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.
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2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude,
series, etc.
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3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time;
as, a great while; a great interval.
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4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts,
actions, and feelings.
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5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able
to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty;
noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher,
etc.
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6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent;
distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the
great seal; the great marshal, etc.
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He doth object I am too great of birth. --Shak.
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7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as,
a great argument, truth, or principle.
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8. Pregnant; big (with young).
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The ewes great with young. --Ps. lxxviii.
71.
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9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree;
as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
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We have all
Great cause to give great thanks. --Shak.
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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.
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{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.
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