large French · revision 16576

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la largus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laʁʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''large''' (plural larges)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French masculine ''larc'' (nominative ''lars''), rare, found 1188 to the late 13th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|large]], the feminine of the old adjective [[m|fro|larc]], [[inh|la|largus|t=abundant, plentiful; generous]]; the feminine form came to serve for both genders.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|5, 182b) Latin “largus” has no clear etymology.^(DHLF 1992) It replaced [[la|lātus|t=wide]] in Romance, probably helped by its rhyme with [[m|la|longus|t=long]]; in French it ousted the old adjective [[lé]], still used by Marot and now only a noun.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|largo]], [[ro|larg]], [[pro|larc]], [[ca|llarg]] and [[es|largo]] “long”; [[en|large]] is borrowed from French.^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has ''larges terres'' “vast lands” and ''larges almosnes'' “generous alms”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “wide” in contrast to long, the main one today, is in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (''mult ont large le front''), while English ''large'' kept the older sense “big”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The word meant tolerant, not strict, from about 1135 and loose-fitting, of clothes, from 1478–80, ''large de'' + a measure is from 1585.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ As a noun, ''au large'' “at liberty” (Chrétien de Troyes, 1176–81) gave way to the sense of the open sea (1395), with ''prendre le large'' (1409), figuratively “to make off” (about 1470).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Adverbial uses include ''voir large'', ''habiller large'' (1683) and ''n'en pas mener large'' “to feel uneasy” (1866); ''de long en large'' is from 1811.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – “Vast” and “generous”, ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – “Wide”, ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–81 – ''Au large'' “at liberty”, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1395 – ''Le large'', the open sea.^(TLFi)

+ * 1409 – ''Prendre le large''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1866 – ''N'en pas mener large'', Delvau.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|wide]], broad: ''une large avenue'', ''large de dix mètres'', ten metres wide.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Loose-fitting: ''un pantalon large''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Considerable, extensive: ''dans une large mesure'', ''au sens large'', in the broad sense.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # [[m|en|generous]]; open-minded, tolerant: ''large d'esprit''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Width: ''trois mètres de large'', ''en long et en large''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Le large'': the open sea, ''au large de'', off (a coast); ''prendre le large'', to put out to sea, to clear off.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Generously, amply: ''voir large'', to allow plenty, ''n'en pas mener large'', to be in a tight spot.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[largement]]

+ * [[largesse]]

+ * [[largeur]]

+ * [[élargir]]

+ * [[élargissement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lé]]

+ * [[largue]]

+ * [[la|largus]]

+ * [[en|large]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}