gross

gross
\ \ [14] Gross comes via Old French gros from late Latin grossuslarge, bulky’, a word of unknown origin (not related to German grosslarge’). Its association with literal physical size has now largely died out in English, in the face of a growing figurative role in such senses as ‘coarse, vulgar’ and (of amounts) ‘total, entire’.
\ \ Its use as a noun meaning ‘144’, which dates from the 15th century, comes from the French phrase grosse douzainelarge dozen’. Grocer is a derivative, as is engross [14]; this originally meant ‘buy up wholesale’, hence ‘gain exclusive possession of’ and, by metaphorical extension, ‘occupy all the attention of’.
\ \ Cf.ENGROSS, GROCER

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Gross — steht für: Gross SZ, Viertel der Gemeinde Einsiedeln in der Schweiz Groß (Hollabrunn), eine Katastralgemeinde von Hollabrunn Gross, ein andere Schreibweise für die Messeinheit Gros Gross Income, eine Bezeichnung für Nettohonorarumsatz Gross… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • gross — 1 / grōs/ adj [Middle English, immediately obvious, from Middle French gros thick, coarse, from Latin grossus] 1: flagrant or extreme esp. in badness or offensiveness: of very blameworthy character a gross violation of the rules of ethics a gross …   Law dictionary

  • Gross — Gross, a. [Compar. {Grosser}; superl. {Grossest}.] [F. gros, L. grossus, perh. fr. L. crassus thick, dense, fat, E. crass, cf. Skr. grathita tied together, wound up, hardened. Cf. {Engross}, {Grocer}, {Grogram}.] 1. Great; large; bulky; fat; of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gross — Gross, n. [F. gros (in sense 1), grosse (in sense 2). See {Gross}, a.] 1. The main body; the chief part, bulk, or mass. The gross of the enemy. Addison. [1913 Webster] For the gross of the people, they are considered as a mere herd of cattle.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gross — may refer to:* Gross (economics), before deductions (brutto) * Gross (unit), a counting unit equal to 144 * Gross examination, in anatomical pathology, identification of disease with the naked eye * Gross realm, in mysticism, the physical realm * …   Wikipedia

  • gross — [grōs] adj. [ME grose < OFr gros, big, thick, coarse < LL grossus, thick] 1. big or fat and coarse looking; corpulent; burly 2. glaring; flagrant; very bad [a gross miscalculation] 3. dense; thick 4. a) lacking fineness, as in texture …   English World dictionary

  • gross — [adj1] large, fat adipose, big, bulky, chubby*, corpulent, dense, fleshy, great, heavy, hulking, husky, lumpish, massive, obese, overweight, porcine, portly, stout, thick, unwieldy, weighty; concepts 773,781 Ant. skinny, slender, thin gross… …   New thesaurus

  • gross — ► ADJECTIVE 1) unattractively large or bloated. 2) vulgar; unrefined. 3) informal very unpleasant; repulsive. 4) complete; blatant: a gross exaggeration. 5) (of income, profit, or interest) without deduction of tax or other contributions; total.… …   English terms dictionary

  • gross up — To convert a net figure into a gross one for the purpose of tax calculation, etc • • • Main Entry: ↑gross * * * ˌgross ˈup [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they gross up he/she/it …   Useful english dictionary

  • GROSS (M.) — GROSS MICHAEL (1964 ) Surnommé l’«Albatros» en raison des son envergure, le nageur allemand Michael Gross bat douze records du monde au cours de sa carrière. Il remporte trois titres olympiques (200 mètres nage libre et 100 mètres papillon en… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gross — Gross, NE U.S. village in Nebraska Population (2000): 5 Housing Units (2000): 1 Land area (2000): 0.130441 sq. miles (0.337841 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.130441 sq. miles (0.337841 sq. km) …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

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