magnificence
[ mag-nif-uh-suhns ]
/ mægˈnɪf ə səns /
noun
the quality or state of being magnificent; splendor; grandeur; sublimity: the magnificence of snow-covered mountains; the magnificence of his achievements.
impressiveness of surroundings: the magnificence of Versailles.
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RELATED WORDS
greatness, splendor, elegance, richness, radiance, majesty, show, brilliance, pomp, glitter, style, swank, lavishness, beauty, importance, ostentation, post, flourish, grace, loftiness
Nearby words
- magnetron,
- magni-,
- magnific,
- magnificat,
- magnification,
- magnificent,
- magnificently,
- magnifico,
- magnifier,
- magnify
Origin of magnificence
1300–50; Middle English < Latin magnificentia, equivalent to magnificent- magnificent + -ia -y3; see -ence
SYNONYMS FOR magnificence
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for magnificence
magnificence
/ (mæɡˈnɪfɪsəns) /
noun
the quality of being magnificent
Word Origin for magnificence
C14: via French from Latin magnificentia
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
magnificence
mid-14c., "great-mindedness, courage," from Old French magnificence "splendor, nobility, grandeur," from Latin magnificentia "splendor, munificence," from stem of magnificus "great, elevated, noble, eminent," also "splendid, rich, fine, costly," literally "doing great deeds," from magnus "great" (see magnate) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "greatness, grandeur, glory" in English is from late 14c. That of "beauty, splendor, wealth" is 15c. As one of the Aristotelian and scholastic virtues, it translates Greek megaloprepeia "liberality of expenditure combined with good taste."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper