μέγας

μέγας

Grammatical information: adj.

Meaning: `great, big',

Other forms: μεγάλη, μέγα

Dialectal forms: Myc. mezo

Compounds: Comp. μέζων, Att. μείζων (after κρείττων, ἀμείνων a. o.; cf. Schwyzer 538), sup. μέγιστος (Il.); cf. Seiler Steigerungsformen 63. Compp., e.g. μεγά-θυμος `with great mind' (Hom.), μεγαλ-ήτωρ `magnanimous' (Il.; Sommer Nominalkomp. 135), μεγαλό-φρων `magnanimous' (Att.; Hom. μέγα φρονέων, cf. Leumann Hom. Wörter 119f.), μεγιστό-τιμος `with highest honour' (A.).

Derivatives: 1. From μεγα-: μέγεθος (cf. πλῆ-θος; -ε- vowelassim. ? Schwyzer 255), Hdt. μέγαθος, n. `greatness, sublimity' (Il.) with μεγεθ-ικός `quantitative' (Arist.-Comm.), -ύνω `magnify', pass. `become exalted' (after μεγαλύνω, late), -όομαι = μεγαλύνομαι (medic., S. E.); PN Μέγης with patron. Μεγάδης (Il.). 2. From μεγαλο- : μεγαλ-εῖος `grand(iose)' (Pl., X., Plb.; after ἀνδρεῖος enlarged) with -ειότης `highness, majesty' (LXX); μεγάλ-ωμα n. `greatness, power' (LXX; direct from μεγαλο-, cf. Chantraine Form. 187; diff. Georgacas Glotta 36, 169), -ωσύνη `id.' (LXX, Aristeas; -ω- analog., Schwyzer 529), -ωστί adv. `magnificently' (Schwyzer 624, Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 250). 3. From μέγιστος : μεγιστᾶνες m. pl. (rarely -άν sg.) `great lords, magnates' (Men., LXX, NT; after the PN in -ᾶνες, Björck Alpha impurum 55, 278ff.; diff. Schaeder in Schwyzer 521 n. 5), PN Μεγιστ-ώ f. (Emp. [personification], pap.), -ίας, -εύς (Boßhardt 92); μεγιστεύω `be(come) very great' (App.).

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [708] *meǵh₂-

Etymology: With μέγα, μέγας agrees Arm. mec `great', instr. meca-w, (a-stem); also Skt. máhi n. `great' (with h from -gh₂-; cf. below) can be equated as IE *mégh₂-. In Germanic the word lives on in OWNo. mjǫk `very', PGm. *meḱu, with secondary -u after *felu, Goth. filu `many' (s. πολύς). A reshaping after the i-stems shows Hitt. me-ik-ki n. `very', -iš `great'. Here also the Illyr. PN Mag-aplinus (Krahe IF 57, 117 f.). -- The final -α from -h₂ is the zero grade of -ā in Skt. mahā- `great' (as 1. member), mahā-nt- `id.'; the effect of a laryngeal (h₂) after g was aspiration in Skt (with gh \> h . As innovations to μέγα, μέγας, -αν are immediately understandable; the other forms have an l-enlargement which makes the inflexion easier, which is found in Germanic, e.g. Goth. mikils `grat' (PGm. *mekilaz) and in the synonymous Lith. dìdelis `grat' (from dìdis `id.'). Against the assumption of a common origin (Brugmann, Osthoff, Schulze a. o.) Walde(-P.) 2, 257, who rather assumes independent innovations (after χθαμαλός resp. from *mikins; rather then with Thurneysen KZ 48, 61 after leitils `small'). -- Further forms, for Greek uninteresting, in WP. 2, 257ff., Pok. 708f., W.-Hofmann s. magnus. Cf. ἀγα-. On μεγαίρω s. v.

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