■ adjective
1》 magnificent and imposing.
↘large, ambitious, or impressive in scope or scale.
↘dignified, noble, or proud.
2》 of chief importance.
↘of the highest rank (used especially in official titles).
↘ Law (of a crime) serious. Compare with petty (in sense 3).
3》 informal excellent.
4》 [in combination ] (in names of family relationships) denoting one generation removed in ascent or descent.
■ noun
1》 ( plural same) informal a thousand dollars or pounds.
2》 a ~ piano.
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
Origin
ME: from OFr. grant , ~ , from L. ~is 'full-grown, great'.