Word Study
large
CIDE DICTIONARY
large, a. [F., fr. L. largus. Cf. Largo.].
- Exceeding most other things of like kind in bulk, capacity, quantity, superficial dimensions, or number of constituent units; big; great; capacious; extensive; -- opposed to
small ; as, a large horse; a large house or room; a large lake or pool; a large jug or spoon; a large vineyard; a large army; a large city. [1913 Webster]" For linear dimensions, and mere extent, great, and not large, is used as a qualifying word; as, great length, breadth, depth; a great distance; a great height." [1913 Webster] - Abundant; ample; as, a large supply of provisions. [1913 Webster]"We have yet large day." [1913 Webster]
- Full in statement; diffuse; full; profuse. [1913 Webster]"I might be very large upon the importance and advantages of education." [1913 Webster]
- Having more than usual power or capacity; having broad sympathies and generous impulses; comprehensive; -- said of the mind and heart. [1913 Webster]
- Free; unembarrassed. [1913 Webster]"Of burdens all he set the Paynims large." [1913 Webster]
- Unrestrained by decorum; -- said of language. Shak. [1913 Webster]
- Prodigal in expending; lavish. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
Syn. -- Big; bulky; huge; capacious; comprehensive; ample; abundant; plentiful; populous; copious; diffusive; liberal.
large, adv.
Freely; licentiously. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
large, n.
A musical note, formerly in use, equal to two longs, four breves, or eight semibreves. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
large, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of considerable or relatively great size or extent.
2 of the larger kind (the large intestine).
3 of wide range; comprehensive.
4 pursuing an activity on a large scale (large farmer).
--n. (at large)
1 at liberty.
2 as a body or whole (popular with the people at large).
3 (of a narration etc.) at full length and with all details.
4 without a specific target (scatters insults at large).
5 US representing a whole area and not merely a part of it (congressman at large).
--adj.
1 of considerable or relatively great size or extent.
2 of the larger kind (the large intestine).
3 of wide range; comprehensive.
4 pursuing an activity on a large scale (large farmer).
--n. (at large)
1 at liberty.
2 as a body or whole (popular with the people at large).
3 (of a narration etc.) at full length and with all details.
4 without a specific target (scatters insults at large).
5 US representing a whole area and not merely a part of it (congressman at large).
Idiom
in large on a large scale. large as life see LIFE. large-minded liberal; not narrow-minded. larger than life see LIFE. large-scale made or occurring on a large scale or in large amounts.
Derivative
largeness n. largish adj.
Etymology
ME f. OF f. fem. of L largus copious
THESAURUS
large
Brobdingnagian, Gargantuan, adipose, altogether, ample, amplitudinous, as a whole, astronomical, at large, at liberty, awesome, beamy, beneficent, big, bighearted, boundless, bounteous, bountiful, brawny, broad, bulky, bull, bumper, burly, capacious, charitable, chiefly, chunky, colossal, considerable, corpulent, cosmic, eleemosynary, elephantine, eminently, enormous, excessive, exorbitant, extensive, extravagant, extreme, fat, free, freehanded, freehearted, galactic, gargantuan, generally, generous, gigantic, giving, good, goodly, gracious, grand, great, greathearted, handsome, healthy, heavy, hefty, hospitable, huge, humongous, husky, immeasurable, immense, immoderate, imposingly, in a body, in general, in the main, infinite, inordinate, jumbo, kind, king-size, large-scale, largehearted, lavish, liberal, magnanimous, mainly, major, mammoth, man-sized, massive, massy, monster, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, munificent, muscular, numerous, obese, on the loose, open, open-handed, openhanded, openhearted, outsize, overgrown, overweight, philanthropic, portly, princely, prodigious, profuse, prominently, rotund, sizable, sizeable, solid, spacious, staggering, stintless, stocky, stout, strapping, stupendous, sturdy, substantial, tall, thickset, tidy, titanic, tremendous, unconfined, unfettered, ungrudging, unrestrained, unselfish, unsparing, unstinted, unstinting, vast, voluminous, weighty, wideROGET THESAURUS
large
Greatness
N greatness, magnitude, size, multitude, immensity, enormity, infinity, might, strength, intensity, fullness, importance, great quantity, quantity, deal, power, sight, pot, volume, world, mass, heap, stock, peck, bushel, load, cargo, cartload, wagonload, shipload, flood, spring tide, abundance, principal part, chief part, main part, greater part, major part, best part, essential part, bulk, mass, great, greater, large, considerable, fair, above par, big, huge, Herculean, cyclopean, ample, abundant, full, intense, strong, sound, passing, heavy, plenary, deep, high, signal, at its height, in the zenith, world-wide, widespread, far-famed, extensive, wholesale, many, goodly, noble, precious, mighty, sad, grave, heavy, serious, far gone, arrant, downright, utter, uttermost, crass, gross, arch, profound, intense, consummate, rank, uninitiated, red-hot, desperate, glaring, flagrant, stark staring, thorough-paced, thoroughgoing, roaring, thumping, extraordinary, important, unsurpassed, complete, august, grand, dignified, sublime, majestic, vast, immense, enormous, extreme, inordinate, excessive, extravagant, exorbitant, outrageous, preposterous, unconscionable, swinging, monstrous, overgrown, towering, stupendous, prodigious, astonishing, incredible, marvelous, unlimited, unapproachable, unutterable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, inexpressible, beyond expression, fabulous, undiminished, unabated, unreduced, unrestricted, absolute, positive, stark, decided, unequivocal, essential, perfect, finished, remarkable, of mark, marked, pointed, veriest, noteworthy, renowned, truly, decidedly, unequivocally, purely, absolutely, seriously, essentially, fundamentally, radically, downright, in all conscience, for the most part, in the main, entirely, abundantly, widely, far and wide, greatly, much, muckle, well, indeed, very, very much, a deal, no end of, most, not a little, pretty, pretty well, enough, in a great measure, richly, to a large extent, to a great extent, to a gigantic extent, on a large scale, so, never so, ever so, ever so dole, scrap, shred, tag, splinter, rag, much, by wholesale, mighty, powerfully, with a witness, ultra, in the extreme, extremely, exceedingly, intensely, exquisitely, acutely, indefinitely, immeasurably, beyond compare, beyond comparison, beyond measure, beyond all bounds, incalculably, infinitely, preeminently, superlatively, immoderately, monstrously, preposterously, inordinately, exorbitantly, excessively, enormously, out of all proportion, with a vengeance, particularly, remarkably, singularly, curiously, uncommonly, unusually, peculiarly, notably, signally, strikingly, pointedly, mainly, chiefly, famously, egregiously, prominently, glaringly, emphatically, kat exochin, strangely, wonderfully, amazingly, surprisingly, astonishingly, incredibly, marvelously, awfully, stupendously, peculiarly, furiously, severely, desperately, tremendously, extravagantly, confoundedly, deucedly, devilishly, with a vengeance, a outrance, a toute outrance, painfully, sadly, grossly, sorely, bitterly, piteously, grievously, miserably, cruelly, woefully, lamentably, shockingly, frightfully, dreadfully, fearfully, terribly, horribly, a maximis ad minima, greatness knows itself, mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed, minimum decet libere cui multum licet, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.Size
N size, magnitude, dimension, bulk, volume, largeness, greatness, expanse, amplitude, mass, proportions, capacity, tonnage, tunnage, cordage, caliber, scantling, turgidity, corpulence, obesity, plumpness, embonpoint, corporation, flesh and blood, lustihood, hugeness, enormity, immensity, monstrosity, giant, Brobdingnagian, Antaeus, Goliath, Gog and Magog, Gargantua, monster, mammoth, Cyclops, cachalot, whale, porpoise, behemoth, leviathan, elephant, hippopotamus, colossus, tun, cord, lump, bulk, block, loaf, mass, swad, clod, nugget, bushel, thumper, whooper, spanker, strapper, Triton among the minnows, mountain, mound, heap, largest portion, full size, life size, large, big, great, considerable, bulky, voluminous, ample, massive, massy, capacious, comprehensive, spacious, mighty, towering, fine, magnificent, corpulent, stout, fat, obese, plump, squab, full, lusty, strapping, bouncing, portly, burly, well-fed, full-grown, corn fed, gram fed, stalwart, brawny, fleshy, goodly, in good case, in good condition, in condition, chopping, jolly, chub faced, chubby faced, lubberly, hulky, unwieldy, lumpish, gaunt, spanking, whacking, whopping, walloping, thumping, thundering, hulking, overgrown, puffy, huge, immense, enormous, mighty, vast, vasty, amplitudinous, stupendous, monster, monstrous, humongous, monumental, elephantine, jumbo, mammoth, gigantic, gigantean, giant, giant like, titanic, prodigious, colossal, Cyclopean, Brobdingnagian, Bunyanesque, Herculean, Gargantuan, infinite, large as life, plump as a dumpling, plump as a partridge, fat as a pig, fat as a quail, fat as butter, fat as brawn, fat as bacon, immeasurable, unfathomable, unplumbed, inconceivable, unimaginable, unheard-of, of cosmic proportions, of epic proportions, the mother of all, teh granddaddy of all.For further exploring for "large" in Webster Dictionary Online