large - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English large, from Old French large, from Latin larga, feminine of largus (“abundant, plentiful, copious, large, much”), of uncertain ultimate origin; see there for more. Along with big, it mostly displaced Middle English stoor and muchel (the latter surviving in much under a different meaning).

large (comparative larger, superlative largest)

  1. Of considerable or relatively great size or extent.
    Russia is a large country. The fruit-fly has large eyes for its body size. He has a large collection of stamps.
    • 1917, Michigan Film Review, page 347:
      Hal Smith, manager of the Ferry Field theatre, Detroit, one of the largest and prettiest outskirt houses in town, played Metro's "Revelation" for three days last week
    • 1946, Joseph Augustine Cushman, The larger fossil Foraminifera of the Panama Canal Zone:
      Test large, cylindrical, early portion closely coiled and always completely involute, later and larger portion uncoiled […]
    • 2018 July 19, Thom Patterson, “Stats reveal how many Americans volunteer and where”, in CNN‎[1]:
      The largest age group for volunteers was 35-44, the CNCS survey said, and volunteers were most likely to be parents with children under 18.
  2. (especially clothing, food or drink) That is large (the manufactured size).
  3. (obsolete) Abundant; ample.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      We have yet large day.
    • 1895, Margaret Naomi MacArthur, Kindergarten Review‎[2], Finger Play, page 75:
      He prefers teachers with large experience, but often has positions for beginners who have had a thorough preparation.
  4. (archaic) Full in statement; diffuse; profuse.
    • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XX, Chapter xj, leaf 408r-v:
      And where hit please yow to saye that I haue holden my lady youre Quene yeres and wynters / vnto that I shal euer make a large ansuer
      "And where it please you to say that I have holden my lady your queen years and winters, unto that I shall ever make a large answer"
    • 1711, Henry Felton, Dissertation on Reading the Classics:
      I might be very large upon the importance and advantages of education.
  5. (obsolete) Free; unencumbered.
  6. (obsolete) Unrestrained by decorum; said of language.
  7. (nautical) Crossing the line of a ship's course in a favorable direction; said of the wind when it is abeam, or between the beam and the quarter.

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{[syn](/wiki/Template:synonyms#top "Template:synonyms")|en|...}} or {{[ant](/wiki/Template:antonyms#top "Template:antonyms")|en|...}}.

of greater size — see also big

large (countable and uncountable, plural larges)

  1. (music, obsolete) An old musical note, equal to two longas, four breves, or eight semibreves.
    Synonyms: maxima, octuple whole note
  2. (obsolete) Liberality, generosity.
  3. (slang, plural: large) A thousand dollars/pounds.
    Synonym: grand
    Getting a car tricked out like that will cost you 50 large.
    • 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:
      "We'll call you anything we want," Dave said. "You owe us eighty-five large, Ace, and what we've got for collateral on that money so far is a shitload of Arm & Hammer baking soda worth about a buck-fifty. We'll call you Hubert J. Motherfucker if we want to."
  4. (uncountable, especially clothing, food or drink) One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, larger than a medium.
    Synonym: L
  5. (countable, especially clothing, food or drink) An item labelled or denoted as being that size.
    One small coffee and two larges, please.
  6. (countable, especially with respect to clothing) One who fits an item of that size.

large

  1. (nautical) Before the wind.

Inherited from Old French large, from Latin largus, larga, largum (“abundant, plentiful, copious, large, much”). The feminine is inherited and even generalised for both genders, but for the old masculine, Latin largum (the masculine and neuter accusative) developed into Old French larc, which was discarded.

large (plural larges)

  1. wide, broad
  2. large
  3. generous

large m (plural larges)

  1. open sea
    Synonym: haute mer
  2. width
    Synonym: largeur

largē (comparative largius, superlative largissimē)

  1. munificently, generously, liberally.
  2. abundantly, copiously.
  3. to a great extent.

large

  1. vocative masculine singular of largus

From Old French large, from Latin largus (“abundant, plentiful, copious, large, much”).

large m or f

  1. (Jersey) wide

large m (plural larges)

  1. (Jersey, nautical) open sea, deep sea
    Synonym: plieine mé

From Latin largus, larga.

large m (oblique and nominative feminine singular **large)

  1. generous
  2. large; big
  3. wide (when used to differentiate between height, width and length)