchild > [noun] > grandson > great-grandson pronephewa1500 pronepotc1540 great-grandson1610 1610 T. Gainsford Vision & Disc. Henry VII ii. 19 My great Grand-sonne doth hold no other course, Then that which vertuous Kings did still intend. 1716 J. Addison Freeholder No. 9 (1751) 49 No Body ever doubted that King George is Great Grandson to King James the first. 1869 W. N. Hancock et al. tr. Senchus Mor: Pt. II in Anc. Laws Irel. II. 161 The ‘Geilfine’-tribe relationship in the direct line, such as the father, and the son, and the grandson, and the great grandson, and the great great grandson to the fifth generation. 1928 W. A. White Masks in Pageant 67 The grandson of a President and the great-grandson of a Signer. 1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 30 Jan. 35/3 Kukrit himself is a rajawongse , a title loosely translated [from Thai] as prince, but in fact meaning a king's great-grandson. e. Modifying nouns, often preceded by the designating a particular person, place, thing, etc.See also great affair n. 6a, alnager n., artificer n. 4b, artillery n. 2b, assize n. 11a, Britain n.², calorie n., cap n.¹ 4e, cassino n., chamberlain n. 1, 2a, charter n.¹ 1a, cheap n.¹ 8a, circle n. 2a, 2b, climacteric n. 2a, company n. 1, council n. 4b, cross n. 19, deterrent n., drum n.¹, enemy n.¹ 1b(a), entrance n. 2d, falconer n.¹ 2, feather n. 13, flood n. 4b, general n. 3e, George n. 1b, good n. 9b, habit n. 2b, horse n. 21, idea n. Phrases 6, inquest n. 1c, lot n. 4a, majority n.¹ 3b, migration n. 1c, Mogul n.¹ 1a, mood n.² 3a, myrmidon n. 1, oblation n. 3a, Osage n. 1a, outdoors n., panjandrum n. 1, penitentiary n.¹ 1b, pond n. 2, pox n. 1b, primer n.¹ 3a, rail-splitter n., raisin n. Phrases 1, rebellion n.¹ 1a, saddle n.¹ 1b, salt n.¹ 1b, schism n. 2b, sea-serpent n. 1b, session n. 4d, sheer n.² 1, ship n.¹ 2, shot n.¹ 9c, 14d, 22c, thanksgiving n. 2, toe n. 1a, Tom n.¹ 2, Turk n.¹ 2c, unpaid adj. and n. Phrases, unwashed n., vizier n. 2a, year n. 2c, etc.; also Great Day n., great gun n., Great Russian n. and adj., and other headwords. Great American Novel n. a novel regarded as being of superior merit and encapsulating American values and experiences or evoking the ethos of its era; often (esp. as the Great American Novel) discussed as a literary aspiration rather than as an attained ideal.In quot. 1867 not a fixed collocation. ΚΠ 1867 N.Y. Observer & Chron. 7 Nov. 355 (advt.) ‘Waiting for the Verdict’ By Mrs. R. H. Davis... The Great American Novel. 1868 J. W. DeForest in Nation 9 Jan. 27/2 The Great American Poem will not be written..until democracy..has agonized and conquered through centuries... But the Great American Novel—the picture of the ordinary emotions and manners of American existence..will, we suppose, be possible earlier. 1909 Atlantic Monthly May 712/2 The Atlantic would not suggest as news the self-evident fact that the great American novel has not appeared. 1951 N. Cassady Let. 15 May (2005) 293 Great news that Jack's finished On The Road... He should create another and another work (like Proust) and then we'll have the Great American Novel. 1968 F. Exley Fan's Notes ii. 50 He told me that if I were Hemingway I should go to Paris, live on fried potatoes and ketchup, write The Great American Novel and have done with it. 1988 M. Bradbury Unsent Lett. 61 All of them seemed to be planning Great American Novels that were even Greater than the Great American Novels they were teaching in class. 2004 New Yorker 14 June 112/2 There..was a tremendous surge of ambition on the part of American artists—a lot of talk about the Great American Novel and hitting the ball out of the park. Great Asianism n. (also with lower-case initial in the first element) now chiefly historical any of various doctrines and movements advocating the political unification of Asia or solidarity among Asian nations, esp. against the perceived threat of Western political and cultural domination.Cf. pan-Asianism n. ΚΠ 1918 New East Aug. 97/2 ‘Great Asianism’ is a movement to unite all Far Eastern countries in an alliance with Japan so that they may co-operate for the advancement of world civilization. 1935 Times 18 Apr. 11/4 He is a believer in Great Asianism, and tells the vernacular newspapers that he advocates cooperation between the Asiatic races with Japan as the centre. 2016 Xinhua Gen. News Service (Nexis) 12 July Great Asianism aimed to change the unequal relationship between Asian countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which is still of realistic value to promoting the cooperation between Asian countries today. Great Attractor n. (also with lower-case initials) Astronomy a region of exceptionally strong gravitational attraction in the direction of the constellations Hydra and Centaurus that is manifested as deviations in the redshifts associated with the expansion of the universe. The Great Attractor is estimated to be equivalent in mass to tens of thousands of Milky Ways. ΚΠ 1987 Science 11 Sept. 1296/1 In a patch of sky centered roughly on the Southern Cross, astronomers are finding increasing evidence for a ‘Great Attractor’. 1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 50/1 Possible structure of the CXB on intermediate angular scales (e.g., such as might be associated with extragalactic objects like the ‘great attractor’ or even with our galaxy) could, however, constitute a fundamental complication that would still have to be addressed. 2011 Times (Nexis) 26 May 28 Huge structures near by, such as the Hydra-Centaurus region (the ‘Great Attractor’), are shown in great detail for the first time. great Australian dream n. (also with capital initials) Australian the national aspiration of home ownership; the fact of owning one's home; cf. dream n.² 3b. ΚΠ 1954 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 7 Aug. 1/11 The Queensland city-dweller['s] favourite dream..is still of a little place in the country—a pig-farm or an orchard. This great Australian dream is reflected in the uniquely rural character of the big cities' Shows.] 1979 Austral. Women's Weekly 26 Sept. 154/1 To own a home of your own is the great Australian dream. 1989 Sun (Brisbane) 30 Jan. 10/2 Our Great Australian Dream can become a less-costly reality if extra savings are used to reduce mortgages. 2008 Dwell May 160 Everyone wants the great Australian dream, the backyard and all that, but the reality is the environment can't handle it. Great Awakening n. U.S. an evangelical revival movement in the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s; (also) any of several later religious revivals likened to this (esp. in Second Great Awakening). ΚΠ 1736 J. Edwards Faithful Narr. 23 A minister..told me of a very great awakening of many in a Place called the Mountains. 1740 J. Wesley Let. 12 Apr. (1931) I. 342 I am just come from Wales, where there is indeed a great awakening.] 1748 G. Whitefield Let. 9 Oct. in Select Coll. Lett. (1772) 191 I am in the place where the great awakening was about six years ago. 1796 T. Charles Let. 19 Jan. in Theol. Mag. 2 231 Many of those who were brought in during the great awakening, continue to go on well. 1797 B. Trumbull Compl. Hist. Connecticut xix. 495 About the year 1745, in the time of the great awakening and reformation in New-England, they became greatly affected with the truths of the gospel. 1898 Presbyterian Q. 12 117 The second Great Awakening, about the beginning of the present century, was as remarkable as the first. 1986 W. S. Simmons Spirit of New Eng. Tribes ii. 30 The itinerant evangelists of the Great Awakening ignited the towns and backwoods of southern New England with their appeals to the unconverted. 1995 M. Lind Next Amer. Nation i. 32 Enlightenment thought and evangelical Protestantism clashed again in the early nineteenth century, when the Second Great Awakening inspired attempts to re-Christianize America. 2012 Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 12 Oct. Fredrickson can rattle off a long line of evangelical pioneers dating back to the first of America's ‘Great Awakenings’. † great belly n. Obsolete a woman's protruding belly during the advanced stages of pregnancy; (also more generally) a pregnancy; cf. great-bellied adj. at Compounds 1b(b). ΚΠ 1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse vi. f. 58^v She thinketh (that by reason of her great belly which she hath gotten by playing the hoore) to moue me to pitie. 1609 Strange Newes out of Kent sig. Aiiii^v A certaine wandring yong woman..being not well able to trauell further, by reason of her great belly, euen ready to be deliuered, desired succour of this kind-harted old woman Mother Watts. 1683 J. Locke Let. in B. Rand Locke & Clarke (1927) 101 If I have a great letter no oftener than you have a great belly perhaps I shall not fall out with you. 1757 A. G. Impetuous Lover I. 134 Should she actually be with child, to consider in time, some means..of secreting her great belly. Great Bible n. the English translation of the Bible prepared by Miles Coverdale (1539) and authorized for public reading by Henry VIII; (also) any of the revised editions of this, esp. that of 1540 with a preface by Thomas Cranmer. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > text > edition > [noun] > Coverdale Great Bible1540 1540 Bible (Great) (title page) The newe testament in Englishe accordynge to the translacion of the greate Bible. 1604 (title) The Psalmes of David after the translation of the Great Bible, pointed. 1739 J. Lewis Compl. Hist. Transl. Bible into Eng. (ed. 2) iii. 191 Then follow the several Books of the New Testament in order as in the Great Bible of Archbishop Cranmer's revising. 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 374/2 The Great Bible, or Cranmer's. 1882 H. Morley Eng. Lit. 254 In April of the same year, 1539, appeared Coverdale's revision of Tyndal's work and his own, in the folio known as Cromwell's (or the Great) Bible. 1955 Life 26 Dec. 136/2 After breaking with the Pope, Henry VIII authorized the translation of the Great Bible which was put into the churches on a chain so it could not be taken away. 2011 Guardian (Nexis) 19 Feb. (Review section) 2 Between Coverdale's first Bible (1535) and the Great Bible (1539) comes the so-called Matthew Bible of 1537. Great Canon n. (a) Orthodox Church the longest hymn consisting of odes (see canon n.¹ 7b); (b) Printing (now historical) the largest named size of type, more usually called simply canon (see canon n.¹ 11). ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > church music > hymn > kinds of hymn > scriptural > [noun] > longest Great Canon1662 society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > vocal music > religious or devotional > [noun] > hymn or song of praise > in Greek church Great Canon1662 prosodion1696 prosode1777 cathisma1850 ode1850 canon1862 triadic canon1862 Contakion1866 ephymnium1910 1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 95 A holy office, which in this Century he brought into the Greek Church, and..had a peculiar day appointed for it, which they call'd the solemnity of the Great Canon. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 13 Most Printing-Houses have all except the two first, viz. Pearl, Nomparel, Brevier, Long-Primmer, Pica,..Great-Cannon. 1850 J. M. Neale Hist. Holy Eastern Church 876 The Great Canon, sung on Thursday of Passion Week [sc. the 4th week of Lent]..at Lauds, after the fifty-first Psalm. 1922 D. B. Updike Printing Types I. ii. 26 184 squares or ems of a pearl body, or 17½ of the great-canon body, were comprised in one English foot. 2006 Nat. Rev. (Nexis) 1 Mar. The Great Canon is part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, but really, it's part of every Christian's tradition. great chair n. now historical an armchair, esp. one of an early American type (see quot. 1935).In many contexts difficult to distinguish from the simple sense ‘large chair’. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > armchair armchair1585 elbow-chair1655 fauteuil1744 great chair1749 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > armchair > other armchairs great chair1749 porter's chair1806 sleepy-hollow chair1820 roundabout1834 Glastonbury chair1853 frowst1905 club chair1919 carver1927 1749 J. Jenkins Will 29 Dec. in Mayflower Descendant (1920) 22 159 My Sister Sarah Nye Six black Chairs a great Chair table & Cupboard. 1771 Trial Atticus before Justice Beau 18 See the long table is brought in, and set as far as the house will permit, from my great chair. 1784 S. Chapman in Med. Communications (Soc. Promoting Med. Knowl.) I. 294 I found him sitting in a great chair. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxvi. 605 Jos was in his great chair dozing over Galignani. 1935 T. H. Ormsbee Early Amer. Furnit. Makers (new ed.) i. 29 The ‘great’ chair, a carved wainscot-constructed piece of furniture elaborately ornamented, was evidently only possible for a man of means. 1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 63/2 Armchairs resembling the Brewster or Great chairs of New York were known. 2002 S. Waters Fingersmith i. 16 Besides them was Mrs Sucksby in her great chair, a couple of babies in a cradle at her side. Great Commoner n. the elder William Pitt (1708–78), 1st Earl of Chatham, Tory Secretary of State in coalition governments 1756–61 and 1766–8. ΚΠ 1757 Crit. Rev. Apr. 380 The change of ministry..has since taken place, as is evident from the two followings [sic] stanzas addressed to the great commoner. 1802 W. F. Mavor Brit. Nepos (ed. 3) 389 Whatever accession of honour a peerage gave him, the great commoner, as he used emphatically to be called, was now obscured in dividing his honours with others. 1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges ii. 89 There's the great commoner! There is Mr. Pitt! 1899 R. Bain Daughter Peter the Great xii. 301 ‘France,’ concluded the great commoner, ‘must not flatter herself that Hanover will serve as a road for her to America and India.’ 1948 F. B. Malim Almae Matres i. 5 Lord Seymour's house, transmuted into the Castle Inn, entertained many famous travellers, notably the Great Commoner, whose gout detained him there for weeks. 2011 J. Davidson Downing Street Blues 25 His own standing in the public eye as ‘the Great Commoner’ had suffered following his elevation to the peerage. Great Dark Spot n. Astronomy a dark blue oval feature that often appears in the outer gas of the planet Neptune, being a storm system similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot but more short-lived. ΚΠ 1989 N.Y. Times 20 Aug. i. i. 32/1 The most recent pictures, made public today, showed in the greatest detail yet the huge storm system, known as the Great Dark Spot, in Neptune's southern hemisphere. 1996 Sky & Telescope Sept. 39 (caption) The Great Dark Spot..was an oscillating feature seen by Voyager in Neptune's southern hemisphere. 2012 P. Bond Exploring Solar Syst. 303/1 (caption) Images of the Great Dark Spot show bright cirrus-like clouds above and around the anticyclone that formed and dissipated quite rapidly. Great Deliverer n. (among his supporters) King William III (reigned 1689–1702), who deposed the Catholic King James II in 1688 at the invitation of a group of English statesmen. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > king > [noun] > king of England > specific Great Deliverer1695 yea-and-nay1900 society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > titles applied to royalty > for a king or ruler > for King William the Third Great Deliverer1695 1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur v. 150 The great Deliverer The pious William; yonder he's in Sight, In whom Nassovian Blood, and ours unite. 1747 W. Murray Thistle 27 How were the Dutch and the great Deliverer used after England had been rescued? 1826 Monthly Repos. Jan. 29/1 On the decease of the great Deliverer, the muse takes fire at his hallowed name. 1886 C. M. Yonge Chantry House I. x. 92 There was a dissenting chapel, old enough to be overgrown with ivy.., erected by the Nonconformists in the reign of the Great Deliverer. 1938 M. Bowen World's Wonder 59 In the opinion of this school of writers..the ‘Great and Glorious’ Revolution was a sordid affair and the Great Deliverer a paltry adventurer. 2000 S. Farrell Rituals & Riots 195 It [sc. an explicit reference to massacres in 1641] was replaced with references to the great deliverer, William the Third, Prince of Orange, a much more respectable subject. Great Depression n. the major worldwide economic depression that began in 1929.The Depression is regarded to have been precipitated by the Wall Street crash of October 1929; cf. Black Thursday n. Different national economies subsequently emerged from the Depression at different times.In quot. 1930 not a fixed collocation. ΚΠ 1930 N.Y. Times 30 Dec. 20 The present year's shrinkage..indicates the extent to which the railways have suffered with other industries in the great depression. 1934 L. Robbins Great Depression i. 11 There have been many depressions in modern economic history but..there has never been anything to compare with this. 1929 to 1933 are the years of the Great Depression. 