Wiktionary

magnificent

English

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: mag‧nif‧i‧cent

Adjective

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magnificent (comparative more magnificent, superlative most magnificent)

  1. Grand, elegant or splendid in appearance.
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], chapter 1, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      “Do I fidget you ?” he asked apologetically, whilst his long bony fingers buried themselves, string, knots, and all, into the capacious pockets of his magnificent tweed ulster.
    • 1995, “One Small Step”, in Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal‎[1], retrieved 2023-05-03:
      Armstrong: "Isn't that something! Magnificent sight out here."
      Aldrin: "Magnificent desolation."
  2. Grand or noble in action.
  3. Exceptional for its kind.
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
      They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
    • 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1-6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
      Substitute Edin Dzeko scrambled in a fourth and the magnificent David Silva ran clear to add another, before the Bosnian striker inflicted the final wound seconds from the end.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Latin

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Verb

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magnificent

  1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of magnificō
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