Magnitude — From Latin to English | etymologist.ai
magnitude
/ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd/·noun·late 14th century·Established
Origin
From Latin 'magnitudo' (greatness), from 'magnus' (great), from PIE *megh2- — same root as 'mega-' and 'much.'
Definition
The great size or extent of something; in science, a numerical quantity or value, especially the measure of brightness of a star or the strength of an earthquake.
The Full Story
Latinlate 14th centurywell-attested
From Latin 'magnitūdō' (greatness, bulk, size, extent, importance), from 'magnus' (great, large, much) + the abstract-noun suffix '-tūdō' (corresponding to English '-ness' or '-tude,' indicating a quality or state). Latin 'magnus' descends from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- (great, large), one of the most widespread roots in the family. The '-tūdō' suffix also formed 'altitūdō' (height, from 'altus' high), 'latitūdō' (breadth, from 'latus' wide
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The astronomical magnitude scale is inverted: brighterstars have lower numbers. This dates to theGreek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190–120 BCE), who ranked stars from 'first magnitude' (brightest) to 'sixth magnitude' (faintest visible). Modernastronomy kept his backward
), 'longitūdō' (length, from 'longus' long), 'multitūdō' (a crowd, from 'multus' many), and 'fortitūdō' (strength, from 'fortis' strong) — a systematic series from which English