entry
big
/bɪɡ/large, important, or powerful in degree
From Middle English, probably Scandinavian influence big (powerful).
from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related...
from Middle English biggen, byggen
Word Ancestry
from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related...
from Middle English biggen, byggen
For such a plain little word, big has a surprisingly foggy passport. It first turns up around 1300 in northern England, meaning not simply “large” but “powerful” or “strong”—rather like calling someone a heavyweight before talking about their measurements. One theory connects it with a Scandinavian word such as Norwegian dialectal bugge, “a great man”; another links it, more tentatively, with a swelling-related Germanic family that may also stand behind bug and bugbear. There is even a separate-looking Scandinavian trail through Old Norse byggja and Middle English biggen, meaning “to build” or “dwell,” which may have helped shape the form but should not be mistaken for a certain explanation of the adjective. By about 1400, big had spread into general English, and its meaning ballooned: “large,” “important,” “haughty,” “generous,” and eventually “big business,” “big game,” and “big top.” The memorable lesson is that big did not begin as a ruler-marking adjective—it began closer to human force, the sense of a person who could fill a room before anyone measured the room.
The Story
For such a plain little word, big has a surprisingly foggy passport. It first turns up around 1300 in northern England, meaning not simply “large” but “powerful” or “strong”—rather like calling someone a heavyweight before talking about their measurements. One theory connects it with a Scandinavian word such as Norwegian dialectal bugge, “a great man”; another links it, more tentatively, with a swelling-related Germanic family that may also stand behind bug and bugbear. There is even a separate-looking Scandinavian trail through Old Norse byggja and Middle English biggen, meaning “to build” or “dwell,” which may have helped shape the form but should not be mistaken for a certain explanation of the adjective. By about 1400, big had spread into general English, and its meaning ballooned: “large,” “important,” “haughty,” “generous,” and eventually “big business,” “big game,” and “big top.” The memorable lesson is that big did not begin as a ruler-marking adjective—it began closer to human force, the sense of a person who could fill a room before anyone measured the room.
Modern Usage
Used informally as emphatic agreement or for a physically imposing person.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries use big as emphatic agreement and for an imposing person.
Kin & Kindred
From 'big'·powerful, strong, large
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary