different between great vs distinctive

English

Etymology

From Middle English greet (“great, large”), from Old English gr?at (“big, thick, coarse, massive”), from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *g?rewd-, *g?er- (“to rub, grind, remove”). Cognate with Scots great (“coarse in grain or texture, thick, great”), West Frisian grut (“large, great”), Dutch groot (“large, stour”), German groß (“large”), Old English gr?ot (“earth, sand, grit”). Related to grit.

Pronunciation

• enPR: gr?t, IPA^(key): /??e?t/
• Rhymes: -e?t
• Homophone: grate

Adjective

great (comparative greater, superlative greatest)

1. Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i.e. having many parts or members) or duration (i.e. relatively long); very big.
2. Of larger size or more importance than others of its kind.

   • So the King made Daniel a great man […]
3. (qualifying nouns of family relationship) Involving more generations than the qualified word implies — as many extra generations as repetitions of the word great (from 1510s). [see Derived terms]

4. (obsolete, postpositive, followed by 'with') Pregnant; large with young; full of.

   • the ewes great with young

5. (obsolete, except with 'friend' and similar words such as 'mate','buddy') Intimate; familiar.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Followers and Friends

     those that are so great with him

6. Extreme or more than usual.

7. Of significant importance or consequence; important.

   • “We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?”

8. (applied to actions, thoughts and feelings) Arising from or possessing idealism; admirable; superior; commanding; heroic; illustrious; eminent.

9. Impressive or striking.

10. Much in use; favoured.

11. (applied to persons) Endowed with extraordinary powers; of exceptional talents or achievements; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; remarkable; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.

12. Title referring to an important leader.

13. Doing or exemplifying (a characteristic or pursuit) on a large scale; active or enthusiastic.

14. (often followed by 'at') Skilful or adroit.

15. (informal) Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic. [from 1848]
16. (informal, Britain) Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.

Usage notes

Moderating adverbs such as fairly, somewhat, etc. tend not to be used with great. Some intensifiers can be used with some senses of great; for example, a very great amount, a very great man, the party was really great, though not *the party was very great.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:large
• See also Thesaurus:excellent
• gr8, grt (Internet slang, text messaging)

Antonyms

• (very big, large scale): tiny
• (uncommonly gifted): mediocre, ordinary

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Welsh: grêt

Translations

Interjection

great

1. Expression of gladness and content about something.

   Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     I am in my new apartment! Great!

2. sarcastic inversion thereof.

   Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.

Translations

Noun

great (plural greats)

1. A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

   Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.

   • 2019, Daniel Taylor, Lionel Messi magic puts Barcelona in command of semi-final with Liverpool (in The Guardian, 1 May 2019)[3]

     Sadio Mané wasted a glorious chance in the first half and, late on, Mohamed Salah turned his shot against a post after a goal-line clearance had spun his way. That, in a nutshell, perhaps sums up the difference between Messi and the players on the next rung below – the ones who can be described as great footballers without necessarily being football greats.

2. (music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
3. (in combinations such as "two-greats", "three-greats" etc.) An instance of the word "great" signifying an additional generation in phrases expressing family relationships.

   My three-greats grandmother.

Antonyms

• (person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim): mediocre

Translations

Adverb

great (not comparable)

1. (informal) Very well (in a very satisfactory manner).

   Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.

Translations

Anagrams

• 'Gater, Gater, Greta, ergat-, grate, retag, targe, terga

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“big in size, coarse, coarse grained”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghrew?- (“to fell, put down, fall in”). Cognate with Old Saxon gr?t (“large, thick, coarse, stour”), Old High German gr?z (“large, thick, coarse”), Old English grot (“particle”). More at groat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ræ???t/

Adjective

gr?at

1. great, massive
2. tall
3. thick; stout
4. coarse

Declension

Derived terms

• gr?atnes

Descendants

• Middle English: greet, grete
  • English: great
    • ? Welsh: grêt
  • Scots: great, greet, grete, greit

Scots

Alternative forms

• greet, grete, greit

Etymology

From Old English gr?at, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?r?t], [?r?t]
• (North Northern Scots) IPA^(key): [?rit]

Adjective

great (comparative greater, superlative greatest)

1. great
2. coarse (in grain or texture)
3. (of things) thick, bulky, roomy
4. (of people) big, stout
5. (of a river) swollen with rain, in flood
6. (of the sea) high, stormy
7. intimate, friendly

English

Etymology

From Latin distinctus, perfect passive participle of distinguere (“to push apart, to divide”), + -ive (forming adjectives signifying relation or tendency to). Cognate with French distinctif and Medieval Latin distinctivus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??st??kt?v/

Adjective

distinctive (comparative more distinctive, superlative most distinctive)

1. Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.
   • 1583, Philip Stubbes, The Anatomie of Abuses, Fol. V:

     Our Apparell was giuen vs as a signe distinctiue to discern betwixt sex and sex.

   a product in distinctive packaging

2. (rare) Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.
   • 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, Vol. II, Ch. iii, p. 75:

     ...more judicious and distinctive heads...

3. Characteristic, typical.
   • 1856, John Ruskin, Modern Painters, Vol. III, p. 293:

     Wordsworth's distinctive work was a war with pomp and pretence, and a display of the majesty of simple feelings and humble hearts.

   his distinctive bass voice

4. (rare) Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.
   • 1867, Samuel Smiles, The Huguenots, Ch. xvii, p. 432:

     The refugees... at length ceased to exist as a distinctive body among the people.

5. (Hebrew grammar, of accents) Used to separate clauses in place of stops.
   • 1874, Andrew Bruce Davidson, Introductory Hebrew Grammar, p. 27:

     These are the main distinctive accents, and by stopping at them... the reader will do justice to the sense.

6. (linguistics, of sounds) Distinguishing a particular sense of word.
   • 1927, L. Bloomfield & al., Language, No. 3, p. 129:

     Normally we symbolize only phonemes (distinctive features) so far as we can determine them.

Derived terms

• distinctive feature

Related terms

Translations

Noun

distinctive (plural distinctives)

1. A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.
   • 1816, Maurice Keatinge, Travels through France and Spain to Morocco, Vol. I, p. 189:

     ...the red umbrella, the distinctive of royalty here...

2. (Hebrew grammar) A distinctive accent.
   • 1874, Andrew Bruce Davidson, Introductory Hebrew Grammar, p. 27:

     A distinctive of less power than Zakeph is ?iph?â.

3. (theology) A distinctive belief, tenet, or dogma of a denomination or sect.
   • 1979, Theron F. Schlabach, "Gospel versus Gospel" in Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History, p. 154:

     Mennonites could go forth somewhat detached from the chauvinism of Western culture—but not so from the Mennonite distinctives.

References

• “distinctive”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1896
• distinctive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• distinctive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.t??k.tiv/
• Homophone: distinctives

Adjective

distinctive

1. feminine singular of distinctif