1960 L. A. Fiedler Love & Death in Amer. Novel xii. 456 Though the peculiar, wholesale horror of the great wars has eluded our greatest fictionists..the terror of the great Depression has fared better. 1984 S. Terkel Good War (1985) Introd. 6 The Great Depression was our most devastating experience since the Civil War. Somewhere along the line, our money machine had stripped its gears. 2011 Independent 11 Feb. (Viewspaper section) 13/3 During the Great Depression of the 1930s, bankrupt residents of the dustbowl states (the ‘Okies’ of Oklahoma and ‘Arkies’ of Arkansas) regarded California as a sort of promised land. Great Dog n. [after post-classical Latin Canis major (see Canis Major n. at Canis n. 1)] Astronomy the constellation Canis Major; (also) the brightest star in this constellation, Sirius; cf. Dog Star n. 1. ΚΠ ?1530 tr. Compost of Ptholomeus xxix. sig. k.ii^v There ryseth vnder it in the .viii. degree a sterre fyxed that Astronomyers calle Alhabor (that is to saye) of the great dogge. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises vi. vi. f. 289^v The Meridian altitude of the great dogge called Canis maior. 1676 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. (ed. 3) 220 Canis Major, the Great Dog, it consisteth of 18 Stars. 1761 Philos. Trans. 1760 (Royal Soc.) 51 503 However remarkable..it may be, that so noted and lasting a star as the Great Dog should have changed its colour, yet at least five different writers affirm it. 1956 H. P. Wilkins Guide to Heavens 21 The Bull, Orion and the Great Dog are now all in the west, as are also Andromeda and the Ram or Aries. 2001 UFO Mag. Jan. 67/3 The southern shaft..was aimed at the bright star Sirius (Alpha Canis Major) in the constellation of the Great Dog. great ewe n. Scottish a pregnant ewe; cf. sense A. 5a. ΚΠ 1798 R. Douglas Gen. View Agric. Roxburgh & Selkirk iv. 258 It is usual, in several farms, to sell a certain proportion of ewes while great with young, from whence they are called great-ewes. 1851 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 2) II. 160/1 The ewe-lambs..are reared until they are tupped, and then sold as great ewes to breeders. 1950 Scots Mag. Mar. 424 Their various classes of ‘grete’ ewes (those with lambs), yeld ewes and hoggs. 2012 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 9 Mar. 26 Grit ewes sold to £150 (x3) for Mules scanned with twins. Great Exhibition n. an international exhibition of the products of industry, held in the Crystal Palace in London in 1851; cf. crystal palace n. (b) at crystal n. and adj. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1850 G. A. Sala (title) The Great Exhibition ‘wot is to be’ or probable results of the industry of all nations in the year '51. 1911 Palliser's Hist. Lace (new ed.) xxxii. 415 Ever since the Great Exhibition of 1851 drew attention to the industry, different persons have been trying to encourage both better design and better manufacture. 2011 National Trust Mag. Summer 58/2 They were trying to find a route to combine traditional craft techniques and larger production techniques, democratising beautifully crafted pieces and rejecting the horror of the throwaway manufacture that Morris objected to at the Great Exhibition. Great Famine n. the famine in Ireland which began in 1845 and lasted several years, caused by successive failures of the potato crop; cf. potato famine n. at potato n. Compounds 2, Great Hunger n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun] > scarcity of food or famine > of specific food or crop potato failure1845 potato famine1846 Great Famine1849 Great Hunger1910 1849 Times 4 Jan. 4/2 In 1847, the session after the great famine, the Irish Poor Law..was clothed with some substance, and made a veritable and efficient measure. 1851 A. Nicholson Ann. Famine in Ireland Introd. p. 4 Her first work..narrates her travels and observations prior to the Great Famine of 1847. 1896 W. P. O'Brien Great Famine in Ireland i. 1 In the future annals of Ireland..1845..will in all time to come..be remembered as the commencement of the Great Famine. 1982 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 19 Nov. 1 Lagan's 11- and 12-year-olds, who submitted a project on the Great Famine, coolly walked off with first prize. 2003 S. Derkins Irish Republican Army i. 8 By the time the Great Famine ended, more than one million Irish people had died from starvation. Great Fast n. the most important period of fasting and abstinence in a religious calendar, as Lent in Christianity, Yom Kippur in Judaism, or Ramadan in Islam. [In use in a Russian Orthodox context after Old Russian Velikyj Post′′ (Russian Velikij Post ); compare Hellenistic Greek ἡ μεγάλη νηστεία , and Byzantine Greek ἡ μεγάλη τεσσαρακοστή , lit. ‘the great fortieth’, with reference to the duration of Lent (compare Quadragesima n.). Compare Great Lent n. In use with reference to Yom Kippur (compare quots. 1808, 1896) after Aramaic ṣōmā rabbā ( < ṣōmā , emphatic form of ṣōm (cognate with Arabic ṣawm sawm n.) + rabbā , emphatic form of raḇ great: see Rav n.). Compare also Arabic al-ṣawm al-kabīr (in Christian use) Lent, lit. ‘Great Fast’; the term is apparently not used by Muslims to denote Ramadan.] ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Lent > [noun] LentenOE Lent tidelOE Lentc1300 Lent timec1400 Quadragesime1483 Lent season?1490 Quadragesimac1560 Great Lent1591 Great Fasta1670 shrift-time1853 1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 97 Fitly is this call'd the Great Canon, as..appointed for the Great Fast of Lent.] a1670 S. Collins Present State Russia (1671) xxv. 122 In the great Fast he eats but three meals a week. 1772 J. G. King Rites Greek Church in Russia 133 The liturgy of St. Basil is used..upon all the sundays of the great fast, except palm sunday. 1808 T. F. Middleton Doctr. Greek Article 443 The Day of Expiation, the Great Fast on the 10th of the month Tisri. 1824 H. Kilham Jrnl. 30 June in S. Biller Mem. Late H. Kilham (1837) ix. 252 A large assembly of Mandingoes, who collected..to a festival meeting, according to their Mahomedan profession, now that the great fast is ended. 1868 H. C. Romanoff Sketches Greco-Russ. Church 120 The Great Fast approaches, preceded by three preparatory weeks. 1896 I. Abrahams Jewish Life Middle Ages i. 7 On the day preceding the Great Fast a symbolical scourging was, and even is, usual in the synagogue itself. 1920 W. Sanday et al. New Lessons Explained ii. 56 The day of the Death of Christ—the culmination of the great Fast. 2004 in J. L. Esposito Islamic World I. 157 The great fast is also a special time to respond to the needs of the poor. Great Father n. now chiefly historical (in representations of North American Indian speech) the President of the United States; cf. Great White Father n.This expression belongs to the fictive kinship terminology widely used in diplomatic relations by Indians of Eastern North America: see the discussion of red children n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i). ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > in a republic > in U.S. president1784 Great White Father1806 Great Father1808 POTUS1895 1784 in J. Filson Discov., Settlement & Present State Kentucky (1793) 50 Piankashaw, speak, speak to the Americans. Then the Piankashaw Chief answered: My Great Father, the Long Knife, You have been many years among us. 1791 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 1153/1 The same good will had prompted those present to come far to attend the treaty, with a belief of the friendly intentions of the Great Chief of the United States towards the Indian nations.] 1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi 5 I spoke to them [sc. Indians] to the following purport: ‘That their great father, the president of the United States, [etc.]’. 1832 F. Trollope Domest. Manners Amer. (ed. 2) I. xx. 314 All the chiefs who..have come to negociate with their great father, as they call the President. 1881 Harper's Mag. Apr. 671/1 Spotted Tail has been to the Great Father's house so often that he has learned to tell lies and deceive people. 1954 Mil. Affairs 18 87/1 I told them..that I had come as a representative from the Great Father, at Washington,..and that he meant well with his red children. 1992 A. W. Eckert Sorrow in our Heart ix. 567 If you value the friendship of your Great Father, the President..let me hear by the return of the bearer that you have determined to follow my advice. Great Fire n. the large and devastating fire that destroyed much of London in September 1666; also more fully Great Fire of London. ΚΠ 1667 S. Pepys in Diary 16 Mar. (1904) VI. 225 It is observable that within these eight days I did see smoke remaining, coming out of some cellars, from the late great fire, now about six months since.] 1679 W. Bedloe Narr. Horrid Popish Plot Epist. sig. A2 By Fire-Balls put in with Poles or otherwise through Holes, or open places into Houses; as at Mr. Farriners House which began the Great Fire. 1750 C. Wren Parentalia 274 The proposals of Dr. Wren..were laid before the King and Commissioners, some Months before the great Fire of London. 1861 Times 16 Aug. 6/6 In the midst of houses almost as poor, low, and rickety as those of which the Great Fire made a riddance in the City. 1952 A. F. Johnson Reed's Hist. Old Eng. Letter Foundries (rev. ed.) viii. 168 It appears that he had a lease of the Quest House built over the church cloisters and burnt down in the Great Fire. 2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 17 Sept. (Seven Days section) 10/5 To read his accounts of the Plague and the Great Fire of London is to bring an age alive. Great Forty Days n. the forty days which intervened between Christ's resurrection and ascension; the corresponding season in the ecclesiastical year from Easter to Ascension Day. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > 40 days up to Ascension > [noun] Great Forty Days1844 1844 G. Moberly (title) The sayings of the Great Forty Days, between the Resurrection and Ascension. 1855 in H. G. Newland Seasons of Church 5 Without this preparation of the heart and intellect, the doctrines of Easter, and still more those of the great Forty Days, would be dangerous. 1914 Madame Cecilia From Sepulchre to Throne xxvi. 321 The Great Forty Days were followed by ten days of continual prayer. 2009 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 28 Feb. 14 After Easter comes the Great 40 days when Jesus appeared to his friends before ascending to the Father on Ascension Day. great friend n. a very close friend, a bosom friend; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > close or intimate friend belamy?c1225 friarc1290 specialc1300 necessaryc1384 familiar?c1400 great frienda1425 gossea1549 particular1577 shopfellow?1577 cockmate1578 privado1584 bosom friend1590 better half1596 ingle1602 inward1607 bully boy1609 bosom-piecea1625 hail-fellow1650 bosom-bird1655 intimate1660 crony1665 intimado1682 chum1684 friend of one's bosom1712 right bower1829 inquaintancea1834 cad1836 chummy1849 bond-friend1860 raggie1901 bosom1913 aceboy1951 boon coon1951 mellow1967 squeeze1980 acegirl2009 a1425 (a1400) Titus & Vespasian l. 1015 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1903) 111 298 I hope, þat sche be my gret frende. 1459 J. Brackley in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 333 Radclyf and ȝe bene grete frendys. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. lvi^v/2 Whan the kyng of Englande..harde howe they of Gaunt had slayne Jaques Dartuell his great frende he was sore dyspleased. 1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 i. i He was an early riser, and a great friend of hunting. 1673 Descr. Acad. Athenian Virtuosi 9 Coffee being esteem'd by its admirers a suppresser of fumes, and a great friend to the memory. 1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 193 Reputeing what was don to his great friend to be don to himself. 1769 E. Burke Let. 2 July in Corr. (1960) II. 41 I am no great friend, in general, of long-winded performances. 1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross I. 106 He and his great friend here had a row about her. 1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 177 Plumer and Thornton were great friends. 1967 P. R. May West Coast Gold Rushes (ed. 2) 240 ‘Gold is the great friend of the masses’, ran a line in the chorus of a diggers' song. 2005 R. Douglas Night Song Last Tram 320 Although she was twelve years older than Ma, they had been great friends since they'd met at work in 1936. Great Hallel n. [after post-biblical Hebrew hallēl ha-gāḏōl (Tosefta, Ta'anit 3:5), denoting Psalm 136] a poem or song of praise to God consisting of Psalm 136, and sometimes also part of Psalm 135, recited or sung among Jews on joyous occasions. Cf. Hallel n.Its use is sometimes adopted by Christians. ΚΠ 1655 J. Lightfoot Harmony New-Test. ii. 59 At the Paschal meal every company rehearsed this saying, Blessed be he that cometh, &c. in their great Hallel. 1724 T. Lewis Origines Hebrææ II. iv. iii. 475 They have a Tradition, that they might if they pleased drink a fifth Cup of Wine, provided they say over it the great Hallel, which is generally understood to be the hundred and thirty sixth Psalm. 1877 J. C. Geikie Life & Words Christ II. lv. 397 At the Feast of Tabernacles..the great Hallel was daily sung in their processions. 1994 Buddhist-Christian Stud. 14 109 This hymn is the choice of Rabbi Yohanan for the ‘Benediction of Song’ following the Great Hallel. Great Hunger n. [after Irish an Garta Mór] = Great Famine n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > hunger > [noun] > scarcity of food or famine > of specific food or crop potato failure1845 potato famine1846 Great Famine1849 Great Hunger1910 1910 A. Birkhead Tales from Irish Hist. xxv. 123 (chapter title) The Great Hunger. 1956 S. H. Bell Erin's Orange Lily viii. 114 And in this district you can still hear vivid stories of the Great Hunger. 2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 24/3 Ellen went to America, like so many others, fleeing the effects of the Great Hunger. Great Insertion n. the section of St Luke's Gospel, 9:51–18:14, which is independent of St Mark; cf. Great Omission n. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > Gospel > [noun] > insertion Great Insertion1886 1886 R. Mackintosh Christ & Jewish Law iii. 44 Christ, in a passage which stands in Luke (xi. 37-52) in the middle of the Great Insertion, but which is placed in Matthew (xxiii.) as His last summing-up against His life-long enemies, recites the whole guilt of the Pharisees. 1911 J. V. Bartlet in Stud. Synoptic Probl. 336 The part of Luke's Gospel prior to the Great Insertion. 2007 T. R. Y. Neufeld Recovering Jesus iii. 69 Most of the material that is unique to Luke is found between Luke 9 and Luke 19, often referred to as the ‘Great Insertion’. Great King n. Ancient Greek History the king of Persia. [After ancient Greek βασιλεύς ὁ μέγας (Herodotus), itself after Old Persian xšāyaθiya vazṛka, lit. ‘great king’, one of the titles of the Achaemenid kings from Darius I onwards.] ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > other independent rulers > [noun] > shah Sophy1539 shah1566 Great King1576 Sophy1606 Sufi1698 padishah1758 Shahanshah1815 1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f. 77/v He receiued and entertained..the hoste of Xerxes, sonne of the greate king Darius.] 1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. 168 (margin) The great king: mening the king of Persia. 1591 L. Lloyd Triplicitie of Triumphes sig. D3^v Cyrus,..named the Great King. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 424 These Asians had a custom to call the King of Persia the Great King [Fr. le grand Roy; Gk. βασιλέα μέγαν]. 1740 Hist. Wks. Learned Nov. 333 The Greeks, who considered the Persian Monarch, whom they styled The Great King, as their most formidable Enemy. 1799 J. Aikin et al. Gen. Biogr. I. 413/2 The return of the Greeks was soon succeeded by wars between the Lacedemonians and the Great King, or rather his lieutenants in Lesser Asia. 1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VIII. ii. lxii. 70 The Great King. 1921 H. R. James Our Hellenic Heritage I. ii. xi. 277 To many a brave man the might of the Great King seemed irresistible. 2010 Weekly Standard (Nexis) 3 May He somehow managed to sneak into Persia, hiding in a courtesan's wagon, and again sent a letter to the Great King. Great Land n. U.S. the state of Alaska. [After Russian bol′šaja zemlja mainland, lit. ‘great land’ (a1711 with reference to the Seward Peninsula; frequent in 18th-cent. Russian sources with reference to various parts of the North-West American mainland), sometimes (apparently following the passage in quot. 1867) mistakenly assumed to be after Eastern Aleut alaxsxix̣ mainland (see Alaska n.).] ΚΠ a1778 J. Cook Voy. Pacific Ocean (1785) II. 504 The American continent is here called by the Russians, as well as the islanders, Alaschka, which name, though it properly belongs only to the country adjoining to Oonemak, is used by them when speaking of the American continent in general, which they know perfectly well to be a great land. This is all the information I got from these people [sc. Russians]. 1867 C. Sumner Speech Cession Russ. Amer. 48 It appears from the report of Cook..that the euphonious name now applied to the peninsula..was the sole word used originally by the native islanders... It only remains that, following these natives,..we, too, should call this ‘great land’ Alaska.] 1886 H. H. Bancroft et al. Hist. Alaska 97 But for these costly skins, each of which proclaimed..the glories of Alaska, the Great Land might long have rested undisturbed. 1906 Boston Alaskan Aug. 13/1 Tourists always return enthusiastic over what they have seen of the ‘great land’. 1939 Guide to Alaska (Federal Writers' Project) i. i. 9 One of the unfortunate historical facts concerning the Great Land is that..the psychology of its development has been that of the exploiter rather than that of the permanent resident. 2009 Alaska (National Geogr. Traveler) 36 The war brought tens of thousands of American troops to Alaska, many of whom fell in love with the Great Land and returned to live..there after the war. Great Leap Forward n. (also Great Leap) [after Chinese Dà yuè jìn (1957; < dà great + yuèjìn (verb) to leap forward, (noun) action of leaping forward)] Chinese History the programme of stimulation and rapid modernization of industrial and other forms of production initiated in November 1957 in the People's Republic of China; also in extended use. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > politics > politics in India and Far East > [noun] > Chinese politics > principles or policies Tai-pingism1860 Boxerism1900 reform through labour1913 Sun Yat-senism1925 Maoism1950 rectification1956 Great Leap Forward1958 1958 China Reconstructs May 14 (heading) 1958—Year of the Forward Leap.] 1958 Times 31 May 7/3 This year has been decreed as the year of the ‘great leap forward’. 1961 S. I. Gass in F. L. Alt Adv. in Computers II. 366 In a report on ‘Mathematical Research in China in the Last Ten Years’..the author credits operations research, especially linear programming, as being a contributing factor in the ‘great leap’. 1963 D. J. Dwyer in China Now (1974) xi. 234 The tremendous spurt in coal production recorded in 1958 was..directly related to the official ‘Great Leap Forward’ of that year. 1971 Guardian 25 Nov. 12/2 Peking through two great leaps forward—the New Literature Movement in 1919 and the Han Character Simplification Movement in 1955—evolved new ideographs. 1983 G. Priestland At Large 66 Members [of the General Synod of the Church of England] have been bombarded with letters and petitions either imploring them to take the great leap forward [to unity with Nonconformist churches], or warning them to stay where they are. 1991 D. H. Perkins in R. MacFarquhar & J. K. Fairbank Cambr. Hist. China XV. iii. vi. 479 Those who shared Mao's vision could argue that the basic ideas of the Great Leap were sound. 2011 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 10 Feb. 26/2 The terrible human costs of the famine brought about by the Great Leap Forward (GLF) of 1958–1960. Great Lent n. the most important fasting period of the religious year, esp. in Orthodox Churches; = Lent n.¹ 2a. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Lent > [noun] LentenOE Lent tidelOE Lentc1300 Lent timec1400 Quadragesime1483 Lent season?1490 Quadragesimac1560 Great Lent1591 Great Fasta1670 shrift-time1853 1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth xxv. f. 105^v They haue foure great Fastes, or Lentes euery yeere. The first, (which they call their great Lent) is at the same time with ours. 1679 P. Rycaut Present State Greek Church 264 The labouring and common people are enjoined to a Confession but once a year, and that before their entrance into the great Lent, which is before Easter. 1700 tr. M. Dalairac Polish Manuscripts 194 The Turks have two Lents in the Year call'd Ramasan, each lasting a Month... The Great Lent..is indispensibly necessary to be observed among them. 1732 R. Challoner Unerring Authority of Catholick Church ii. 24 They keep the great Lent at the same Time with the Greeks. 1898 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 361/1 When the Great Lent came, and it would not have been proper to eat meat, cream, or butter, he seized the opportunity to invent all sorts of delicacies in the way of fish. 2002 C. C. Jones Year Russ. Feasts (2003) 166 As with the Great Lent, or Easter Lent, people are not permitted to eat meat or fish and all dairy products are prohibited. great mass n. [compare post-classical Latin missa major (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), missa magna (frequently from 13th cent. in British sources), Middle French grant messe (14th cent.; French grand-messe)] now rare = High Mass n. at high adj. and n.² Compounds 4. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > mass > kinds of mass > [noun] > high High MassOE great massa1492 solemn mass1626 a1492 W. Caxton tr. Vitas Patrum (1495) i. xli. f. lxiii/1 Whanne the Gospell of the grete masse [Fr. grant messe] was sayde, The bysshopp commaunded to saynt Nonnus. that he sholde goo preche. 1600 J. Golburne tr. C. de Valera Two Treat. 427 In the pulpit of the great Church of this citie, at the time of the great Masse. 1770 G. Baretti Journey London to Genoa II. 199 The Priest who celebrated the Great Mass this morning. 2001 K. M. Sylvester Limits of Rural Capitalism vii. 177 The celebrations typically involved a procession through the streets of Saint-Boniface, a great mass at the cathedral..and a dramatic and vocal presentation in the evening. great mean n. Early Music the string or (on a lute) pair of strings with the third-lowest pitch on an early stringed instrument. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > bowable instrument > [noun] > viol > bass-viol > specific strings of great mean1574 counter-tenor1654 gamut string1654 1574 F. Kinwelmersh tr. A. Le Roy Briefe Instr. Musicke Lute f. 72 The thirde parte called the greate meanes, shalbe higher by three notes then the Countertenour, in vnitie: The small meanes, fower notes higher then the greate meanes. 1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 29 The third [string is named] the Great Meane. 1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) 76 In Tuning of your Violin..the Basse or fourth string is called G sol re ut..The Third or Great Mean is D la sol re. 1756 W. Tans'ur New Musical Gram. (ed. 3) ii. ii. 96 The Viol di Gambo..is what we call our Bass-Viol, having six Strings, called, 1st the Treble; 2d Small-Mean; 3d Great-Mean; [etc.]. 1859 W. Chappell Ballad Lit. & Pop. Music Olden Time I. 103 The most usual mode of tuning it [sc. the lute] was as follows:..the great mean, or third, d. 1894 I. S. E. Stigand tr. W. J. von Wasielewski Violoncello & its Hist. Introd. 2 The so-called violas (fiddles) were provided with six strings which were called, like the six lute chords, Great Bumhardt (Bombarte)..middle string (great mean); vocal string (small mean); and quint string (treble). 1982 D. Poulton John Dowland (rev. ed.) App. II. 456 The lute in Dowland's lifetime was basically a six-course instrument... In descending order of pitch these courses were named Treble, Small mean, Great mean, Contra- tenor, Tenor and Bass. Great Mother n. [after classical Latin magna māter, māter magna magna mater n.] the mother goddess or fertility deity of a particular culture; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > goddess > mother-goddess goddess-mother1558 mother goddess1558 magna mater1710 Great Mother1735 mother goddess1853 1553 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Eneados vii. f. cxlxvi Erth the grete moder, and first god of all. 1600 C. Middleton Legend Duke of Glocester sig. C3^v Nature the great mother of vs all, Who in abortiue birth brought foorth our age. 1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 42 Thou and the lovely hopes that smile in thee Are ta'ne out, and transcrib'd by thy Great Mother. 1735 A. Pope Dunciad (new ed.) i. 33 The Great Mother. [Note] Magna mater, here apply'd to Dulness. 1816 G. S. Faber Origin Pagan Idolatry II. iv. iv. 310 The Egyptian triad, composed of Isis the great mother, Osiris the father, and Horus the sun. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxxv. 18 The Great Mother he surely sings divinely. 1919 J. Buchan Mr. Standfast xxi. 356 There was a strange cult in the ancient world, the worship of Magna Mater—the Great Mother. 1969 J. Johns King of Witches (1971) 147 Listen to the words of the great mother who was of old also called among men Artemis, Diana, Aphrodite, Arianrod and by many other names. 1993 T. Moorey Witchcraft (1996) 11 There is strong evidence that worship of a Great Mother predated worship of a God by thousands of years. Great Nebula n. Astronomy a visually prominent nebula or galaxy; spec. the Orion Nebula (M42) or (now rare) the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). ΚΠ 1806 Scots Mag. & Edinb. Lit. Miscell. 68 87 It was almost circular, and in other respects similar to the great Nebula in Andromede [sic]. 1811 W. Herschel in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 101 279 No. 42 of the Connoissance is the great nebula in the constellation of Orion. 1848 Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. New Ser. 3 75 It is probable that the great nebula in Andromeda was recognized at least six hundred years before the invention of the telescope. 1924 G. E. Hale Depths of Universe ii. 60 The Great Nebula in Orion... Russell sees it as an enormous plenum in which wisps and clouds of dust..are in constant motion. 1970 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 81 16 Such misnomers are not uncommon in astronomy, unfortunately—there are some who still speak of the Great Nebula in Andromeda! 2009 M. A. Seeds & D. E. Backman Astronomy (ed. 6) xiii. 279/1 The Great Nebula in Orion and its invisible molecular cloud are a beautiful and dramatic example of the continuing cycle of star formation. great oath n. an oath of special solemnity, or of particular vehemence or profanity; the form of oath regarded, by the swearer or listener, as the most sacred. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [noun] > solemn > most sacred great oath?c1225 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 149 Blasfenia [prob. read blasfemia]..þe swerieð greate oðes. oðer bitterliche curseð. oðer mis seið bigod oðer bi his haleȝen. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2337 Þer was so mike yeft of cloþes, Þat þou i swore you gret othes, I ne wore nouth þer-offe croud. 1389 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) II. 24 Til there thyngys..lelily and fermly to be fulfyllyt..bath the partys fornemmyt, the haly wangelis twechyt, the gret ath bodylyke has sworn. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 75 William þe kyng..suore a grete othe þat he suld neuer spare Noiþer lefe no lothe northeren, what so þei ware. 1448 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 16 The quilk to do lelely and treuly the forsaid personis hes sworn the gret ath. a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ix. l. 1889 He suoyr þe gret athe bodely. a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 41 The chanceleir suore be his great aith and hailie sacrament thair was..no wther..that he faworit sa weill. 1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem f. 12 Twelue loyall men..sall be chosen; quha sall sweare the great eath in presence of the parties, that they sall declare quhilk of them hes best richt. 1679 Processes Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court No. 284 Alexander McGown..sworne wpon his great oath that [etc.]. 1788 Æ. Morison Trial W. Brodie & G. Smith 120 You are now bound by the great oath which you have sworn to tell the truth. 1844 Metropolitan Jan. 107 He ran in fiery haste toward the forecastle, shouting in a terrible voice, with many great oaths and curses, for one Rougemain. 1895 L. A. Waddell Buddhism of Tibet 569 In the courts when the great oath is taken, which is seldom, it is done by the person placing a holy scripture on his head, and sitting on the reeking hide of an ox. 1966 N. O. Brown Love's Body (1990) i. 17 In ancient Syracuse the official oath they called ‘the great oath’ was taken dressed in purple and wielding a fiery bolt. 2008 G. R. Iriam In Trenches (2011) 120 Nobby swore some great oaths and ran in and got his machine gun. Great Omission n. the section of St Mark's Gospel, 6:45–8:26, which is omitted in St Luke; cf. Great Insertion n. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > New Testament > Gospel > [noun] > omission Great Omission1875 1727 N. Lardner Credibility Gospel Hist. I. ix. 452 St. Luke..does not mention expressly any thing, which Paul did at Jerusalem, beside saluting the church:..he could not be more particular without an unnecessary repetition. Throw away this design, and St. Luke has been guilty of a very great omission.] 1875 E. W. Shalders tr. F. Godet Comm. Luke I. iii. 411 What..can be more readily imagined than the omission of one or the other of these cycles in any of these collections? An accident of this kind is sufficient to explain the great omission which we meet with in Luke. 1911 J. C. Hawkins in Stud. Synoptic Probl. 61 This well deserves its usual name of St. Luke's ‘great omission’. 1927 A. H. McNeile Introd. N.T. 26 Whether intentionally or not he [sc. St. Luke] omits [Mark] vi. 45–viii. 26, which is sometimes called the ‘Great Omission’. 2008 R. H. Stein Mark iv. 322 It is strange that the parallel in Luke does not mention this, since the praying of Jesus is a strong Lukan theological emphasis.., but this is part of his ‘great omission’ of the Markan material found in 6:45–8:26. great organ n. Music the principal division of an organ with two or more manuals, having the loudest sound. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > types of organ > [noun] > other types of organ great organ1605 bird organ1745 serinette1772 euharmonic organ1811 physharmonica1838 harmoniphon1839 seraphine1839 pyrophone1873 string organ1876 orguinette1881 orchestrelle1897 1605–6 Accts. King's Coll., Cambr. in E. J. Hopkins & E. F. Rimbault Organ (1870) 64 Item to him for 2 figures or pictures that stand in the greate Organ. 1613 Specif. Worcester Cathedral Organ in A. Boden Thomas Tomkins (2005) vii. 92 The particulars of the great Organ. 1660 Specif. Organ Banqueting Room, Whitehall in G. Grove Dict. Music (1880) II. 590 Great Organ, 10 stops... Eccho Organ, 4 stops. 1773 C. Burney Present State Music in Germany I. 20 It has fifty-three stops, three sets of keys, great organ, choir organ, and echo. 1845 J. Stimpson Great Organ Birmingham 6 The Bellows of the Great Organ have also what are termed Reservoir Bellows. 1912 New Music Rev. July 354/2 In the great organ the Bourdon and Philomela are pedal stops extended. 2010 Cathedral Music Nov. 35/2 The Chair Organ provides light accompaniment for the solo voice; the more robust Great Organ accompanies the full choir. great Parliament n. either of two important medieval English parliaments, that of 1295 in the reign of Edward I, and (more usually) that of 1397, in the reign of Richard II. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun] > a particular English or British parliament > specific great Parliamentc1450 Good Parliament1580 addle parliament1614 giunto1641 junto1641 Unlearned Parliament1643 Long Parliament1646 rump?1653 Short Parliament1653 lay Parliament1655 Barebone's Parliament1657 Rump Parliament1659 Little Parliamenta1675 Long Parliament1678 Pensioner Parliament1678 Pensioned Parliament1681 Bluestocking Parliamenta1683 Pension Parliament1682 Pensionary Parliament1690 marvellous Parliament?1706 rumple1725 lack-learning Parliament1765 unreported Parliament1839 Cavalier Parliament1849 Addled Parliament1857 merciless Parliament1875 wonderful Parliament1878 nominated Parliament1898 c1450 (c1425) Brut (Cambr. Kk.1.12) 352 Yn the xxj yere of King Richardeȝ regne, he ordend a parlement at Westmynstre, þe which was clepid ‘þe Grete Parlement’. 1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. ii. 19 At this Parliament also, called the Great Parliament, He created five Dukes, and a Duchesse, one Marquesse, and foure Earles. 1662 H. Foulis Hist. Wicked Plots ii. i. 74 Many [parliaments] of our former Representatives have had several names added to them, as the Parliament that wrought wonders, The great Parliament, [etc.]. ?1706 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft: 2nd Pt. v. 54 We meet..with a Parliament, called the good Parliament, in the 50th Year of Edw. III. and the great Parliament, and the marvellous Parliament, both in the Reign of Rich. II. 1804 W. Bingley North Wales II. xxii. 238 Another parliament was holden here in 1397, which, on account of the great number of people that were assembled in it, was called the Great Parliament. 1869 E. Creasy Hist. Eng. I. Index 511/2 The great parliament of 1295. 