# magnus
## Latin
### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *magnos, from Proto-Indo-European *m̥ǵh₂nós, from *méǵh₂s (“great”).
Cognates include Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégas, “big, large”), Sanskrit मह (mahá, “great, mighty, strong, abundant”), Middle Persian ms (meh, “great”) (from earlier *mas and whence Persian مه (meh)), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬰- (maz-, “large”), Tocharian B māka (“large”), Hittite [script needed] (mēkkis, “much, many, numerous”), Old Armenian մեծ (mec), Old Irish maige (“great, large”), Albanian madh (“large”) and Old English micel (English much).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈmaɡ.nus/, [ˈmäŋnʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈmaɲ.ɲus/, [ˈmäɲːus]

### Adjective

magnus (feminine magna, neuter magnum, comparative maior, superlative maximus or maxumus); first/second-declension adjective
* (literally):
** great, large, big; (of things) vast, extensive, spacious. (of physical size or quantity)
    Magna Britannia ― Great Britain
    mare magnum ― great sea
** Especially:
*** great, much, abundant, considerable. (of measure, weight, quantity)
**** 100 BCE – 44 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentariī dē Bellō Gallicō 6.14:Magnum ibi numerum versuum ēdiscere dīcuntur.There they are said to learn by heart a large number of verses.
*** (rare) (of time) Synonym of longus, multus.
*** Loud, powerful, strong, mighty. (of voice)
* (figurative):
** (in general) great, grand, mighty, noble, lofty, important, of great weight or importance, momentous.
    Carolus Magnus ― Charlemagne / Charles the Great
*** 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 3.313:magna petisYou are inquiring [about] great [matters]
*** 166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 1.1:Enimvērō spectātum satis putābam et magnum exemplum continentiae.In fact, I supposed him sufficiently tested and a great example of self-control.
*** 397 CE – 400 CE, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, Cōnfessiōnēs 1.1:Magnus es, domine, et laudābilis valdē.Great are you, O Lord, and very much praiseworthy.
** (in particular):
*** advanced in years, of great age, aged. (of age, with nātu)
*** (in specifications of value, in the neutral absolute) high, dear, of great value, at a high price.

#### Usage notes

* Different dictionaries and grammars give different vowel lengths. Some have magnus, major/maior, maximus (e.g. Lewis & Short, Gaffiot, OLD), others have māgnus, major/maior, maximus (e.g. Allen & Greenough). māj- in those that don't distinguish syllable weight from vowel length is due to the first syllable being regularly made long by position, since an intervocalic /j/ is normally double).
* In Late Latin, magnus increasingly took on abstract senses, while the concrete sense of 'large' was assigned to grandis.

#### Inflection

First/second-declension adjective, with locative.
In Old Latin, the genitive magnai for magnae is attested (in Plautus' Miles gloriosus).
The adjective has irregular comparative and superlative degrees.

#### Synonyms

* grandis

#### Antonyms

* parvus

#### Derived terms

* Carolus Magnus
* magmentum
* magna cum laude
* magnaevus
* magnālia
* magnanimis
* magnanimus
* magnārius
* magnātus
* magnidicus
* magnifaciō
* magniloquāx
* magniloquus
* magnisonāns
* magnisonus
* magnitās
* magnitiēs
* magnitūdō
* magnoperē
* magnum opus
* permagnus
* Portus Magnus
* tam magnus

#### Related terms

* mactus
* magis
* magister
* magnās
* maiestās
* maiusculus

#### Descendants

See also tam magnus and permagnus.
* Italo-Romance:
** Italian: -magno, -a (in toponyms like Pratomagno, Villamagna)
* Southern Gallo-Romance:
** Catalan: -many, -a (in toponyms like Capmany, Vallmanya)
** Old Occitan: mainh, magn, manh
* Insular Romance:
** Sardinian: mannu
* Borrowings:
** → Catalan: magne
** → English: magnus
** → Italian: magno
** → Old French: magne
** → Old Norse: magnus
** → Portuguese: magno, manho
** → Spanish: magno, maño
** → Sicilian: magnu

