Large

How to spell large

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce large

What does large mean?

1. adjectiveOf considerable or above-average size, extent, or quantity.

Large in a sentence

• The family bought a large house near the coast.

• A large crowd gathered outside the stadium before kick-off.

Where does large come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin largus, an adjective meaning 'abundant', 'plentiful', or 'generous', often used of people who gave freely. It passed into Old French as large, where the sense covered both 'broad' or 'wide' and 'generous', and English took it from French in the 1100s and 1200s. At first English used it for openness and breadth of spirit as well as physical size, which is why the old phrase 'at large' still means 'free' or 'roaming widely' rather than literally 'big'. Over time the everyday meaning narrowed toward physical or quantitative size, the dominant sense today. The same Latin root survives in 'largesse', the generous giving of gifts, which preserves the original idea of abundance.

How the word is built

• large (from Latin largus: abundant, generous), borrowed whole into English with no prefix or suffix