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