size
pronunciation
How to pronounce size in British English:
UK [saɪz]
How to pronounce size in American English:
US [saɪz]
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- Noun:
- the physical magnitude of something (how big it is)
- the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing)
- any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces or to stiffen fabrics
- the actual state of affairs
- a large magnitude
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- Verb:
- cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance)
- sort according to size
- make to a size; bring to a suitable size
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- Adjective:
- (used in combination) sized
Word Origin
- size
- size: [13] The etymological notion underlying size is of ‘settling’ something, of fixing an amount. The word is a curtailed version of assize, which went back ultimately to Latin assidēre, literally ‘sit beside someone’. By the time it reached English, via Old French, it had acquired connotations of ‘sitting down to make a judgment on something’, such as a law case (hence the meaning of English assize).Other matters decided on in this way included the standardization of amounts (of taxes, for example, or food), and this led to the word size being used for ‘dimension’. Size ‘gum’ [15] may be the same word, but the nature of the relationship between the two is unclear.=> assize, sit
- size (n.)
- c. 1300, "an ordinance to fix the amount of a payment or tax," from Old French sise, shortened form of assise "session, assessment, regulation, manner" (see assize), probably a misdivision of l'assise as la sise. The sense of "extent, amount, volume, magnitude" (c. 1300) is from the notion of regulating something by fixing the amount of it (weights, food portions, etc.). Specific sense of "set of dimensions of a manufactured article for sale" is attested from 1590s.
- size (v.)
- c. 1400, "to regulate," from size (n.). Meaning "to make of a certain size" is from c. 1600; that of "to classify according to size" is first attested 1630s. Verbal phrase size up "estimate, assess" is from 1847 and retains the root sense of size (n.). Related: Sized; sizing.
Example
- 1. Deals have also been limited in size .
- 2. They are never exactly the same size .
- 3. Their small size also makes the devices very sensitive .
- 4. But at that size the ships run into problems .
- 5. Now I need either a size or a feeling .