Standard Lemma guide

great-

prefix · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

prefix

Meaning 1

With familial designations, used to denote a removal of one generation

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

Examples

  • great-uncle (an uncle of one's mother or father)
  • great-grandfather (the father of one's grandfather)
  • great-great-grandfather (a grandfather of one's grandfather)
  • great-great-great-grandfather, etc.
  • (informal) fourth-great-granduncle, etc. (same as great-great-great-great-granduncle)
  • (informal) fourth-great-grandfather, etc. (same as great-great-great-great-grandfather)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English gret- (“great-”), from gret (“great”). More at great.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: stër- — removal of one generation
  • Belarusian: пра- (pra-) — removal of one generation
  • Bulgarian: пра- (pra-) — removal of one generation
  • Catalan: bes- — removal of one generation
  • Chinese Cantonese: 太 (taai3) — removal of one generation
  • Czech: pra- — removal of one generation
  • Danish: tip- — removal of one generation
  • Esperanto: pra- — removal of one generation
  • French: arrière — removal of one generation
  • German: ur- — removal of one generation
  • Hungarian: déd- — removal of one generation
  • Irish: sean- — removal of one generation
  • Italian: bis- — removal of one generation
  • Italian: pro- — removal of one generation
  • Jeju: 왕- (wang-) — removal of one generation
  • Polish: pra- — removal of one generation
  • Portuguese: ta- — removal of one generation
  • Romanian: stră- — removal of one generation
  • Russian: пра- (pra-) — removal of one generation
  • Serbo-Croatian: пра- — removal of one generation
  • Serbo-Croatian: pra- — removal of one generation
  • Slovak: pra- — removal of one generation
  • Slovene: pra- — removal of one generation
  • Spanish: bis- — removal of one generation
  • Swedish: gammel- — removal of one generation
  • Ukrainian: пра- (pra-) — removal of one generation
  • Welsh: hen — removal of one generation
  • Welsh: gor- — removal of one generation
  • Yiddish: אור־ (ur-) — removal of one generation
  • Yiddish: עלטער־ (elter-) — removal of one generation