different between magnificent vs matchless

English

Etymology

From Middle French magnificent, from Latin magnificentior, comparative of magnificus (“great in deeds or sentiment, noble, splendid, etc.”), from magnus (“great”) + -ficens, a form of -ficiens, the regular form, in compounds, of faciens, a participle of facere (“to do”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mæ??n?f?s?nt/
• Hyphenation: mag?nif?i?cent

Adjective

magnificent (comparative more magnificent, superlative most magnificent)

1. Grand, elegant or splendid in appearance.
2. Grand or noble in action.
3. Exceptional for its kind.

Derived terms

• magnificently
• magnificent frigatebird

Related terms

• magnificence
• beneficent
• maleficent
• munificent

Translations

Further reading

• magnificent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• magnificent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• magnificent at OneLook Dictionary Search

Latin

Verb

magnificent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of magnific?

English

Etymology 1

From match +? -less, modelled after or partly continuing Middle English makeless (“having no peer or equal, matchless”), equivalent to make +? -less. Compare Swedish makalös (“incomparable, matchless”), Danish mageløs (“matchless”).

Adjective

matchless (comparative more matchless, superlative most matchless)

1. Having no match; without equal.
   • 1819, Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, ch. 8:

     [T]he Prince was to declare the victor in the first day's tourney, who should receive as prize a warhorse of exquisite beauty and matchless strength.

   • 2002, Daniel Okrent, "Books: A Prince of a Pitcher" (Review of: Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy), Time, 30 Sept.:

     It was not his matchless talent that exalted Koufax beyond his greatest contemporaries so much as it was his knowledge that character was not connected to talent.

2. Having no mate.
   • 2010, Sandra Brennan, "Movies: The Flying Matchmaker (1966)," nytimes.com, 1 June (retrieved 13 Sep 2010):

     In this comedy, a matchmaker has a matchless daughter. Try as he might, he cannot seem to find anyone for her.

Synonyms

• (without equal): incomparable, nonpareil, peerless, unequaled, unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed
• (having no mate): single, unattached

Derived terms

• matchlessly
• matchlessness

Translations

Etymology 2

match +? -less

Adjective

matchless (not comparable)

1. Without the use of matches for ignition.

   a matchless stove