1885 F. Y. Powell in F. Y. Powell et al. Hist. Eng. I. iv.i. 198 The Great Parliament of 1295, which was afterwards acknowledged as the model for such gatherings, as the three Estates were all present regularly summoned. 1981 H. G. Richardson & G. O. Sayles Eng. Parl. in Middle Ages v. 146 The great parliament at London must be that of November 1295. We have not yet traced any other indication of the business of this parliament. 2003 M. Bennett in G. Dodd & D. Biggs Henry IV ii. 21 The counties and boroughs returned eleven per cent of the members who had served in Richard's ‘great parliament’ of 1397–8. great pipe n. [partly after Scottish Gaelic pìob mhór: see piob mhor n.] chiefly Scottish the Highland bagpipe; = piob mhor n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > bagpipe bagc1275 stivec1290 cornemusec1384 musettea1393 bagpipec1405 pair1422 pipec1450 muse1484 drone1502 lilt-pipea1525 great pipe1592 miskin1593 Highland pipe1599 small-pipes1656 piffero1724 Highland bagpipe1728 zampogna1740 union pipes1788 Lowland pipes1794 pibroch1807 piob mhor1838 gaita1846 sack pipe1889 set1893 biniou1902 uillean pipes1906 1592 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 26 James Roy, pyper, accusit for ganging through the toun playing on his gryit pyipe in the nycht. 1667 Highland Pap. II. 43 Causing ther pyper bend up a great pipe. 1793 J. L. Buchanan Trav. W. Hebrides 81 The violin is more used on these occasions than the small pipes. This last, with the great pipe, is mostly used in the field, at weddings, funerals, and other public meetings. 1896 N. Munro Lost Pibroch 21 Perhaps I have lost the skill of the tune, for it's long since I put it on the great pipe. 2009 I. MacInnes in J. Dickson Highland Bagpipe viii. 173 ‘Lowland’ pipes share much in common with the great pipe of the Highland tradition. great pock n. now historical and rare (in singular or plural) = great pox n.; (also) an individual skin lesion of syphilis. ΚΠ a1519 J. Colet Ryght Frutefull Monycion (1534) 6 And in especyall, call to remembraunce the meruailous and horryble punysshment of the abhominable great pockes, dayly apperynge to our sightes, growynge in & vpon mannes flesshe. 1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys i. f. xxi^v Such bold presumptuouse beggars as he ys in dede, hole & strong in body but weke & syk in soule, y^t haue theyr bodys clene fro skabbys and theyr soulys foule infect wyth vgly great pokkys & leprye. 1693 G. Powell Very Good Wife v. 43 Where be de great House, and de great Ditch, and de great Whore, and de great Pock now, you Son of a great Irish Bogtrotting Bitch. 1865 T. K. Chambers Renewal of Life (new ed.) 148 The reckoning of the days of latency and the history of the progress of the eruption will alone save you from falling into our forefathers' original error of confounding the ‘small’ and the ‘great’ pocks in babies. 1953 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 31 Jan. 283/1 On January 13 Lieutenant General Sir William MacArthur opened a discussion on ‘The Small Pocks and the Great Pocks’. great pox n. now historical = syphilis n. 1a; cf. earlier great pock n., French pox n. at French adj. and n. Compounds 1b, and smallpox n. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > venereal disease > [noun] > syphilis foul evila1398 grandgore1497 French disease1503 French pox1503 pox1503 great pocka1519 great pox1529 morbus gallicus1543 gore1554 marbles1592 verol1596 Spanish pox1600 verola1600 the foul evil1607 bube1608 grincome1608 Neapolitan1631 lues1634 scabbado1651 venereal syphilis1653 foul disease1680 gout1694 syphilid1829 syphiloid1833 syphiloderma1850 vaccino-syphilis1868 neurosyphilis1878 old ral1878 syph1914 bejel1928 cosmic disease- 1529 in Ld. Herbert Henry VIII (1649) 267 The same Lord Cardinall [sc. Wolsey] knowing himself to have the foule, and contagious Disease of the Great Pox, broken out upon him in divers places of this body, came daily to your Grace. 1595 T. W. tr. P. Leroy et al. Pleasant Satyre 56 I say not therefore to heale the kings euill or great poxe (wherewith his Southerly countries are very sore infected) hee maketh not any reckoning of the prayers of the deuout inhabitants of his good towne of Paris. 1655 Woodall's Surgeons Mate (new ed.) Preface sig. B2^v Of necessitie he [sc. the Surgeon] must not be forbidden lawfull practice, otherwise how shall he well perform his scope of healing,..where Physicians either are not at hand, or will not come, as when and where contagious diseases happen, namely, the small and great pox, or the pestilence, &c. 1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 352 The great Pox, which can scarce ever be cur'd without Viperals or Mercurials. a1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan i. cxxx, in Wks. (1833) XV. 163 I said the small-pox has gone out of late; Perhaps it may be follow'd by the great. 1928 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. Bull. 6 62 Great pox, like small pox, is a deadly enemy to the community. 2002 R. Porter Blood & Guts i. 13 The fact that some of the Spanish soldiers had accompanied Columbus suggested an American origin for the ‘great pox’. Great Prior n. [perhaps after Middle French, French grand prieur (16th cent.; compare Middle French grand prieus (14th cent.)): see prior n.¹ 1] now historical = Grand Prior n. (b) at grand adj., n., and adv. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1523 R. Sampson & R. Jarnegan Let. in L. Howard Coll. Lett. from Orig. MSS (1753) 191 Newis from the Capitaine of Purpinian, the which is Great Prior off Seinct Thou's, and the Emperor's Lieutenant there. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. i. 2 My Lord the county of Tende accompanied with the great prior of Rome..& diuers other captaines. 1685 tr. R. Simon Hist. Orig. & Progress Eccl. Revenues 232 In every province there is a great Prior who from time to time holds Provincial Chapters. 1755 J. Spotiswood Acct. Relig. Houses Scotl. in R. Keith Large New Catal. Bishops Scotl. 267 This Order was first composed of eight Languages or Nations; whereof..the Great Prior of Italy is Admiral. 1848 Secret Societies, Templars 244 The Great-priors, Great-preceptors, or Provincial Masters..of the three Provinces of Jerusalem, Tripoli, and Antioch. 1942 H. C. Lancaster in Adventures Literary Historian i. 108 The spectators, including the Duke of Vendôme, his brother the Great Prior, other nobles, and several authors, were awaiting the arrival of the Dauphin. 1981 R. J. Sealy Palace Acad. Henry III 15 The Great Prior left studies a learned man. † great prior's herb n. [after French herbe du grand prieur (1570 or earlier), an allusion to François de Lorraine (1534–63), Grand Prior of France, who is reputed to have cultivated tobacco and promoted its use as a medicine and stimulant, having been presented with specimens by Jean Nicot in 1560 (see nicotian n.¹)] Obsolete rare tobacco. ΚΠ 1577 J. Frampton tr. J. Liébault in tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes ii. f. 42^v Others haue named it the greate Priours hearbe [Fr. l'herbe du grand Prieur], for that hee caused it to multiplie in Fraunce, more then any other. Great Pyramid n. the largest of the pyramids at Giza, which forms the tomb of the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Cheops (in later use sometimes with reference to its supposed mystical powers; cf. Great Pyramid prophecy n.). ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > obsequies > monument > [noun] > pyramid pyramida1500 Great Pyramid1591 huaca1847 step-pyramid1886 the world > the supernatural > the occult > [noun] > pyramidology > pyramid Great Pyramid1859 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by the measurements of the Great Pyramid > Great Pyramid so used Great Pyramid1883 1591 J. Harington in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso xv. 116 (note) Peter Messie prooueth that the great Pyramid was 150. furlongs hie. 1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. i. vii. 18 The height of the great Pyramid..is by its perpendicular..499 feet, by its inclining ascent, 693 feet. 1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxx. 39 When they came to the great pyramid they were astonished at the extent of the base. 1859 J. Taylor Great Pyramid p. vi I have confined my observations to the Great Pyramid alone. 1880 Warren (Pa.) Ledger 19 Mar. Those who read in the hidden chambers of the great pyramid momentous prophecies for 1881. 1883 Eclectic Mag. Jan. 25/2 The prophecies symbolically indicated in the Great Pyramid. 1976 Listener 19 Feb. 199/1 Books on ESP, UFOs, the mystic powers of the Great Pyramid..are..strong runners in the publishing stakes. 2003 Focus July (Kings of Egypt fold-out Suppl.) When complete, The Great Pyramid was approximately 146.5m high. Great Pyramid prophecy n. now rare a prophecy based on a belief in the occult significance of the internal dimensions of the Great Pyramid; (also as a mass noun) these prophecies considered collectively, forming a prediction of significant world events; pyramidology. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by symbols, letters, figures, etc. > [noun] > by the measurements of the Great Pyramid Great Pyramid prophecy1883 pyramidology1924 1883 Eclectic Mag. Jan. 26/1 All true believers in the Great Pyramid prophecies. 1938 Times 7 Oct. 10/6 The modern interpretations of Biblical prophecy and Great Pyramid prophecy. 1960 M. Bouisson Magic 288 The case of the Great Pyramid prophecy for the date of 20 August 1953 seems to us..inexplicable. 1999 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 29 Dec. 12 The great pyramid prophecy says the Earth's magnetic poles will become unstable and the polar shift will knock the earth upside-down in a few days. Great Red Spot n. Astronomy an oval feature in the outer gas of the planet Jupiter, sometimes red but now usually pink in colour; = red spot n. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > superior planet > [noun] > Jupiter > red spot red spot1879 Great Red Spot1880 1880 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 21 Jan. 2/5 The great red spot on Jupiter..continues to attract the attention of observers. 1936 F. Reh Astron. for Layman xviii. 243 Occasionally a more or less fixed spot appears. Such a spot is the so-called ‘great red spot’..still faintly visible in good photographs. 1967 P. Moore Amateur Astronomer's Gloss. 61 Of particular interest is the Great Red Spot, which can be traced on drawings made as long ago as 1631. 2006 Analog June 103/2 Surely the Great Red Spot unambiguously identified the gas giant as Jupiter. great relief n. high relief, alto-relievo; now chiefly figurative and in non-technical use. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief > high relief great relief1634 alto-relievo1664 grand relief1703 alt-relief1748 alto relief1772 haut-relief1850 1634 T. Carew Cœlum Britanicum 1 A great vaze of gold, richly enchased, and beautified with Sculptures of great Releiue. 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 537 The Plinth of each of them was beautify'd with sculptures of great Relieve. 1725 D. Humphreys tr. B. de Montfaucon Suppl. Antiq. Explained V. v. ix. 555 The first [marble coffin] we give here must have had the Figures expressed in Great Relief, because we find so many Arms and Legs broke off. 1872 Building News 30 Aug. 130/1 In the south arcade they had the banded shafts and the nascent foliage of the Lancet period coming out in great relief. 1909 W. Armstrong Art in Great Brit. & Ireland xx. 290 His great relief in the pediment over the west door shows errors of taste. 2003 S. Browne Contacting your Spirit Guide (2007) 171 Everything stands out in great relief. great road n. [in use with reference to France after French grand chemin (late 14th cent.) or grand rue (early 15th cent.)] now somewhat archaic or historical a main road, the principal highway; also figurative; cf. high road n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > main or major road great road1614 high road1620 main road1741 highway1837 traffic artery1845 trunk road1848 main-way1862 arterial road1886 primary roada1903 route1912 arterial1920 major road1930 spine road1961 1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket i. 27 You can not stirre a foot in the great Road to the Citie of Hell, Pluto's Court, but you meet sinnes in throngs. 1622 L. Digges tr. G. de Céspedes y Meneses Gerardo i. ii. 121 In all that way (as being indeed no great Roade) they met not a creature. 1644 J. Howell Englands Teares 13 The Spanish Mule, who having by accident gone out of the great road, and carried her Rider thorow a by-path. 1726 New-Eng. Courant 5 Feb. 2/2 A Tract of Land in Watertown, lying upon the great Road leading from Watertown to Cambridge. 1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide (1781) 12 The heavy artillery in general keeps the great road. 1805 W. Maclure European Jrnl. (1988) 14 July 25 All the taverns since we left Moulins have been neat and clean, and much superior to anything on the great roads of France. a1837 E. D. Griffin Serm. (1844) v. 28/2 It is the great road to perdition: or if the gate of hell is shut by the grace of God, it is the great road to darkness, temptation, and distress. 1906 J. W. Fortescue Hist. Brit. Army IV. xii. x. 253 The principal bridges were those of Pont-à-Marque on the great road to Paris, and Pont-à-Tressin on the road from Tournai to Lille. 1998 Philadelphia Daily News (Nexis) 9 July t2 When Germantown Avenue was The Great Road through Germantown, the reputation of its colonial craftsmen was unparalled [sic] in the New World. Great Roll n. (also with lower-case initials) British (now historical) (the name of) a roll (roll n.¹ 1b) recording accounts of royal revenue as collected in every county; = pipe roll n. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > account book > specific Great Roll1397 pell1434 red book?1445 pipe1461 the Black Book of the Exchequer1592 pipe roll1612 great book1794 scoreboard1823 1397–8 Rolls of Parl.: Richard II (Electronic ed.) Parl. Sept. 1397 Pleas §7. m. 4 Thomas duk of Gloucestre..hathe iknowe and confessyd to fore the same William alle the matiere and pointz iwrete in this grete roulle aunexid [read annexid] to this sedule, the weche sedule and gret roule bethe asselid under the sele of the forseyd William. 1622 T. Powell Direct. Search of Rec. in Chancerie 40 All Debts due to the King, are in the said Great Roll contayned. 1711 T. Madox Hist. & Antiq. Exchequer 7 Magnus Rotulus, The Great Roll of the Exchequer commonly called the Pipe Roll. 1834 Act 4 & 5 William IV c. 16 §1 The Office of Recorder of the Great Roll or Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer in Scotland shall cease and determine. 1980 Amer. Jrnl. Legal Hist. 24 363 After the English defeat at Bannockburn another notary..was employed by the English government to draw up new great rolls concerning the king's ‘rightful dominion over the realm of Scotland’. 2009 P. Szyttya in M. F. Cusato & G. Geltner Defenders & Critics of Franciscan Life iii. 162 He became one of the clerks assigned to the Clerk of the Great Roll, otherwise known as the Engrosser. It was the Engrosser's duty to maintain the Great Roll of the Exchequer, the Pipe Roll. great smoke n. the largest city in a particular country or region, esp. London; cf. big smoke n. ΚΠ 1870 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 209/2 Three weeks were gone.., in another she must return to the Great Smoke. 1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 270 The Smoke = any large city: spec. London: also The Great Smoke. 2010 Times (Nexis) 8 Dec. 69 London was called the Great Smoke with good reason. The city was choked by coal smoke. Great Society n. U.S. a set of domestic reform programmes instigated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, with the main intention of eliminating poverty and advancing civil rights; frequently (and in earliest use) attributive. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > politics > American politics > [noun] > principles or policies federalism1787 state rights1787 colonizationism1831 hunkerism1845 Reconstructionism1881 Little Americanism1898 Point Four1949 fairness doctrine1952 new frontier1961 Great Society1964 eleventh commandment1966 Nixon Doctrine1969 1964 Washington Post 24 Apr. a18/1 President Johnson told 6000 cheering Democrats here tonight..that their Party must ‘build a great society of the highest order’.] 1964 Newsday (N.Y.) 27 June 5/1 Johnson went in front of his Democratic audience to put in a big new plug for his ‘great society’ program. 1965 N.Y. Times 14 Mar. 3/2 In expanding on the work of its forebears, the Great Society has produced a wealth of new ideas. 1987 W. Greider Secrets of Temple i. iii. 91 Lyndon Johnson was blamed for..adding tens of billions in new spending for the war in Indochina to the federal budget, alongside the burgeoning new Great Society spending for education, health and poverty. 