Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Great
Great
(grāt)
, Adj.
[
Com
par.
Greater
; sup
erl.
Greatest
.] [OE.
gret
, great, AS. greát
; akin to OS. & LG. grōt
, D. groot
, OHG. grōz
, G. gross
. Cf. Groat
the coin.] 1.
Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; – opposed to
small
and little
; as, a
. great
house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length2.
Large in number; numerous;
as, a
great
company, multitude, series, etc.3.
Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time;
as, a
great
while; a great
interval.4.
Superior; admirable; commanding; – applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
5.
Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble;
as, a
great
hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.6.
Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal;
as,
great
men; the great
seal; the great
marshal, etc.He doth object I am too
great
of birth. Shakespeare
7.
Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important;
as, a
. great
argument, truth, or principle8.
Pregnant; big (with young).
The ewes
great
with young. Ps. lxxviii. 71.
9.
More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree;
as, to use
. great
caution; to be in great
painWe have all
Great
cause to give great
thanks. Shakespeare
10.
(Genealogy)
Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; – often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent;
as,
great
-grandfather (a grandfather’s or a grandmother's father), great
-grandson, etc.Great bear
(Astron.
), the constellation Ursa Major.
– Great cattle
(Law
), all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings.
Wharton.
– Great charter
(Eng. Hist.)
, Magna Charta.
– Great circle of a sphere
, a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere.
– Great circle sailing
, the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places.
– Great go
, the final examination for a degree at the University of Oxford, England; – called also
greats
. T. Hughes.
– Great guns
. (Naut.)
See under Gun.
– The Great Lakes
the large fresh-water lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) which lie on the northern borders of the United States.
– Great master
. Same as
– Grand master
, under Grand
. Great organ
(Mus.)
, the largest and loudest of the three parts of a grand organ (the others being the choir organ and the swell, and sometimes the pedal organ or foot keys), It is played upon by a separate keyboard, which has the middle position.
– The great powers
(of Europe), in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy.
– Great primer
. See under
– Type
. Great scale
(Mus.
), the complete scale; – employed to designate the entire series of musical sounds from lowest to highest.
– Great sea
, the Mediterranean sea. In Chaucer both the Black and the Mediterranean seas are so called.
– Great seal
. (a)
The principal seal of a kingdom or state.
(b)
In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office.
– Great tithes
. See under Tithes.
– The great
, the eminent, distinguished, or powerful.
– The Great Spirit
, among the North American Indians, their chief or principal deity.
– To be great
(with one), to be intimate or familiar (with him).
Bacon.
Great
,Noun.
The whole; the gross;
as, a contract to build a ship by the
. great
Webster 1828 Edition
Great
GREAT
,Adj.
1.
Large in bulk or dimensions; a term of comparison, denoting more magnitude or extension than something else, or beyond what is usual; as a great body; a great house; a great farm.2.
Being of extended length or breadth; as a great distance; a great lake.3.
Large in number; as a great many; a great multitude.4.
Expressing a large, extensive or unusual degree of any thing; as great fear; great love; great strength; great wealth; great power; great influence; great folly.5.
Long continued; as a great while.6.
Important; weighty; as a great argument; a great truth; a great event; a thing of no great consequence; it is no great matter.7.
Chief; principal; as the great seal of England.8.
Chief; of vast power and excellence; supreme; illustrious; as the great God; the great Creator.9.
Vast; extensive; wonderful; admirable. Great are thy works. Jehovah.
10. Possessing large or strong powers of mind; as a great genius.
11. Having made extensive or unusual acquisitions of science or knowledge; as a great philosopher or botanist; a great scholar.
12. Distinguished by rank, office or power; elevated; eminent; as a great lord; the great men of the nation; the great Mogul; Alexander the great.
13. Dignified in aspect,mien or manner.
Amidst the crowd she walks serenely great.
14. Magnanimous; generous; of elevated sentiments; high-minded. He has a great soul.
15. Rich; sumptuous; magnificent. He disdained not to appear at great tables. A great feast or entertainment.
16. Vast; sublime; as a great conception or idea.
17. Dignified; noble.
Nothing can be great which is not right.
18. Swelling; proud; as, he was not disheartened by great looks.
19. Chief; principal; much traveled; as a great road. The ocean is called the great highway of nations.
20. Pregnant; teeming; as great with young.
21. Hard; difficult. It is no great matter to live in peace with meek people.
22. Familiar; intimate. [Vulgar.]
23. Distinguished by extraordinary events, or unusual importance. Jude 6.
24. Denoting a degree of consanguinity, in the ascending or descending line, as great grandfather, the father of a grandfather; great great grandfather, the father of a great grandfather, and so on indefinitely; and great grandson, great great grandson. &c.
25. Superior; preeminent; as great chamberlain; great marshal.
The sense of great is to be understood by the things it is intended to qualify. Great pain or wrath is violent pain or wrath; great love is ardent love; great peace is entire peace; a great name is extensive renown; a great evil or sin, is a sin of deep malignity, &c.
GREAT
,Noun.
1.
People of rank or distinction. The poor envy the great, and the great despise the poor.