large: [12] Latin largus, a word of unknown origin, meant ‘abundant’ and also ‘generous’. It retained the latter meaning when it came into English via Old French large (‘the poor King Reignier, whose large style agrees not with the leanness of his purse’, Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI 1593), but this now survives only in the derivative largesse [13]. ‘Abundant’, on the other hand, has provided the basis of the main modern English meaning ‘of great size’, which emerged in the 15th century.
large (adj.)
c. 1200, "bountiful, inclined to give or spend freely," also, of areas, "great in expanse," from Old French large "broad, wide; generous, bounteous," from Latin largus "abundant, copious, plentiful; bountiful, liberal in giving," of unknown origin. Main modern meanings "extensive; big in overall size" emerged 14c. An older sense of "liberated, free from restraining influence" is preserved in at large (late 14c.). Adjective phrase larger-than-life first attested 1937 (bigger than life is from 1640s).
例文
1. These large institutions make-and change-the rules to suit themselves.
これらの大機構はいつも勝手に規定を制定し、しかも変化すると言っている。
2.Wind turbines are large and noisy and they disfigure the landscape.
風力タービンは大きく、騒音が鳴り、周辺の風景を破壊することもある。
3.Fiction takes up a large slice of the publishing market.
小説は出版市場で大きなシェアを占めている。
4.He was in large part a journalist and propagandist.
彼は新聞記者と宣伝者であることが大きい。
5.The holes were sufficiently large to serve as nests.