2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 24 Jan. i. 8/4 The political culture of South Carolina conservatism has been decades in the making, forged by opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, Harry Truman's Fair Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. great son n. chiefly South African the eldest son of an African chief or king and his (principal) wife; the heir apparent to the chieftainship. ΚΠ 1831 W. B. Boyce Jrnl. 15 Oct. in A. Steedman Wanderings S. Afr. (1835) II. 288 A male child has been born to Faku lately, which, from the rank of its mother, is the great son or heir of its father. 1907 W. C. Scully By Veldt & Kopje 254 The Chief's ‘Great Son’ was to be made a man at the time, and my father wanted me to be one of his blood-brothers. 2003 P. M. Gunnar Here I am, Lord, send Me iii. 58 The ‘Great Son’ of a chief, the first son of his father's ‘Great Wife’ and the legal inheritor of the chief's power, was often a child at his father's death. Great Synagogue n. in rabbinical tradition: a Jewish council founded by Ezra and his associates after the return from the Babylonian Captivity to put various decrees into effect and conclude a covenant (Nehemiah 8–10).The historical reliability of this late tradition cannot be established. [Ultimately after post-biblical Hebrew kĕnesseṯ ha-gĕḏōlāh, lit. ‘Great Assembly’, ‘Great Synagogue’ (for the first element of the Hebrew compound, see Knesset n., and compare synagogue n.), although the precise origin of the institution is uncertain. Compare post-classical Latin synagoga magna (1550 or earlier).] ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of body or spec. bodies > [noun] > with reference to foreign countries > Jewish councilc1384 synedrion1581 Great Synagogue1585 sanhedrim1588 Judenrat1903 1585 R. Parsons Christian Directorie i. iv. 216 The great Synagogue, called Sanhedria; which after the captiuity of Babylon, vntil Herods time, supplied (in a sorte) the spirit of prophetie, that was expresly in Israel before the said captiuity. 1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron v. i. 221 That great assembly of Prophets and holy men, called together by Esra for the reformation of the Church, after their returne from Babylon, is called Synagoga magna, Their great Synagogue. 1734 J. Hutchinson Covenant in Cherubim 264 Some suppose that Ezra began it, others that the Men of the Great Synagogue did it. 1876 B. Martin Messiah's Kingdom ii. iv. 88 The Great Synagogue, which consisted of 120 members, governed the Jews both in political and ecclesiastical matters for about 110 years, from Nehemiah to Simon the Just, when it was merged in the Sanhedrim. 1881 W. R. Smith Old Test. in Jewish Church vi. 156 The Great Synagogue plays a considerable part in Jewish tradition;..we now know that the whole idea..is pure fiction. 1993 Proc. Amer. Acad. Jewish Res. 59 148 One finds in the Bibel'sche Orient a negation of Ezra, the Magna Ecclesia (the Great Synagogue), the Pharisees and the Aramaic language. great thought n. now sometimes ironic a concise saying, a maxim, an aphorism.In many contexts difficult to distinguish from more general use in senses at branch A. III. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun] saw9.. quideOE yedOE wordOE wisdomc1175 bysawe?c1225 riotc1330 sentencec1380 textc1386 dict1432 diction1477 redec1480 say1486 adage1530 commonplace?1531 adagy1534 soothsay1549 maxima1564 apophthegm1570 speech1575 gnome1577 aphorisma1593 imprese1593 spoke1594 symbol1594 maxim1605 wording1606 impress1610 motto1615 dictum1616 impresa1622 dictate1625 effate1650 sentiment1780 great thought1821 brocarda1856 text-motto1880 sententia1917 1821 W. Hazlitt Table-talk xi. 253 Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts. 1872 Athenæum 5 Oct. 486/1 (advt) Being a Collection of Great Thoughts on the Subjects of Bereavement, Consolation, and Resignation. 1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. i. iv. 48 A calendar of Great Thoughts was roughly divested of ninety-eight great thoughts at once. 1969 K. Giles Death cracks Bottle iii. 23 ‘How nice!’ said Noni, with what passed with her for wit. ‘Any more great thoughts on offer?’ 1993 B. Phillips (title) Phillips' book of great thoughts, funny sayings: a stupendous collection of quotes, quips, epigrams, witticisms, and humorous comments: for personal enjoyment and ready reference. Great Thursday n. (also Great and Holy Thursday) Orthodox Church the Thursday before Easter, which is observed as a commemoration of the Last Supper; cf. Maundy Thursday n. [In quot. 1831 translating an Arabic source, the work of a 17th-cent. Syrian Melkite clergyman and chronicler, and perhaps originally after Arabic ḵamīs al-kabīr, lit. ‘Great Thursday’. In later use (in Greek, Serbian, and Russian Orthodox contexts) after Serbian Veliki Četvrtak and Russian Velikij Četverg (Old Russian Velikyj Četv′rg′′; compare Old Church Slavonic Velikyi Četvrŭtŭkŭ) and their ultimate model Byzantine Greek πέμπτη ὴ μεγάλη (modern Greek Μεγάλη Πέμπτη).] ΚΠ 1831 F. C. Belfour tr. Paul of Aleppo Trav. Macarius II. iii. 138 On Great, or Holy, Thursday, the Beg sent his coach at break of day; and we passed to the Church of the Corta, for the ceremonies of ablution and mass. 1853 tr. in W. Palmer Diss. ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Eastern-Catholic’ Communion xiii. 194 The Synod of Carthage appointed that on the Great Thursday [the faithful] should Communicate in the holy Mysteries after their evening meal, in imitation of that Supper of the Lord. 1865 Church Work (Guild of St. Alban) Sept. 481 The Greek Church call it Great and Holy Thursday, Vigil of the Passion, The mystic Supper. 1929 Art Bull. 11 80 The text visible below the miniature in our reproduction is..the end of the first lesson..for the liturgy of Great Thursday (Holy Week). 1958 J. M. Halpern Serbian Village x. 240 The village church is crowded on Great Thursday, when the story of the Crucifixion is read. 1985 P. Lazor tr. N. Uspensky Evening Worship in Orthodox Church iii. iii. 219 Before the Liturgy on Great and Holy Thursday, the priest and the deacon went to the skeuophylakion where the vessels with the myron intended for consecration were kept. 2010 Church Times 1 Apr. 22/2 Not everyone calls it Maundy Thursday, either... Others..called it Remission Day. To this day, it is also described as Holy Thursday, Great Thursday, or even the Thursday of the Mysteries. great tithe n. now historical a predial tithe paid on agricultural products produced in large quantities, such as grain, hay, and wood, and typically due to the rector of the parish; cf. tithe n.² 1a. ΚΠ 1619 R. Tillesley Animadversions Seldens Hist. Tithes 147 He should haue for his life all the great Tithes. 1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 285 Where the Vicar leases his Glebe, the Tenant must pay the great Tithes to the Rector or Impropriator. 1862 J. H. Burton Book-hunter (1863) 294 The Bishop of Lichfield..was Dean of Durham, and owner of the great tithes in the parish. 2000 Church Times 7 Apr. 8/1 Who would be a lay rector? Once upon a time most such people enjoyed a share in the ‘great tithe’. great tradition n. the corpus of great English fiction as defined by the English literary critic F. R. Leavis (1895–1978). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > [noun] > specific types of literature > English great tradition1948 1890 H. James in Speaker 4 Jan. 11/3 For the great value of Browning is that at bottom..he is unmistakably in the great tradition.] 1948 F. R. Leavis Great Trad. i. 7 By ‘great tradition’ I mean the tradition to which what is great in English fiction belongs. 1969 Guardian 21 Aug. 8/3 The inheritors of Leavis's Great Tradition..mutter about pretentious, jumped-up, pulp writers. 1971 Human World Nov. 88 The Great Tradition from Jane Austen to Conrad is that of the fine individual consciousness. 2009 R. Storer F. R. Leavis v. 79 In the introduction to the earlier book Dickens is deliberately excluded from the great tradition. Great Unknown n. (a) (chiefly with the) anything which is not within the scope of existing knowledge; esp. anything considered to be vast and beyond the limits of human comprehension or understanding, as God, the future, the universe, etc. (b) a significant or influential person of unknown identity; used spec. in the 19th cent. as a nickname for the anonymous author of Waverley, i.e. Sir Walter Scott (cf. small known at known n. 3). ΚΠ 1598 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Colonies 34 They knew the great vnknowne, and..With faithfull eyes beheld their vnbeholden king. 1684 N. Tate Poems (ed. 2) 149 Hail then, thou matchless Bard, thou great Unknown. 1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) i. 2 When shall we see the Great Unknown, And in thy Presence stand? 1825 R. Wilson Hist. Hawick 51 The powerfully superior mind of the Great Unknown. 1877 R. F. Burton Sind Revisited ix. 191 That Great Unknown, the literato who baptized the animal ‘Ship of the Desert’. 1934 Studies: Irish Q. Rev. 23 657 Some ‘Great Unknown’ who was contemporary with the Exile. 1989 A. Stoddard Living beautifully Together (1991) i. 39 Buy a telescope. Contemplate the great unknown. 2003 Philadelphia Inquirer 30 May w4/1 In leaving the known quantity of his anemone for the great unknown of the East Australian Current, he conquers his fears and the hearts of the audience. Great Wardrobe n. [after post-classical Latin magna garderoba (from 13th cent. in British sources) and Anglo-Norman grant warderobe (early 14th cent. or earlier)] a department of the royal household responsible for supplying household goods and keeping accounts of the king’s privy purse; (also) the goods administered by this department considered collectively; a building or location used by this department for storage and administration. Cf. wardrobe n. 3, Master of the Great Wardrobe n. at master n.¹ 23a(f). historical after 18th cent.By the mid-13th cent. the Great Wardrobe had developed as the principal domestic financial office of the royal household responsible for supplying horses, food, drink, clothing, and other textiles to the household and to the army during times of war. At this date it was distinct from the household wardrobe, which held responsibility for the monarch's personal expenditure, although the two were subsequently merged and the wardrobe's function restricted to providing for the daily needs of the household. From the mid-14th to 17th cent. the Great Wardrobe had permanent premises near Blackfriars in London housing offices and storage for non-perishable goods. The building at Blackfriars was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and Great Wardrobe as a department abolished in 1782. ΚΠ 1439 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1835) V. 114 (MED) The kyngges of armes, heraudes of the..reme, han had owte of her grete warderobe at every feste..here lyvere clothing. 1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 155 George Lufkyn Sergeant taillour of the grete Warderobe of the Kyng. 1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1561/2 Edward Walgraue knight, M. of oure greate wardrop. 1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 404/1 Along till over against Puddle wharfe; and then North up by the great Wardrobe, to the West end of Carter lane. 1660 S. Pepys Diary 15 June (1970) I. 175 The King hath given him the place of the Great Wardrobe. 1755 H. Walpole Let. 29 Sept. (1906) II. 471 Sir Thomas Robinson is to return to the Great Wardrobe, with an additional pension on Ireland of 2000 l. a year. 1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 44 What, Sir, is there in the office of the great wardrobe (which has the care of the king's furniture) that may not be executed by the lord chamberlain himself. 1914 W. G. Thomson Tapestry Weaving in Eng. xvii. 139 The arras-workers and tailors employed in the Great Wardrobe changed the scene of their labours to offices in Great Queen Street. 2008 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Jan. 27/1 Maria Hayward's splendid survey..brings to life the little-known institution of the Great Wardrobe. Great Week n. = Holy Week n. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] throwingeOE passionOE paschOE swiwike?c1225 pace1385 Passion Weekc1460 Great Week1612 Holy Week1710 Semana Santa1831 passion-tide1847 Maundy-week1868 1612 I. B tr. P. Du Moulin Waters of Siloe iv. 189 At Rome in the passion weeke, which they call the great weeke, you may see whole troopes of hired persons, who..do publikely mangle their backs with scourgings. 1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices v. 151 It [sc. Holy Week] became to be stiled also The great Week. 1716 M. Hole Pract. Disc. Liturgy Church of Eng. IV. liii. 431 This Week immediately preceding the Feast of Easter..was antiently call'd sometimes the Great Week, sometimes the Holy Week. 1812 J. Brady Clavis calendaria I. 266 The week was called the ‘Great Week’, in token of the inestimable blessings bestowed upon mankind, through the merits and sufferings of our Saviour. 1907 Amer. Anthropologist 9 753 Treats of the ceremonies and customs of the ‘great week’ (holy week) in the Salentine peninsula,—processions, representation of the passion of Jesus, etc. 2000 J. Baggley Festival Icons for Christian Year viii. 71 At a later stage further liturgical observances marked the particular stages in the drama of the Passion and Resurrection, and became what we now refer to as Holy Week or Great Week. great wheel n. (a) an exceptionally large wheel, esp. one in a piece of apparatus; also figurative; (b) Watchmaking and Clockmaking the first wheel in the train; spec. a cogged wheel at the foot of a fusee, of slightly larger diameter than the adjacent largest step of the fusee. ΚΠ 1517 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxvi. 116 Vnder eche horse there was full pryuely A grete whele made by craftly geometry With many cogges vnto whiche were tyed Dyuerse cordes. 1538 T. Elyot Dict. Tympanum, is also a great whele, wherein men do goo and drawe vp water. 1598 tr. J. de Serres Hist. Coll. 50 Diuers Politicians..were of opinion, that this great Wheele of earthly prosperities, would shortly turne about. 1610 D. Price Creation of Prince sig. D3 With a good heart there is euer a wise tongue..and a humble minde, this beeing like the great wheele in a watch, all the lesser depend vpon it. 1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. xxix. 70 Till the great wheel of providence turn up another spoke. 1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xiv. 235 Of Turning Oval Work. This Work may be perform'd in the Common Lathe that goes either with the Treddle Wheel or the great Wheel. 1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 346 The great wheel of circulation [sc. money] is altogether different from the goods which are circulated by means of it. View more context for this quotation 1850 E. B. Denison Rudimentary Treat. Clock & Watch Making i. lxxxi. 110 The great wheel of a weight-clock rides on the barrel arbor. 1903 O. Kuhns Great Poets Italy ix. 287 When the ‘great wheel’ of Napoleon's prosperity began to roll down hill, Monti let go for fear his own career should be involved in the ruin of the great Corsican. 1948 A. L. Rawlings Sci. Clocks & Watches xiii. 240 Most spring clocks and watches have a ‘going barrel’, which is in one piece with the first wheel of the train called the great wheel. 1968 D. Braithwaite Fairground Archit. 56 The ‘Great Wheel’ at the Earls Court Exhibition in 1894, a semi-permanent structure, seated 1,200 riders in 40 carriages. 2010 C. McKay Big Ben xvii. 228/1 The engaged winding pinion is on a swinging arm; this arm has a click that engages with flat ratchet teeth set on the rear face of the great wheel. Great White Father n. (a) (now chiefly historical) (in representations of North American Indian speech) the President of the United States; = Great Father n.; (b) (chiefly ironic) a person in authority; cf. great white chief at chief n. 6b.In sense (a) the expression belongs to the fictive kinship terminology widely used in diplomatic relations by Indians of Eastern North America: see the discussion of red children n. at red adj. and n. Compounds 1f(c)(i). Compare White Father n. (a) at white adj. and n. Compounds 1f. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > in a republic > in U.S. president1784 Great White Father1806 Great Father1808 POTUS1895 society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority mastereOE herOE lordOE overmana1325 overling1340 seignior1393 prelatea1475 oversman1505 signor1583 hogen mogen1639 boss-cocky1898 man1918 trump1937 authority figure1948 Great White Father1960 1806 Literary Mag. Jan. 78/2 Whene'er to march thou feel'st inclin'd, We'll form a lengthening file behind, And dauntless from our forests walk To hear our Great White Father's talk. 1888 B. Harte Drift from Redwood Camp in Phyllis of Sierras 199 The Messenger of the Great White Father has come to-day. 1936 Time 25 May 11/1 The Indians came bearing gifts, a blanket for the Great White Father [sc. President Roosevelt], a ring for the Great White Mother. 