Etymology

From Proto-HellenicCategory:Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Hellenic#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Hellenic#ΜΕΓΑΣ *mégas, from a conflation of Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ΜΕΓΑΣ *méǵh₂s (“great”) with its derivative *meǵh₂los (“great”).^[1]

Cognates include Sanskrit म॒ह (mahá, “great; mighty; strong; abundant”), Middle Persian ms (meh, “great”) (< *mas), (Persian مه (meh)), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬰- (maz-, “large”), Tocharian B māka (“large”), Hittite [script needed]Category:Requests for native script for Hittite terms#ΜΈΓΑΣ (mēkkis, “much; many; numerous”), Old Armenian մեծ (mec), Old Irish maige (“great; large”), Albanian madh (“large”), Latin magnus and Old English miċel (English much).

Pronunciation

Adjective

μέγᾰς • (mégăs) m (feminine μεγάλη, neuter μέγᾰ)Category:Ancient Greek lemmas#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Ancient Greek adjectives#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Ancient Greek paroxytone terms#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Ancient Greek entries with incorrect language header#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Pages with entries#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Pages with 2 entries#ΜΕΓΑΣ; first/second declension

1. big; large
2. great; mighty; loud
3. marvelous; awesome

References

Further reading

• “μέγας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μέγας”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μέγας”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μέγας in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• μέγας in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “μέγας”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3173 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • ample idem, page 28.
  • big idem, page 78.
  • bulky idem, page 103.
  • burly idem, page 105.
  • capacious idem, page 111.
  • commodious idem, page 148.
  • considerable idem, page 163.
  • distinct idem, page 241.
  • enormous idem, page 276.
  • extensive idem, page 296.
  • gigantic idem, page 359.
  • great idem, page 372.
  • heavy idem, page 393.
  • large idem, page 476.
  • loud idem, page 501.
  • lusty idem, page 505.
  • mighty idem, page 528.
  • palatial idem, page 589.
  • potent idem, page 629.
  • powerful idem, page 630.
  • resonant idem, page 703.
  • severe idem, page 759.
  • spacious idem, page 797.
  • stentorian idem, page 815.
  • stout idem, page 821.
  • strong idem, page 827.
  • sturdy idem, page 830.
  • substantial idem, page 832.
  • tall idem, page 854.
  • vast idem, page 945.
• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920), “Part II: Inflection”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 311

Alternative forms

• μεγάλος (megálos, “big, great”) (common)

Etymology

From Ancient GreekCategory:Greek terms inherited from Ancient Greek#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Greek terms derived from Ancient Greek#ΜΕΓΑΣ μέγας, from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:Greek terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ΜΕΓΑΣ *méǵh₂s (“great”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.ɣas/Category:Greek terms with IPA pronunciation#ΜΕΓΑΣ

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Greek terms with audio pronunciation#ΜΕΓΑΣ
• Hyphenation: μέ‧γας

Adjective

μέγας • (mégas) m (feminine μεγάλη, neuter μέγα)Category:Greek lemmas#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Greek adjectives#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Greek entries with incorrect language header#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Pages with entries#ΜΕΓΑΣCategory:Pages with 2 entries#ΜΕΓΑΣ

1. (formalCategory:Greek formal terms#ΜΕΓΑΣ, pompous) great, very important
   • 1959 Odysseas Elytis. poem: Άξιον Εστί (To Axion Esti "It Is Worthy")

     ΑΥΤΟΣ
     ο κόσμος ο μικρός, ο μέγας!

     AFTOS
     o kósmos o mikrós, o mégas!

     THIS
     the small world, the great!

     Category:Greek terms with quotations#ΜΕΓΑΣ

     The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis @books.google

   είναι μέγας νομικός ― eínai mégas nomikós ― he is a great legal mindCategory:Greek terms with usage examples#ΜΕΓΑΣ

   Synonym: τρανός (tranós)

   1. (ironically)

      είναι μέγας απατεών ― eínai mégas apateón ― he is a huge conmanCategory:Greek terms with usage examples#ΜΕΓΑΣ

      μέγα λάθος! ― méga láthos! ― big mistake!Category:Greek terms with usage examples#ΜΕΓΑΣ

2. (for important places and historical figures): with capital M → Μέγας (Mégas)

   Μέγας Αλέξανδρος / o Αλέξανδρος ο Μέγας ― Mégas Aléxandros / o Aléxandros o Mégas ― Alexander the GreatCategory:Greek terms with usage examples#ΜΕΓΑΣ

   Μεγάλη Αικατερίνη / η Αικατερίνη η Μεγάλη ― Megáli Aikateríni / i Aikateríni i Megáli ― Catherine the GreatCategory:Greek terms with usage examples#ΜΕΓΑΣ