With reference to amount: of property, treasure, wealth, etc.: much; of food, honey, salt, etc.: in a large amount, much; ben to ~, of blood: to be an excessive amount; ~ god, many possessions, much in the way of goods; as ~ as, as much as.

With reference to quantity or number: (a) of people: many; ~ folk(es, ~ mankin, ~ peple; ~ mo, many more people; (b) of things, actions, events, occasions, etc.: many, numerous; ~ thing; ~ mo(re, many things in addition, many more things; bihesten ~ thing, to make many promises.

With reference to dimension or size: (a) of a person: large, tall; also, grown up, mature; ~ men, adults; of an animal, a bird, fish, etc.: big; (b) of a group or number of persons: numerous; of a retinue, a number: large; of a multitude: great; (c) of a thing, city, hill, mountain, temple, tree, etc.: large; of a ditch, wall: broad, wide; of a country, territory, wilderness, etc.: expansive, extensive; of wool: coarse, thick; of a container: large; ~ gras [see gras n. 1. (a)]; ~ lepes, heaping basketsful; the ~ ethum, the great abyss, hell; the ~ se of ocean, the Atlantic; (d) of debt, expense, profit, reward, etc.: large; the ~ med, the great reward, salvation; (e) of an occasion or event: grandiose, pompous; mid ~ worshipe, with ~ honour (glorie), with great ceremony, with solemn pomp.

With reference to duration, extent, or scope: (a) of time: much; in ~ elde, in old age; of so ~ elde, so very old, in such advanced age; for ~ age, because of the remoteness of a time; (b) of an action, activity, or process: much; of fasting, penance, work, etc.: much, long; of complaining, effort, thought, etc.: persistent; of fighting, merry-making, praise, wrongdoing, etc.: sustained, widespread; of bleeding, boasting, drinking, etc.: excessive; (c) connen ~ fet, to have great skill; connen ~ lore, have extensive knowledge, be very learned; mid (with) ~ swinc, with great difficulty, by dint of much effort; ~ speche (spekinge), loquacity; to ~ knouleching, excessive learning; waxen ~ spede, proliferate at a fast rate.

With reference to amount or degree: (a) of God's or Christ's compassion, grace, love, mercy, wisdom, etc.: great; don ~ god (edmodnesse), yarken ~ god, of God: to be benevolent (towards sb.), bestow the great blessing (of eternal life on sb.); (b) of a human attribute, of the expression of vice or virtue: firm, steadfast, great; connen ~ skile, to have great discretion; speken ~ ivel, accuse (sb.) of great wickedness, make sinister claims (about sb.); (c) of prayer, a remedy, treatment, etc.: efficacious; ~ grace, efficacious property. or virtue; med. ~ diaquilon, an ointment of litharge, oil, plant mucilages and juices, and other ingredients; = gret diaquilon [see gret adj. 4. (b)].

With reference to amount or degree of power or strength: (a) great, formidable; ~ might, ~ main, etc.; (b) ~ of main, of (so) ~ might, so) powerful, so) very strong; (c) for (thurgh) his (thi) ~ might, he (you) being very powerful, in his (your) great strength; by means of his (your) great power; thurgh the ~ might, as a result of the great power (of Christ).

With reference to amount or degree: (a) of importance, meaning, significance, or an oath: great; of a lesson: important; of an example: eloquent; of truth: profound; of a difference: considerable; ~ stede, great advantage; mucheles deles, of a great amount, to a great degree; us is swithe ~, it is very important to us; ben ~, to be important (to sb.); haven ~ bi)tokeninge, mean much; tokenen ~ thing, be significant, have important meaning; the ~ dai, the ~ dom, Judgment Day, the Last Judgment; ~ depnesse, imponderable mystery; (b) of value: of ~ pris, ~ of pris; of a person: highly esteemed; of a thing: valued much; setten at ~ pris, to attach great value (to sb.), value (sb.) highly; tellen to ~ god, consider (sth.) as very valuable, attach great value (to sth.).

With reference to degree, intensity, or profundity of an attitude, a feeling, psychological state, etc.: (a) of animosity, distrust, despair, grief, etc.: deep-seated; of gratitude, hope, sorrow, etc.: profound; of joy, pleasure, etc.: intense; of happiness, respect, dread, misery, pain, rage, etc.: great; (b) his ~ blisse, the ~ mirth, the joys of heaven; also, the prelapsarian joy of Adam and Eve; the ~ pine, the supreme agony of martyrdom; the torments of hell; to ~ hard of wo, inordinately severe misery; (c) mid ~ worthing, with great reverence or respect; mid ~ blisse, with ~ joi, very joyously; mid ~ fright (harm, wo), in great dread (misery); with ~ list (wratthe, yernfulnesse), with great desire (rage, zeal); mid) ~ onbrirdnesse, very ardently, with great fervor; with ~ peine, with ~ sorwe and care, in great distress, with great difficulty; with ~ sorwe, very regretfully.

With reference to the degree or gravity of a condition or situation: of danger, illness, need, trouble, etc.: grave; of harm, injustice, misfortune, shame, vengeance, etc.: grievous; of affliction, obstruction, constriction, distress, hostility, etc.: severe.

With reference to God or Christ, a pagan deity, a person: (a) great, magnificent; also, magnanimous; the) ~ god, the (that) ~ lord; in epithets: jacob the ~, the Apostle James, son of Zebedee; James the Greater; ~ fol, an utter fool; (b) as pred. adj. or objective complement: ben ~, ben ~ of main (of might, of strengthe, with wil and might, etc.).

With reference to a phenomenon: great, awesome, striking; of heat, light: intense; of noise, thunder, voice: loud; of an odor: pungent; of storm, wind: violent; thinken ~ merveille, to strike one as marvelous, seem very unusual.

(a) In cpd. ~ del [see also del n. (2) 1. (f) & 3. (a)]: many, a great number; much, a great deal; ~ del blakker, a great deal darker; (b) in plant name: ~ wort, the White Hellebore (Veratrum album).

Case forms of nouns used adverbially: ~ richere, much more powerful; ~ abisgod, extremely busy; ~ afright, badly frightened; sinnen ~, to sin greatly; ~ istrongien, greatly strengthen.

In surnames & place names [see Smith PNElem. 2.40, 41].