1960 Ont. Legislature Deb. 6 Dec. 247/2 And when they had it arranged, the great white father blows into town and gives the people a party. 1963 Amer. Speech 38 272 The disparaging use of the term Great White Father for the superintendent, an unpopular authoritarian figure, appears to be limited to the staff, only half of whom are Indian. 2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers viii. 368 ‘I'm referring to the Indian curse of the seven generations.’ ‘What?’ ‘Absolutely. After the Great Displacement when they saw how The Great White Father's word had been broken, they reacted.’ Great White North n. (a) the Arctic; (b) (in later use, chiefly North American) Canada. ΚΠ 1895 A. W. Greely Addr. 6th Internat. Geogr. Congr. in E. B. Baldwin Search for North Pole (1896) i. 16 If one would gain an adequate idea of the true aspects of such voyaging, he must turn to the original journals, penned in the great White North by brave men. 1910 H. S. Wright (title) The Great White North: the story of polar exploration from the earliest times to the discovery of the Pole. 1981 Film Comment May 77 These two guys, Bob and Doug McKenzie..sit on a mock-up set with a map of Canada, the Great White North, behind them and a dozen cases of Molson's Canadian surrounding them. 1993 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 14 May c3 It's the '40s and Walter is back in the Great White North... Things are much the same in the Arctic Circle. 2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 12 Sept. iii. 1/1 In the Great White North, fans feel strongly either way about their national sport. great white spot n. (also with capital initials) Astronomy a distinctive white area that is periodically visible through a telescope on the surface of Saturn but is relatively short-lived.Such spots are attributed to violent atmospheric disturbances, and occur approximately every 28–29 years.Before 1933 referred to simply as a white spot: cf. white spot n. 2. ΚΠ 1877 Analyst 4 41 On the Rotation of Saturn... At the time of the discovery of the white spot this determination of Herschel was not known to me.] 1933 Sci. News. Let. 19 Aug. 115/2 (caption) In contrast is the left view [of Saturn] showing the great white spot, taken by Dr. E. C. Slipher. 1992 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) June 21/1 In the fall of 1990 Hubble took..images of Saturn in order to track a 50,000-kilometer-wide storm of ammonia ice crystals, termed the Great White Spot. 2012 P. Ulivi & D. M. Harland Robotic Explor. Solar Syst.: Pt. 3 vii. 184 This was only the sixth such ‘great white spot’ to have been observed during the last 135 years. Great White Throne n. [with allusion to Revelation 20:11 (Hellenistic Greek θρόνος μέγας λευκός)] the throne of God; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun] > throne of God cherubc825 thronec1225 sedea1400 Great White Throne1612 Mercy seat1667 1612 T. Wilson Christian Dict. 63 Great White Throne, seate Royall, full of exceeding Maiestie and greatnesse, such as Kinges and Iudges vse to sit in. 1673 J. Flavell Fountain of Life Opened xliii. 589 O what an honour will it be to the man Christ Jesus, who stood arraigned and condemned at Pilates bar, to sit upon the great white Throne surrounded with thousands and ten thousands of Angels! 1749 C. Wesley Hymns & Sacred Poems II. ccxxix. 311 O might we Now behold Thee In radiant Clouds descending, Sublime upon The great white Throne, With all thy Hosts attending! 1806 J. Struthers Peasant's Death in Cabinet (1807) 1 115 The great white throne, with ensigns angel-borne. 1850 R. Browning Christmas-eve xviii. 116 Is Judgment past for me alone?—And where had place the Great White Throne? 1873 C. M. Yonge Pillars of House III. xxxii. 212 It was his first mountain... He raised his hat with an instinct of reverence..then murmured, ‘One seems nearer the Great White Throne!’ 1922 E. E. Cummings Enormous Room vii. 155 The Mecca of respectability, the Great White Throne of purity. 1990 Decision June 3/1 If you are outside Christ, you are going to be at the judgment. This is called the great white throne judgment. Great White Way n. [with allusion to the bright illumination of the street: compare white way n. at white adj. and n. Compounds 1f] Broadway, a street in Manhattan, New York City, famous for its theatres; (also) a similar street in another city. [ O.E.D. Suppl. (1972) included the following as its earliest example, but the work in question concerns an Antarctic expedition: 1901 A. B. Paine (title) The great white way. ] ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > brilliantly lit Great White Way1902 society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > specific street Watling Street1569 pall-mall1656 high1853 Corso1876 Great White Way1902 1902 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 22 Nov. 6/4 (heading) ‘It's Carmen or Nothing’... Miss Phillips Out of Cast. Manager Hands Her the Second Part to Play and She Cries ‘Quits’... Miss Phillips..Will Join the Throng on ‘The Great White Way’. 1903 Washington Post 18 Oct. iv. 4/6 Theatrical Beau Esprits of Broadway... The fascination of the so-called ‘Great white way’—referring, of course, to the myriad of electric lights of theaters, hotels, and bazaars—for the man of wit and humor is irresistible. 1908 G. V. Hobart Go to It 22 Eight weeks since we left Chicago, three shows to the bad, and still a thousand miles from the Great White Way. 1936 H. Miller Black Spring 248 The Great White Way is blazing with spark-plugs. 1967 Act One Scene Two: Pt. 2 Nov. 12/3 All we can do is to keep our bit of the Oxford Playhouse staked out worthily along the Great White Way. 1980 N.Y. Times 10 Dec. a14 ‘Welcome to Boston's Great White Way,’ the sign on a theater marquee pridefully proclaimed. 2012 Independent (Nexis) 24 Jan. 26 Their 1976 musical Evita ran for four years on Broadway but despite having the Great White Way at their feet, it proved to be their last major collaboration. great wife n. (in a polygamous marriage) a man's highest-ranking wife; spec. (chiefly South African) the highest-ranking wife of an African chief or king, and the mother of his heir. ΚΠ 1759 Mod. Part Universal Hist. VII. 236 A man [in Thailand] may have several wives... There is always one of them who is the chief, and called the great wife. 1867 W. Taylor Christian Adventures in S. Afr. xxi. 355 Umhlonhlo, the Chief of the Amapondumsi, sent to Damasi, Chief of the Amapondo, saying that he was preparing to marry his great wife, and therefore he wanted the war to ‘sit still a little while’. 1921 G. Cory Rise of S. Afr. I. i. 22 Among the wives of a paramount chief, one was the ‘great wife’..; her eldest son was presumptive heir to the paramountcy. The ‘great wife’ was, in most cases, the last one taken. 2001 Trav. Afr. Autumn 19/2 Both families opposed their marriage in 1948, the Bamangwato being particularly furious as the Mohumagadi (Great wife of the King) was, by custom, selected by the community. great world n. [after French le grand monde (1680)] aristocratic society; high society. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun] optimacy1579 aristocracy1651 great world1699 peerage1725 well-connected1788 governing class1795 patriciate1795 well-connected1831 caste1842 (the) salt of the earth1842 the leisured class(es1848 japonicadom1851 countyocracy1859 masterclass1861 proprietariat1872 four hundred1888 the Establishment1923 gratin1934 power élite1942 U1954 upper1955 topside1958 1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. at World To live among the great World, vivre parmi le grand monde, frequenter le grand monde. 1713 Guardian 29 Aug. 235 I know not what Delight splendid Nuptials may afford to the generality of the Great World. 1778 F. Burney Evelina I. xxiv. 201 During her residence in the great world. 1851 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1894) I. 272 Thackeray says he is getting tired of being witty, and of the great world. 1946 Life 16 Dec. 78/2 High life meant high living: the gouty great world ate (with their knives) only a little less than they drank. 1996 E. Dunning & S. Mennel tr. N. Elias Germans ii. 126 Both political and civilized behaviour represented the grand monde, the ‘great world’, where people, so it appeared to those living in the ‘smaller middle-class world’, were full of conceit and pretence. f. Anatomy and Zoology. In names of parts of the body (see sense A. 4b).great foot: see foot n. 1c. great hand: see hand n. 1d. † great arm n. [after post-classical Latin brachium magnum (14th cent.)] Obsolete the entire arm from the shoulder to the fingertips; cf. great hand at hand n. 1d. ΚΠ ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 14^v In al þe grete arme or grete hand [L. brachio magno seu manu magna] bene 29 bones. 1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. G.iv The bones of the great arme, that is to say, from the shoulder to the fingers endes, be .xxx. great artery n. [after post-classical Latin arteria magna (14th cent.)] the aorta; (in later use also) the pulmonary artery. ΚΠ a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 300 Basilica..sittiþ ful nyȝ þe gret arterie. 1566 W. Painter tr. O. Landi Delectable Demaundes f. 40 Wherfore is it not good to slepe with the face vpwardes? Bicause it heateth the raines, inflameth the bloud, and not onelye the blud but the spirits also, which are in the hollow vaine & in y^e gret arterie [Fr. la grande Arterie]. 1681 Table of Hard Words in S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Remaining Med. Wks. Cephalic arterie consists of two branches which, springing out of the great artery, ascend up into the head. 1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. viii. ii. 96 The Vessel..which is called the Aorta, Arteria magna, or Great Artery. 1831 W. Hamilton Hist. Med., Surg., & Anat. I. ii. 76 He [sc. Aristotle] gave..the name of Aorta to the great artery of the body, which, originating in the left ventricle of the heart, carries the blood, after its re-oxygenation in the lungs, for re-distribution throughout the body. 1922 C. J. Singer Discov. Circulation of Blood i. 6 From each of the two ventricles arises a great artery through which the blood is distributed. 2012 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 28 July 21 The fundraising programme has been overseen by Ethan's mum and dad..who set up a website to raise awareness of his condition, called transposition of the great arteries. † great bone n. [after post-classical Latin os magnum (1538 or earlier)] Obsolete the sacrum. ΚΠ 1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 215 The marrow of the great or holy bone. 1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. i. xiv. 56 They come from the Trunk of the great Artery, near the great bone under the Emulgent vein. 1754 tr. B. S. Albinus Explan. Anat. Fig. Human Skeleton 17 The os sacrum or great bone of the spine. 1888 S. Lockwood Animal Mem. II. ii. 20 In fact, the hinder vertebræ are not only soldered to each other but connected also with the sacrum or great bone below. † great leg n. Obsolete the whole of the leg including the foot and toes; cf. great foot at foot n. 1c. ΚΠ ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 19 (MED) One partie forsoþ of þe grete fote or legge [L. magni pedis seu tybie] is seid coxa i. þe þie. ?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens sig. L.i And in all y^e great fote or great leg there be .xxx. great omentum n. [after scientific Latin omentum magnum (1746 or earlier)] now rare = greater omentum n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1754 S. Mihles tr. A. von Haller Physiol. II. 149 The outermost coat..is expanded into the little and great omentum. 1873 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. xi. 458 A great, free, apron-like flap of the peritoneum called the great omentum, hangs down loosely in front of the bowels. 1949 H. Bailey Demonstr. Physical Signs Clin. Surg. (ed. 11) xxiv. 308 The great omentum..shuts off that portion of the general peritoneal cavity in the immediate vicinity of the spleen. 2004 A. L. Baert et al. Radiol. Pancreas 132/2 (caption) Note the streaky densities of the great omentum seen anteriorly. great vessel n. [after post-classical Latin vas magnum (1526 or earlier)] a large blood vessel; spec. any of those entering and leaving the heart, esp. the aorta or the pulmonary artery (cf. great artery n.). ΚΠ 1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke iv. iii. 176 This feuer Synochus putrida or continens febris is caused when all the humoures do putrifie and rot equallie togither within all the vesselles, and specially in the great vesselles, which be about the armeholes, and the share. 1663 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxii. 55/1 Whence Hippocrates calls it [sc. the right testicle] the Boy-getter, because it receives more pure and hot blood and Spirits out of the great Vessel, viz. the great Artery. 1795 Mem. Med. Soc. London 4 xx. 276 The heart, pericardium and great vessels had a tendency..to produce an amplification of the left [cavity of the thorax]. 1872 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. vi. 218 The heart and the roots of the great vessels which proceed from it are..placed within the inner wall of this pleuro-peritoneal cavity. 1902 Internat. Jrnl. Surg. Jan. 23/2 Though the bone was extensively injured, and rather extensive decortication was present, the great vessels and nerves remaining intact, a conservative operation..gave excellent results. 2004 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 21 Aug. c6/2 The next morning, Sandra received the news that Robert was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Vessels. In very simple terms, the vessels on the heart are reversed. g. In the names of animals and plants (see also sense A. 4a). great ape n. any of the large apes of the group comprising gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees (often classified as the family Pongidae, but in some current schemes included with humans in the family Hominidae); an anthropoid ape; contrasted with lesser ape.Pennant (quot. 1771) uses the term for a ‘species’ that appears to be a conflation of the orangutan and the chimpanzee. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > order Primates > suborder Anthropoidea (higher primates) > [noun] > group Catarrhinae (Old World monkey) > member of superfamily Hominoidea (apes and humans) > family Pongidae (ape) babiona1529 jackanapes1528 Johnanapes1633 man-monkey1651 ape1699 pygmy1699 Simia1719 great ape1771 anthropoid1861 pithecoid1874 man-ape1878 pongid1949 pithecine1962 1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 96 Great [Ape]... A[pe] with a flat face, and a deformed resemblance of the human: ears exactly like those of a man. 1842 C. H. Smith Introd. Mammalia (Naturalist's Libr.: Mammalia XIII) 101 We place at their head the great apes, or men of the woods, now divided into two genera. 1861 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 111 A missionary at the Gaboon..sent him [sc. Prof. Owen] a pen-and-ink sketch of the skull of one of these great apes. 1913 D. G. Elliott Rev. Primates I. Errata The premier genus of the Great Apes is Pongo. 1949 Q. Rev. Biol. 24 207/1 The orthodox, anthropoid-ape theory..concentrates almost exclusively upon the resemblances between man and the anthropoids, the pongids or great apes in particular. 2009 J. A. Coyne Why Evol. is True Notes 264 This group used to be called hominids, but that term is now reserved for all modern and extinct great apes, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and all of their ancestors. great auk n. a large, extinct flightless auk of the North Atlantic, Pinguinus (or Alca) impennis, which was exterminated in the mid 19th cent.; also called garefowl; cf. penguin n. 2. ΚΠ 1768 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 401 The Great Auk... According to Mr. Martin, this bird breeds on the isle of St. Kilda; appearing there the beginning of May, and retiring the middle of June. 1865 P. H. Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 44 That rarest of British birds, the great auk. 1921 Outing May 65/1 The passenger pigeon, the great auk.., the Eskimo curlew are no more. 2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 214/2 The last known breeding pair of Great auks were killed by three fishermen on the island of Eldey, Iceland, on June 3, 1844. great blue n. North American the great blue heron, Ardea herodias (see blue heron n. b). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > genus Ardea (heron) > miscellaneous types of blue heron1565 white heron1575 blue heron1731 squacco1752 frog-catcher1782 purple heron1785 great blue1838 Goliath1860 1838 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. IV. 604 We brought home with us forty-six of the large White Herons, and three of the great Blues. 1891 Oologist 8 205 At Smith's Island there is a large heronry of the Great Blues. 