5 ms·
>Please don't tell me it's evil. I am a little confused by your comment - has the word "enormous" come to mean "evil"? If so, maybe this new came about from pe
by Zuider 13y ago
>Please don't tell me it's evil.
I am a little confused by your comment - has the word "enormous" come to mean "evil"? If so, maybe this new came about from people referring to the "enormity of a crime". It seems to have followed a similar etymological evolution to the word "gross" as in "gross depravity". But both words just mean "big".
- dredmorbius 13y agoThe word "enormity" means generally "evil": The state or quality of exceeding a measure or rule, or of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous. (1913 Webster). It's not a general synonym for "enormous" or "having vast size", except by confusion.
- Zuider 13y agoWow. Maybe it is an American English usage. In British English "enormous" is always used as a synonym for "huge", never for "evil". In fact, a quick google of the word revealed the former usage to be the more prevalent one. For instance, there is a famous children's story called "The enormous turnip" (adapted from a story by Tolstoy). http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Enormous-Turnip/Katie-Daynes/book_9780746073353.htm http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Enormous-Turnip/Katie-Dayne... Obviously, the children's story uses "enormous" to imply that the turnip is very large, not very wicked. Somehow "the dastardly rutabaga" or "the heinous swede" makes a lot less sense in this context. Edit: Admission - I used DDG (my default search engine), not google.
- Zarel 13y agoThat's not what he's saying; he's saying that "enormity" isn't a synonym for "enormousness".