Larger

How to spell larger

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce larger

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does larger mean?

1. adjectiveGreater in size, extent, or amount than something else being compared.

Larger in a sentence

• The new office is much larger than the old one.

• Customers who order the larger size pay only a little more.

Where does larger come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the comparative form of 'large', which English borrowed from Old French 'large' in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The French word came from the Latin 'largus', meaning 'abundant', 'plentiful', or 'generous', and in early use the English word kept that sense of generosity rather than mere physical size; to be 'large' once meant to be liberal or bountiful. Over time the meaning narrowed and shifted toward 'big in extent or amount', the dominant sense today. The comparative is formed simply by adding the native English ending '-er' to the adjective stem. The spelling trap is small but real: the soft 'g' is followed by the silent 'e' of 'large', and writers must remember to keep that 'e' so the comparative reads 'larger' (not the unrelated 'lager', the beer, which has the same letters rearranged).

How the word is built

• large (from Latin largus: abundant, generous)
• -er (comparative suffix)