Английский Этимологический словарь - great

- O.E. great "big, coarse, stout," from W.Gmc. *grautaz. Originally "big in size," it took over much of the sense of M.E. mickle, and is now largely superseded by big and large except for non-material things. As a prefix to terms denoting kinship, it is from Fr. grand, which is from L. magnus. In the sense of "excellent, wonderful" it is attested from 1848.