magnitude English · revision 10579

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1398|origins=la magnitudo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈmæɡ.nɪ.tʃuːd/, /ˈmæɡ.nɪ.tjuːd/, US /ˈmæɡ.nɪ.tuːd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is, probably through Old French magnitude and directly, [[bor|la|magnitūdō|t=greatness, bulk, size]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from magnus, great,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) related to Greek mégas and Sanskrit mahā́nt-, great, and to English [[much]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) with the suffix -tūdō (see [[-tude]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Greatness of character, rank or position: 1398 in the OED, before 1400 in Barnhart, also magnificence.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Greatness of size or extent is from about 1420 in the OED, before 1425 in Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and great importance from 1432–50.^(OED 1989) Size whether great or small, the measure of a quantity in geometry, is from 1570.^(OED 1989) The brightness of a star expressed as a number is from the 1640s, translating Ptolemy's Greek mégethos,^(Etymonline) and the intrinsic size of an earthquake from 1935.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – greatness of rank.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1420 – greatness of size.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1570 – relative size.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1640s – a star's brightness.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1935 – an earthquake's magnitude.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Great size, extent or importance: ''a problem of the first magnitude''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Relative size or extent.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The [[brightness]] of a star or other celestial body on a numerical scale.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A number given to a quantity for comparison with others.^(Collins 2023)

+ # The size of an [[earthquake]], measured on a scale.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[absolute magnitude]]

+ * [[apparent magnitude]]

+ * [[bolometric magnitude]]

+ * [[order of magnitude]]

+ * [[visual magnitude]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[magnate]]

+ * [[magnificent]]

+ * [[magnify]]

+ * [[much]]

+ * [[mega-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}