from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Great \Great\ (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. {Greater}; superl.
{Greatest}.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre['a]t; akin to OS. &
LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, 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, length.
[1913 Webster]
2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude,
series, etc.
[1913 Webster]
3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time;
as, a great while; a great interval.
[1913 Webster]
4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts,
actions, and feelings.
[1913 Webster]
5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able
to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty;
noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher,
etc.
[1913 Webster]
6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent;
distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the
great seal; the great marshal, etc.
[1913 Webster]
He doth object I am too great of birth. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as,
a great argument, truth, or principle.
[1913 Webster]
8. Pregnant; big (with young).
[1913 Webster]
The ewes great with young. --Ps. lxxviii.
71.
[1913 Webster]
9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree;
as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
[1913 Webster]
We have all
Great cause to give great thanks. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bear \Bear\ (b[^a]r), n. [OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer,
OHG. bero, pero, G. b[aum]r, Icel. & Sw. bj["o]rn, and
possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr. fh`r beast, Skr. bhalla
bear.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Zool.) Any species of the genus {Ursus}, and of the
closely allied genera. Bears are plantigrade {Carnivora},
but they live largely on fruit and insects.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The European brown bear ({Ursus arctos}), the white
polar bear ({Ursus maritimus}), the grizzly bear
({Ursus horribilis}), the American black bear, and its
variety the cinnamon bear ({Ursus Americanus}), the
Syrian bear ({Ursus Syriacus}), and the sloth bear, are
among the notable species.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) An animal which has some resemblance to a bear in
form or habits, but no real affinity; as, the woolly bear;
ant bear; water bear; sea bear.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Astron.) One of two constellations in the northern
hemisphere, called respectively the {Great Bear} and the
{Lesser Bear}, or {Ursa Major} and {Ursa Minor}.
[1913 Webster]
4. Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Stock Exchange) A person who sells stocks or securities
for future delivery in expectation of a fall in the
market.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The bears and bulls of the Stock Exchange, whose
interest it is, the one to depress, and the other to
raise, stocks, are said to be so called in allusion to
the bear's habit of pulling down, and the bull's of
tossing up.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Mach.) A portable punching machine.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Naut.) A block covered with coarse matting; -- used to
scour the deck.
[1913 Webster]
{Australian bear}. (Zool.) See {Koala}.
{Bear baiting}, the sport of baiting bears with dogs.
{Bear caterpillar} (Zool.), the hairy larva of a moth, esp.
of the genus {Euprepia}.
{Bear garden}.
(a) A place where bears are kept for diversion or
fighting.
(b) Any place where riotous conduct is common or
permitted. --M. Arnold.
{Bear leader}, one who leads about a performing bear for
money; hence, a facetious term for one who takes charge of
a young man on his travels.
[1913 Webster]