the great

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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