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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

big

/bɪɡ/
Of great size, large.

    Etymology graph

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    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Inherited from Northern Middle English big, bigge (“powerful, strong”), possibly from a dialect of Old Norse. Ultimately perhaps a derivative of Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”), in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug.

    Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English biggen, byggen, from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related to Old English būan (“to dwell”). Cognate with Danish bygge, Swedish bygga.

    Etymology 3

    From Middle English byge, from Old Norse bygg (“barley, probably Hordeum vulgare, common barley”), from Proto-Germanic *bewwuz (“crop, barley”). Cognate with Old English bēow (“barley”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedNorthern Middle Englishbig
      • derivedProto-Germanic*bugja- “swollen up, thick”
        • derivedProto-Indo-European*bʰew- “to grow, wax, swell”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishbiggen
      • derivedOld Norsebyggja “to build, settle”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishbyge
      • derivedOld Norsebygg “barley, probably Hordeum vulgare, common barley”
        • derivedProto-Germanic*bewwuz “crop, barley”

    Related: Norwegian bugge, Low German Bögge, Old Norse búa, Old English buan, Danish bygge, Swedish bygga, Old English bēow

    Words built on it: Big Game, big top

    Meanings

    adj
    1. Of great size, large.
    2. Fat.
    3. Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
    4. Specifically, big-breasted.
    5. Having a large penis.
    6. Having large muscles, especially visible ones such as the chest and arm muscles.
    adv
    1. In a loud manner.
    2. In a boasting manner.
    3. In a large amount or to a large extent.
    4. (modifying a preposition)
    5. On a large scale, expansively.
    6. Hard; with great force.
    noun
    1. Someone or something that is large in stature.
    2. An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
    3. The big leagues, big time.
    4. An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
    5. The participant in age roleplay who acts out the older role.
    verb
    1. To inhabit; occupy.
    2. To locate oneself.
    3. To build; erect; fashion.
    4. To dwell; have a dwelling.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: big