### References

* ↑ Stefan Schumacher & Joachim Matzinger, Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2013), 238.
* ↑ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “magnus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 6/1: Mabile–Mephitis, page 49
* “magnus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “magnus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* magnus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* magnus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 939/3.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. a storm accompanied by heavy claps of thunder: tempestas cum magno fragore (caeli) tonitribusque (Liv. 1. 16) with many tears: magno cum fletu cogent, decisive reasons: magnae (graves) necessariae causae important results are often produced by trivial causes: ex parvis saepe magnarum rerum momenta pendent to be of great (no) importance: magni (nullius) momenti esse to have considerable influence on a question: magnam vim habere ad aliquid his crowning happiness is produced by a thing; the culminating point of his felicity is..: ad felicitatem (magnus) cumulus accedit ex aliqua re his crowning happiness is produced by a thing; the culminating point of his felicity is..: aliquid felicitatem magno cumulo auget to entreat earnestly; to make urgent requests: magno opere, vehementer, etiam atque etiam rogare aliquem to be influenced by, to yield to urgent (abject) entreaty: magnis (infimis) precibus moveri to possess great authority; to be an influential person: magna auctoritate esse to possess great authority; to be an influential person: magna auctoritas est in aliquo to have great influence with a person; to have considerable weight: magna auctoritas alicuius est apud aliquem to leave a great reputation behind one: magnam sui famam relinquere it is a great undertaking to..: magnum negotium est c. Inf. to be magnanimous, broad-minded: magno animo esse a man of ability: vir magno ingenio, ingeniosus a man of ability: vir magno ingenio praeditus to be in gross error, seriously misled: magno errore teneri to be in gross error, seriously misled: in magno errore versari a thing which is rather (very) dubious: quod aliquam (magnam) dubitationem habet (Leg. Agr. 1. 4. 11) to be busy with ambitious projects: magna moliri to have a high object in view; to be ambitious: magna sibi proponere or magna spectare to have had great experience in a thing: magnum usum in aliqua re habere to pass as a man of great learning: magnam doctrinae speciem prae se ferre we expect a great deal from a man of your calibre: magna est exspectatio ingenii tui a weighty example, precedent: exemplum magnum, grande a strong, striking proof: argumentum firmum, magnum a strong, loud voice: vox magna, clara (Sulla 10. 30) to shout at the top of one's voice: magna voce clamare it is a difficult point, disputed question: magna quaestio est (followed by an indirect question) to my sorrow: cum magno meo dolore to undergo severe trouble, trials: magnum luctum haurire (without ex-) to be haughty: magnos spiritus sibi sumere (B. G. 1. 33) I have great hopes that..: magna me spes tenet (with Acc. c. Inf.) (Tusc. 1. 41. 97) some one is the object of much admiration: magna est admiratio alicuius we are united by many mutual obligations: multa et magna inter nos officia intercedunt (Fam. 13. 65) to buy dearly: magno or male emere a thing costs much, little: aliquid magno, parvo stat, constat much money: pecunia magna, grandis (multum pecuniae) money is plentiful at 6 per cent: semissibus magna copia est to incur debts on a large scale: grande, magnum (opp. exiguum) aes alienum conflare a large force, many troops: magnae copiae (not multae) veterans; experienced troops: qui magnum in castris usum habent to possess great experience in military matters: magnum usum in re militari habere (Sest. 5. 12) by forced marches: magnis itineribus (Sall. Iug. 37) there was great slaughter of fugitives: magna caedes hostium fugientium facta est with great loss: magno cum detrimento much damage was done by this collision: ex eo navium concursu magnum incommodum est acceptum (ambiguous) to be very rich; to be in a position of affluence: magnas opes habere (ambiguous) to have a large income from a thing (e.g. from mines): magnas pecunias ex aliqua re (e.g. ex metallis) facere (ambiguous) to perform heroic exploits: magnas res gerere
* “magnus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
* J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, A. A. Howard, Benj. L. D'Ooge, editors (1903), Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges, Founded on Comparative Grammar, pages 3 and 56