| Great | a. [ Compar. Greater superl. Greatest. ] [ OE. gret, great, AS. greát; akin to OS. & LG. grōt, D. groot, OHG. grōz, 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. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. [ 1913 Webster ] He doth object I am too great of birth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle. [ 1913 Webster ] 8. Pregnant; big (with young). [ 1913 Webster ] The ewes great with young. Ps. lxxviii. 71. [ 1913 Webster ] 9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain. [ 1913 Webster ] We have all
Great cause to give great thanks. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
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. [ 1913 Webster ]
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