1947 R. Bedichek Adventures with Texas Naturalist xix. 249 Consider the neck of the largest heron, the great blue or, as the subspecies here is called, the Ward heron. 2006 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Feb. 82/1 Great blues occasionally catch two fish at the same time. great bustard n. a large bustard, Otis tarda, one of the heaviest flying land birds, found from southern and central Europe to temperate Asia and noted for its courtship display.The great bustard was exterminated in Great Britain in the 19th cent (but see quot. 2003). ΚΠ 1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) I. ii. 284 Great [Bustard] ... The bustard is the largest of the British land fowl. 1864 Times 19 Nov. A specimen of the Great Bustard, long an extinct British bird, was picked up in the sea..off Burlington Quay about a week ago. 1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xii. 209 The Kori bustard..[is] heavier than the great bustard of Eurasia which is usually held to be the heaviest bird of the air. 2003 Independent 4 Nov. i. 4/2 Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire..has been chosen as the site for the return, which is to begin next year when 40 great bustard chicks will be brought from Russia. great chervil n. now chiefly historical the European herb sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata. ΚΠ 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 883 Myrrhe..is called..great Cheruill, and Sweete Cheruill. 1649 N. Culpeper Physicall Directory 34 Cerefolium vulgare et Myrrhis, Common and great Chervil. Take them both together and they..stir up lust and desire of copulation. 1727 B. Langley New Princ. Gardening vii. i. viii. 23 There is another Kind [of chervil], called the great Chervil, or Myrrhe,..whose Leaves are deeply indented like unto Hemlock, but of a very pleasant Smell and Taste. 1858 Proc. Literary & Philos. Soc. Liverpool 1857–8 116 Sweet cicely or great chervil..was formerly in great favour as a salad plant in this country. 1917 Garden 16 June 230/3 Chervil.—The foliage and habit of this plant are the same as the sweet cicely, which was once known as the great chervil. 2010 J. Cox & M.-P. Moine Herb Garden for Cooks (2012) 47 The ferny foliage and white flowers of this hardy perennial carry a light anise scent, leading some to call it Great Chervil. great corn n. now historical and rare maize, Zea mays; a grain of this; a main crop of maize (as grown by certain American Indian peoples). ΚΠ 1682 R. Thelwall Let. 4 May in R. Law Eng. in W. Afr. (1997) I. 111 These people as yett have not done sowing their small corne, soe that att present I cannot gett any great corne. 1699 I. Blackwell Descr. Province Darian 15 They have no way of Learning amongst any of them: their way of numbering anything, is by small Stones, or pickles of great Corn. 1750 J. Birket Jrnl. 9 Oct. in Some Remarks Voy. N. Amer. (1916) 36 Here the [sic] produce wheat, Rye, Hops, & abundance of Maze or Great corn. 1844 Simmonds's Colonial Mag. 1 58 It would betray vast ignorance of the subject to assert that great corn is not a considerable exhauster of the soil. 1977 Agric. Hist. 51 513 Maize was harvested twice a year, the ‘little corn’ in July, and the harvest of ‘great corn’ in September. great crested grebe n. the largest Eurasian grebe, Podiceps cristatus, having a distinctive ruff and crest on the head in the breeding season. ΚΠ 1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. 132 Great crested Grebe. 1873 G. C. Davies Mountain, Meadow & Mere iii. 18 That upright, stick-like object moving along the surface is the neck and head of a great crested grebe, swimming low in the water to escape observation. 1937 Brit. Birds. 30 274 It seems that ‘display-building’ (that is, building regarded as a manifestation of sexual excitement) is shown by the Great Crested Grebe. 2006 Bird Watching Aug. 117/1 Great Crested Grebes mainly feed on small fish, diving from the surface to pursue their prey. great crested newt n. a large warty-skinned newt, Triturus cristatus, of northern and central Europe, the male of which has a jagged crest along the back. ΚΠ 1881 W. E. Clarke & W. D. Roebuck Handbk. Vertebr. Fauna Yorks. 95 Triton cristatus Laur. Great Crested Newt. Generally distributed, but more local and less numerous than the common Smooth Newt. 1984 Times 12 Nov. 3/1 The largest known British populations of the declining great crested newt are under threat. 2009 J. Adams Species Richness viii. 361 In England, we seemed to find the great crested newt in every stinking, junk-filled pond we waded into. great dane n. (also great Dane) [after French grand danois (see quot. 1750 at Dane n. 2)] a very large breed of dog, probably developed in Denmark or Germany from mastiff and greyhound or wolfhound stock and originally used for hunting deer and wild boar; a dog of this breed; cf. Dane n. 2.The great dane is the tallest living breed of dog. ΚΠ 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth III. viii. 292 He was made extremely like a greyhound,..or the great Dane. 1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §1401 The great Dane is rather pied or patched than spotted. 1932 N.Y. Times 7 Feb. 12/4 One well-known kennel of Great Danes has specialized in obedience tests. 2002 List (Glasgow & Edinb. Events Guide) 4 July 14/2 There was Scooby, a huge brown great dane who could say his own name and was scared of his own shadow. great diving beetle n. a large predatory water beetle, Dytiscus marginalis (family Dytiscidae), of Eurasian ponds and lakes. ΚΠ 1864 R. A. Cox Our Common Insects 97 The more common water-beetles, from the little gem like Whirlwig..to the great Diving-Beetle. 1905 Lloyd's Weekly News 28 May 9/5 A common water insect is the great Diving Beetle..usually to be found in shallow water amongst weeds. 2009 I. Siwanowicz Animals up Close 88 The Great diving beetle nymph had other ideas—as soon as I grabbed its tail, it flipped around and bit me hard. great egret n. a large white heron, Ardea alba, of tropical and warm temperate regions worldwide. ΚΠ 1785 T. Pennant Arctic Zool. II. ii. 446 The feathers of the Great Egret would prove a valuable article of commerce. 1895 Geogr. Jrnl. 6 409 The great egret and other herons, we constantly came upon as we rounded a baking ledge of rock or a blistering sandbank. 1976 Auk 93 710 Great Egrets returned to the roost individually or in small groups about one hour before sunset. 2004 Guardian 30 Oct. (Travel section) 12 In the shoals were hippos and great egrets, shining like drips of brilliant-white emulsion. great grey owl n. †(a) the great horned owl, Bubo virginianus (obsolete rare); (b) a very large grey owl with a large facial disc, Strix nebulosa, of northern coniferous forests in both Eurasia and North America. ΚΠ 1672 J. Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 12 The Owl, Avis devia, which are of three kinds; the great Gray Owl with Ears, the little Gray Owl, and the White Owl. 1832 T. Nuttall Man. Ornithol. U.S. & Canada: Land Birds 128 Great Grey or Cinereous Owl. Strix cinerea... This is the largest American species known. 1885 J. S. Kingsley Standard Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 345 The great gray owl, Syrnium cinereum, an extremely rare winter visitor to the northern United States. 1930 Nature Mag. Mar. 148/1 The great gray owl, Scotiaptex nebulosa, is the largest though not the heaviest of our owls. 2004 BirdWatch Canada Winter 16/2 At 20 stops, they had 14 Northern Saw-whet owls, 2 barred owls..and a Great Gray Owl! great grey shrike n. a large migratory shrike, Lanius excubitor, with grey, black, and white plumage, which breeds in northern parts of both Eurasia and North America (where it is called northern shrike). ΚΠ 1827 G. T. Fox Synopsis Newcastle Museum 55 Great Grey Shrike, 2 specimens. (Lanius Excubitor, Lin. & Gmel.) 1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 47 Great Grey Shrike..Murdering pie. 1973 A. d'A. Bellairs & J. F. D. Frazer Smith's Brit. Amphibians & Reptiles (ed. 5) v. 181 On the Continent they are also eaten by the White Stork, the Honey-Buzzard and the Great Grey Shrike. 2011 P. Hammond Atlas of World's Strangest Animals 112 Great grey shrike are peculiar predators and store their kills on a gruesome gibbet. great horned owl n. a heavily-built American owl with prominent ear tufts, Bubo virginianus, which varies considerably in coloration across its wide range. ΚΠ 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. xiii. 317 Great Horned Owl. 1748 H. Ellis Voy. Hudson's-Bay i. 40 The great Horned Owl is also common in this Country, which is a very singular Bird. 1850 Amer. Agriculturist May 161 When the sun shines brightly, the great horned owl is nearly blind, and may readily be approached and killed. 1969 D. F. Costello Prairie World vi. 116 The great horned owl should be ranked first among the nocturnal birds for efficiency in marauding over the prairies. 2012 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 14 Feb. b5 A serious predatory threat to the barred owl is the great horned owl. great horsetail n. (in early use) any of several large horsetails of the genus Equisetum; (in later use) spec. a large horsetail, E. telmateia (formerly called E. majus), of damp soils in Eurasia, North Africa, and western North America. ΚΠ 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxviii. 100 The naked stemes of the great Horsetayle, do spring vp in May. 1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. at Horsetaile, in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Medici Oxoniensis Great Horsetaile, equisetum majus. 1770 Culpeper's Eng. Physician Enlarged 176 The great horsetail at the first springing hath Heads somewhat like those of Asparagus. 1856 C. Johnston Fern Allies 8 The highly ornamental character of the Great Horsetail renders it one of the most desirable of its tribe in cultivation. 1988 tr. M. Treben Health from God's Garden 25/1 One variety of horsetail—the great horsetail—is poisonous, and shouldn't be taken internally under any circumstances. 2007 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 27 Mar. 4 One plant along your route, the great horsetail, is very rare in Israel. great laurel n. †(a) a shrub used medicinally, perhaps Ruscus hypoglossum (obsolete); †(b) the common or cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus (obsolete); (c) a large rhododendron of eastern North America, Rhododendron maximum (cf. rosebay n. 3). ΚΠ 1575 J. Banister Needefull Treat. Chyrurg. f. 108^v Pagana lingua, great Laurell, hoate and drie, aperitiue. 1606 W. Ram Little Dodeon sig. F5 Let him enter into a bath, in which the leaues and rootes of long and round Docks and Scabious wild, and domesticall great Lawrell, and little Lawrell..shall be boyled. 1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum Index 1740/2 Great Lawrell or Lauro Cerasus. 1728 R. Bradley Dict. Botanicum at Laurel Great Laurel, or Cherry Bay, is Lauro Cerasus. 1834 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. II. 17 What a beautiful object, in the delightful season of spring, is our Great Laurel. 1917 C. H. Snow Wood & Org. Struct. Materials vii. 195 The wood of the Great Laurel or Rose Bay (Rhododendron maximum) is hard, rather brittle, close-grained, and heavy, and is sometimes used as a substitute for Boxwood. 2001 R. D. Porcher & D. A. Rayner Guide Wildflowers S. Carolina 72 The invasion of shrubs, mostly great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), has reduced the sphagnum-dominated areas by half. great mackerel n. now rare a large scombrid fish, (probably) the Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus. ΚΠ 1704 Nat. Hist. iii, in L. Wafer New Voy. & Descr. Isthmus Amer. (ed. 2) 201 The Great Mackrell. Is seven foot long. 1740 Gentleman's Mag. 10 511/1 He [sc. the flying fish] is pursued by the Bonito, or Great Mackerel. 1843 R. Hamilton Nat. Hist. Brit. Fishes (Naturalist's Libr.: Ichthyol. IV) I. 196 In Scotland it [sc. the tunny] is known by the name of Mackerelsture, or Great Mackerel, from accompanying the shoals of this fish. 1911 Field & Stream July 231 (heading) The way of the leaping tuna: notes on the habits, feeding, taking and tackle of the great mackerel. great magnolia n. chiefly North American the southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, a tall evergreen tree native to the south-eastern United States. ΚΠ 1751 J. Bartram Observ. Trav. from Pensilvania 28 We set out a N.E. course, and passed by very thick and tall timber of beach, chesnut, linden, ash, great magnolia, sugar-birch..and some white pine. 1807 J. Aikin Geogr. Deliniations (rev. ed.) 343 In the southern states the great magnolia rises to a magnificence of bulk which renders it the pride of the forest. 1908 Outlook 4 Apr. 788/1 She always sat on a bench under the great magnolia tree and watched the tiny girls as they ate their tiny cakes. 1984 Times 30 Mar. 13/7 I passed the Temple where, amidst a mass of daffodils, the great magnolia was just breaking into bloom. 1999 L. Landon Dinner at Miss Lady’s 7 White clapboard [houses] with wide sprawling porches, some of them sagging and peeling beneath the boughs of the great magnolias that stood in their yards. great mallow n. now rare any of several tall plants of the mallow family, esp. the marsh mallow, Althaea officinalis (formerly used medicinally), and the hollyhock, Alcea rosea. ΚΠ 1560 tr. Albertus Magnus' Bk. Secretes Sig. H.VII Stronge vyneger, and great malowes or holyhocke. 1676 N. Malby Remedies Dis. Horses sig. A.iv Take Mustarde seede, the great Mallowe roote, Oxe dung, so much as thou shalte thinke necessarie. 1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ II. at Moloche The great mallow or hollihock. 1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. P. F. Richter in German Romance III. 268 Man must turn himself like the leaves of the great mallow, at the different day-seasons of his life. 1907 Atlantic Monthly July 96 I had already seen many of the great mallows with their rose-pink flowers, so like those of the hollyhock that not even the most careless eye can fail to notice the family resemblance. 2004 B. Nelson tr. E. Zola Kill 161 Her kisses bloomed and faded like the red flowers of the great mallow, which last scarcely a few hours and are endlessly renewed. great maple n. now rare the sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus; = sycamore n. 2. ΚΠ 1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1300 The great Maple, not rightly called the Sycomore tree..is a stranger in England. 1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects xxi. 134 Some plants and leaves, are not so tenacious..as the great Maple. 1776 W. Boutcher Treat. Forest-trees (new ed.) i. 35 There is no tree..is so proper to be planted by the sea, as the Great Maple. 1851 Mag. Hort. May 193 The Sycamore or Great Maple..is a handsome tree of tolerably quick growth. 1916 Jrnl. Ecol. 4 179 To the north is an older plantation, mainly of Great Maple. 1953 Times 23 Mar. 8/7 In Britain our sycamore or great maple (which is commonly a ‘plane tree’ in Scotland) appears to be the only species to have excited any inquiry or comment by its sugary sap. great morel n. now historical and rare deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna; cf. petty morel n. 1. ΚΠ ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 160^v (MED) Take..letuse, violete, grete morel, hennebane, mandrake leues, peny worte. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) 84 Some ben properly called repercussyues, as oxycratum..grete morel, plantayne. ?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 65 Take þe berys of gret morell. 1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 406 Anoynt the yard with the iuice of great Morel, Housleek & vineger. 1623 G. Markham Countrey Contentments, or Eng. Huswife (new ed.) 50 Take foure or fiue yolkes of egges, hard sodden or rosted, & take the branches of great Morrell, and the berryes in Sommer. 1902 F. E. Hulme Familiar Wild Flowers 6th ser. 37 The deadly nightshade, great morel or dwale, has also black berries. great mud horsetail n. now rare the great horsetail, Equisetum telmateia. ΚΠ 1848 R. Deakin Ferns Brit. 13 E. Telmateia... Great mud Horsetail. Fertile stem simple, terminating in an obtuse spike. 1866 T. Moore Brit. Ferns & their Allies xxv. 160 This plant, the Equisetum Telmateia of botanists, and called also the Great Mud Horsetail, is one of those species in which the ordinary fertile and the barren stems are perfectly dissimilar. 1900 E. Step Pratt's Flowering Plants Great Brit. (new ed.) IV. 176 Great Mud Horsetail..is the largest of our British Horsetails. great northern diver n. the diver Gavia immer (family Gaviidae), which (in the breeding season) has a black head and a black and white chequered pattern on the back, breeding chiefly in northern North America (where it is called common loon). ΚΠ 1764 Beauties of Nature & Art VIII. vii. 135 Among the birds peculiar to these northern countries, one of the most remarkable is..the great northern diver. 1830 N. Amer. Rev. 576 The loon, or great northern diver, is also, at moulting time, when he is unable to rise from the water, often caught in the rapids. 1913 J. Muir Story of my Boyhood iv. 77 The great northern diver..is a brave, hardy, beautiful bird, able to..spear and capture the swiftest fishes for food. 1947 A. Ransome Great Northern? ix. 120 Eggs of the Great Northern Diver, found here for the first time! 1999 Birdwatch Apr. 58/3 Holyhead harbour, Anglesey, held a Black-throated Diver..while Great Northern Divers were at..Porthmadog. † great parsley n. Obsolete alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum, a Mediterranean plant formerly used as a pot-herb. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > stalk vegetables > alexanders or horse-parsley alexanderseOE stanmarchc1000 black lovage1548 saunder1561 great parsley1578 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. xlv. 608 Of great Parsely or Alexander. 1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) ii. 1019 Great Parsley groweth in most places in England. 1852 D. Turner in Norfolk Archaeol. 3 171 (note) Mr Harrod inclines to believe that de bord d'alysaundre means embroidered with a representation of the Great Parsley, the Smyrnium Olus-atrum, formerly called Alexanders. 1885 Chambers's Jrnl. 17 Jan. 35/2 Nor could you easily draw the leaves and head of the great parsley—commonest of hedge-plants—the deep-indented leaves, and the shadow by which to express them. † great pellitory of Spain n. Obsolete rare the plant masterwort, Peucedanum ostruthium. ΚΠ 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. xix. 299 Of great Pellitorie of Spayne, Imperatoria, or Masterwort. great plover n. †(a) the greenshank, Tringa nebularia (cf. greater plover n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 3) (obsolete); (b) the stone curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus (now rare). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > [noun] > genus Burhinus (thick-knees) > burhinus oedicnemus (stone curlew) caladriea1425 whistling plover1668 stone curlew1678 stone plover1678 great plovera1705 Norfolk plover1766 stone-snipe1785 a1705 J. Ray Synopsis Avium & Piscium (1713) App. 190 Pluvialis major, Aldrov. Limosa Gesneri. The great Plover of Aldrovand, called here, The Curlew. 1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 472 The green-legged Numenius, with a white rump... This, though honoured with the name of the great Plover, is not a very large bird. 1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 321 (heading) The Great Plover. Thick-knee'd Bustard, Stone Curlew, Norfolk Plover. 1843 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Birds II. 381 The Great Plover..is..much more numerous in the southern and south-eastern counties of England than far to the west, or to the north. 1950 A. W. Boyd Coward's Birds Brit. Isles (rev. ed.) 2nd Ser. 251 The Stone-Curlew, Great Plover, Norfolk Plover or Thick-knee.., has many names, none of which is specially local. Great Pyrenees n. (plural unchanged) North American = Pyrenean mountain dog n. at Pyrenean adj. and n. Compounds; frequently attributive.The dogs referred to in quot. 1910 may have included both Pyrenean mountain dogs and mastiffs of the breed now known as the Spanish or Pyrenean mastiff. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > giant breeds > Pyrenean mountain dog Pyrenean1845 Pyrenean sheepdog1851 Pyrenean wolfhound1863 Pyrenean mountain dog1910 Great Pyrenees1933 1910 San Francisco Chron. 25 Sept. 4/3 None of the farmers would give food and place by hearth or stables to any but their great Pyrenees dogs.] 1933 Dog Fancier 42 9 It was moved and carried that the breed of Great Pyrenees dogs be admitted to the American Kennel Club Stud Book. 1966 Winnipeg Free Press 15 Oct. 23/3 He saw a group of children climbing all over Castor, Manitoba's only Great Pyrenees. 1998 S. Budiansky If Lion could Talk i. 6 Livestock guard dogs such as Great Pyrenees and Maremmas have been bred to relate to sheep more as littermates than as prey. 2012 Wall St. Jrnl. 7 Feb. d1/2 PetSmart sent out 117,000 emails to..Great Pyrenees owners who had entered contact information after bringing in their pets for grooming. great sanicle n. now historical and rare the plant lady's mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, formerly used medicinally. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > agrimony or lady's mantle or burnet agrimonyeOE padelion?a1300 burnetc1400 sindaw1548 liverwort1566 great sanicle1578 lady's mantle1578 pimpernel1578 goose-chite1597 philanthropos1597 Poterium1597 lion's foot1611 salading-burnet1766 burnet blood-wort1776 dew-cup1799 sanguisorb1846 salad burnet1854 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xcviii. 140 Great Sanicle or Ladies Mantell, groweth in some places of this countrey. 1662 R. Bunworth New Disc. French Dis. (ed. 2) xxv. 72 You may also use injections into the yard made of the decoction of Tormentil, golden rod, pilosell and great Sanicle. 1708 tr. J. P. de Tournefort Materia Medica ii. ix. ii. 352 Upon a chymical Analysis, Ladies Mantle or Great Sanicle affords a copious quantity of acid Phlegm, Oil, and urinous Spirit. 1838 B. H. Barton & T. Castle Brit. Flora Medica II. 61 In different parts of the country it [sc. lady's mantle] is called Great Sanicle, and Bear's-foot. 1920 Amer. Botanist 26 124 Probably the commonest of English names, ‘ladies' mantle’, has only a fanciful application, while ‘great sanicle’ alludes to its reputed medicinal qualities. great skua n. [compare German grosse Raubmöwe (also grosse Raubmöve ; 1831 in a text by C. L. Brehm: compare quot. 1831)] any large brown skua of the genus Stercorarius; now spec. S. skua of the North Atlantic (also called bonxie).The similar southern forms are now regarded as separate species. ΚΠ 1831 R. Jameson Wilson & Bonaparte's Amer. Ornithol. (rev. ed.) IV. App. 356 The following is Brehm's arrangement of the European gulls... 1 Giant skua. L[estris] cataractes, Illiger and Brehm. 2 Great skua. L. skua, Brehm. 1897 R. B. Sharpe in R. Lydekker et al. Nat. Hist. 263 In Victoria Land and the frozen countries of the Antarctic Continent is found a peculiar pale form of great skua, M. maccormicki. 1938 M. Powell 200,000 Feet on Foula 138 ‘Bonxie’ is only our name for the Great Skua and the Allens are the smaller ones. 1985 Reader's Digest Bk. N.Z. Birds 218 A powerful and belligerent bird, the southern great skua—like all skuas—defends its eggs and young ferociously. 2006 Bird Watching Aug. 71/3 Seawatching can also reveal other species such as Balearic Shearwater.., Arctic Skuas and Great Skuas. great snipe n. †(a) any of various relatively large snipe, sandpipers, or similar birds found in Barbados (obsolete rare); (b) a medium-sized migratory snipe, Gallinago media, which breeds in northern Eurasia. ΚΠ 1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados iii. 79 The Great Snipe... There are several Species of Snipes, that come in the wet Seasons to this Island... I shall therefore reduce them into the large and small Sort. 1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) II. 450 Great Snipe... This species is rarely found in England. 1886 Ld. Walsingham & R. Payne-Gallwey Shooting (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) II. vi. 139 The Great Snipe breeds in Denmark, Holland, and Northern Germany, as well as in Sweden and..Russia. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xx. 589 Birds of passage..like some of the sandpipers, the great snipe, and the little stint,..usually rest for a short time only in a country like Britain. 2012 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 29 July 14 Researchers have monitored great snipes..migrating from Sweden to central Africa, covering distances of around 4,200 miles in three and half days. great spotted kiwi n. a large kiwi with speckled plumage, Apteryx haastii, found in parts of the South Island of New Zealand; also called roa, roaroa. ΚΠ 1893 Trans. & Proc. N.Z. Inst. 1892 25 87 Apteryx haasti... (The Large Spotted Kiwi).] 1904 F.W. Hutton & J. Drummond Animals N.Z. ii. 332 The Great Spotted Kiwi—Roa-roa. 1966 R. Silverberg Forgotten by Time 95 We should speak of the kiwis, for there are three species, the common kiwi, the little spotted kiwi, and the great spotted kiwi. 2005 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 24 Jan. 7 a The great spotted kiwi are very difficult to monitor because they are very shy and prone to disturbance. great spotted woodpecker n. [compare earlier greater spotted woodpecker n. at greater adj., adv., and n. Compounds 3] a common Eurasian woodpecker, Dendrocopos major, with predominantly black and white plumage; also called greater spotted woodpecker, pied woodpecker. ΚΠ 1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds Index Woodpecker (Great-Spotted). 1841 P. J. Selby in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 253 Of the Scansorial tribe, the Picus major (great spotted woodpecker) is the only species. 1974 W. Condry Woodlands v. 62 The great spotted woodpecker..is..better adapted to survive than its relative the green woodpecker. 2008 Independent 12 Mar. (Property section) 4/2 There are blackbirds.., goldfinches and greenfinches all singing away, and occasionally a male great spotted woodpecker drumming. great tit n. a common Eurasian songbird, Parus major (family Paridae), having a black head with white cheeks, and typically a yellow breast and greenish back. Earlier called great titmouse. ΚΠ 1833 Field Naturalist 1 266 The Blue and Great Tits..usually frequent the neighbourhood of dwelling-houses more than the Marsh and the Cole Tits commonly do. 1974 W. Condry Woodlands v. 64 Blue tits and great tits certainly show a tendency to keep slightly apart when feeding, the blue tit preferring the tree layer while the great tit favours the shrub layer. 2010 Daily Tel. 7 Oct. 25/2 In Aston Rowant..we have been delighted to see an increase in greenfinches, blue and great tits, blackbirds and sparrows. great titmouse n. = great tit n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Paridae > [noun] > genus Parus (tit) > parus major (great tit) great titmouse1544 ox-eye1544 tomtit1648 black cap1802 oven's nesta1825 pick-cheesea1825 Tom-noup1832 saw-sharpener1885 1544 W. Turner Avium Præcipuarum sig. G5^v Primum parum, Angli uocant the great titmouse or the great oxei. 1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 241 By its smalness were other notes wanting, it [sc. the coalmouse] is abundantly distinguished from the great Titmouse. 1789 G. White Nat. Hist. Selborne 102 The great titmouse sings with three joyous notes. 1859 S. G. Goodrich Illustr. Nat. Hist. Animal Kingdom II. 137 The Great Titmouse, P. major, is somewhat less than six inches long. 1967 T. Lewis & L. R. Taylor Introd. Exper. Ecol. iv. 160 The spread of these melanic forms is partly due to their selective advantage over the normal form when seen by insectivorous birds like English Robins, Hedge Sparrows and Great Titmice against soot-blackened surroundings. great white shark n. a very large predatory shark, Carcharodon carcharias (family Lamnidae), found in cool and temperate seas worldwide, having a grey back and white underparts and with the upper and lower lobes of the tail of a similar size; also called white pointer. ΚΠ 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VI. ii. 238 The Great White Shark, which is the largest of the kind, joins to the most amazing rapidity, the strongest appetites for mischief. 1890 W. C. Russell Romance Jenny Harlow & Sketches Marine Life 268 At that instant a great white shark swept round from the bows, and father and son went out of sight in him [sic] in a minute. 1931 E. G. Boulenger Fishes iv. 51 The Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias )..ranges throughout all seas, save those within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. 2007 J. Dobson in J. Higham & M. Lück Marine Wildlife & Tourism Mangem. iii. 50 The great white shark is protected in several countries including South Africa, Malta and Australia. C2. Compounds of the noun. great work n. [probably < great n. + work n.; compare Phrases 2c(c)] English regional (midlands and southern) (now rare) = piecework n. 1. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > piecework task-work1486 piecework1549 setwork1720 job work1780 measured work1834 measure-work1852 great work1855 piece labour1859 1855 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. (Gloss.) 723/2 Gret (Beds., Worc.), gret-work, or great-work, is piece-work. a1887 R. Jefferies Field & Hedgerow (1889) 114 Some were talking already of the ‘grit’ work,..that is, mowing and haymaking, which mean better wages. 1889 A. T. Pask Eyes of Thames 148 They can earn 18s. a week, doing piece-work, or, in market-garden parlance, ‘great-work’. 1900 S. S. Buckman in Eng. Dial. Dict. II. 715/2 [Gloucestershire] Take it by the day or take it by gret work. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † greatv. Forms: Old English greatian, early Middle English greate (south-west midlands), early Middle English greati (south-west midlands), Middle English greet, Middle English grete, Middle English greti (south-western), Middle English grette (past tense), 1600s great. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian grēta to enlarge, increase, Old Saxon grōzēn to swell up (Middle Low German grȫten to make greater, to glorify, (reflexive) to grow, increase), Old High German grōzēn to become fatter, swell up (Middle High German grōzen to become fatter, to become pregnant, to grow, early modern German grossen ) < the Germanic base of great adj.In Old English a weak verb of Class II; a corresponding Class I weak verb grīetan to flourish, is also attested:OE Harley Gloss. (1966) 190 Floruit, grytte. Obsolete. 1. intransitive. To become great or greater; to thicken, enlarge; to increase in size or (less commonly) intensity.In quot. a1500: (of a woman) to swell with pregnancy; cf. greaten v. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] greateOE grow1382 enlarge1481 to gain more feathers1600 spread1611 burnish1624 sizea1631 dilate1636 greaten1638 expatiate1650 widen1650 biggen1652 expand1791 magnify1814 the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (intransitive)] forthwaxa900 wax971 growOE risec1175 anhigh1340 upwax1340 creasec1380 increasec1380 accreasea1382 augmenta1400 greata1400 mountc1400 morec1425 upgrowc1430 to run up1447 swell?c1450 add1533 accresce1535 gross1548 to get (a) head1577 amount1583 bolla1586 accrue1586 improve1638 aggrandize1647 accumulate1757 raise1761 heighten1803 replenish1814 to turn up1974 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xi. 69 Hwæt on ðæs siwenigean eagum beoð ða æpplas hale, ac ða bræwas greatigað [L. grossescunt]. OE Lambeth Psalter: Canticles vi. 244 Incrassatus est dilectus et recalcitrauit, incrassatus, inpinguatus, dilatatus : gefættod is se gelufoda & he ongean spearn gegreatod gefættod tobræd. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 103 Swin ipunt isti. forto uattin & to greatin aȝeinþe cul of þe axe. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 1556 His [sc. Nero's] wombe bigan to greti. c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) l. 155 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 292 (MED) Here wombe greted more and more. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4700 Sua bigan þe derth to grete. tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) vii. l. 20 That the corn may grete [L. grandescere], vppon the grounde, They sayn, is good to lete [hit] ly vnbounde. a1500 (?c1400) Sir Gowther (Adv.) (1886) 103 Ylke a day scho grette [a1450 Royal gretid] fast And was delyverid at þo last. 2. transitive. To make great or greater; to increase; reflexive to aggrandize oneself. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] echeOE ekec1200 multiplya1275 morea1300 increase13.. vaunce1303 enlargec1380 augmenta1400 accrease1402 alargea1425 amply?a1425 great?1440 hainc1440 creasec1475 grow1481 amplea1500 to get upa1500 improve1509 ampliatea1513 auge1542 over1546 amplify1549 raise1583 grand1602 swell1602 magnoperate1610 greaten1613 accresce1626 aggrandize1638 majoratea1651 adauge1657 protend1659 reinforce1660 examplify1677 pluralize1750 to drive up1817 to whoop up1856 to jack up1884 upbuild1890 steepen1909 up1934 tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. l. 241 The plauntis bigge a depper delf desireth And larger space, as wynd may hem to shake: That gretith hem [L. ut..a ventis frequentibus agitata grandescat]. 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 76 This false Politike, Plotting to Great himselfe, our deaths doth seeke. 1656 M. Nedham Excellencie of Free-State 200 He, by greating himself beyond the size of a good Citizen; and entertaining Thoughts and Counsels of surprising the Peoples Liberties, was condemned to death. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.n.adv.int.eOEv.eOE
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greatadj.n.adv.int.

Phrases

Compounds

† greatv.