great

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[edit] English

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[edit] Etymology

From Middle English greet (“great, large”), from Old English grēat (“big, thick, coarse, stour, massive”), from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghrewə- (“to fell, put down, fall in”). Cognate with Scots great (“coarse in grain or texture, thick, great”), West Frisian grut (“large, great”), Dutch groot (“large, stour”), German groß (“large”), Old English grēot (“earth, sand, grit”). More at grit.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Adjective

great (comparative greater, superlative greatest)

  1. Very big, large scale.
    A great storm is approaching our shores.
  2. Very good.
    Dinner was great.
  3. Important.
  4. Title referring to an important leader.
    Alexander the Great

[edit] Usage notes

In simple situations, using modifiers of intensity such as fairly, somewhat, etc. can lead to an awkward construction, with the exception of certain common expressions such as “so great” and “really great”. In particular “very great” is unusually strong as a reaction, and in many cases “great” or its meaning of “very good” will suffice.

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Derived terms

terms derived using great (adjective)

[edit] Translations

very big, large scale
very good
important
important title
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[edit] Interjection

great

  1. Expression of gladness and content about something.
    Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
  2. sarcastic inversion thereof.
    Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.

[edit] Translations

great!

[edit] Noun

great (plural greats)

  1. A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
    Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.

[edit] Adverb

great (not comparable)

  1. very well (in a very satisfactory manner)
    Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.

[edit] Translations

very well

[edit] Derived terms

compound terms

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Old English

[edit] Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghrewə- (“to fell, put down, fall in”). Cognate with Old Saxon grōt (“large, thick, coarse, stour”), Old High German grōz (“large, thick, coarse”), Old English grot (“particle”). More at groat.

[edit] Adjective

grēat

  1. great, massive
  2. tall
  3. thick; stout
  4. coarse

[edit] Descendants

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