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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Great \Great\ (gr[=a]t), adjective [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.
2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.
3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.
4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.
6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc.
He doth object I am too great of birth. --Shak.
7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.
8. Pregnant; big (with young).
The ewes great with young. --Ps. lxxviii. 71.
9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.
We have all Great cause to give great thanks. --Shak.
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.
{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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
greatest \greatest\ adjective [superl. of {great}.]
1. not to be surpassed.
Syn: top. [WordNet 1.5]
2. largest in size of those under consideration.
Syn: biggest, largest. [WordNet 1.5]
3. most of. [WordNet 1.5]
4. highest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; most eminent; as, our greatest statesmen.
Syn: leading(prenominal), preeminent. [WordNet 1.5]
5. highest in quality.
Syn: sterling(prenominal), superlative. [WordNet 1.5]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
greatest
adjective
1: not to be surpassed; "his top effort" [syn: {top}]
2: greatest in size of those under consideration [syn: {biggest}, {largest}]
3: greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist" [syn: {leading(a)}, {preeminent}]
4: highest in quality [syn: {sterling(a)}, {superlative}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
48 Moby Thesaurus words for "greatest": at the height, at the limit, best, champion, choice, elect, elite, extreme, far out, first-class, first-rate, for the best, furthest, handpicked, highest, matchless, maximal, maximum, most, optimal, optimum, paramount, peerless, picked, prime, prize, quintessential, radical, select, superlative, supreme, surpassing, tip-top, too much, top, top-notch, topmost, ultra, ultra-ultra, unmatchable, unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed, uppermost, utmost, uttermost, very best, way out
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |