size

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   how big or small something is

   A wolf is about the size of a large dog.

2. 2
   noun

   one of a set of standard measurements for clothes, shoes, and other goods

   I wear a size 13 shoe.

3. 3
   verb

   to make something a particular size

   The tailor sized the jacket to fit him perfectly.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Size entered English in the Middle English period as a shortened form of assize. Assize came from French assise and ultimately Latin assidere, “sit by,” which developed the sense “sit in judgment” or “assess.” The idea of fixing an amount led size to denote magnitude or bulk. The separate history of size as the name of a substance used in painting is uncertain.

Attested since the 14th century, originally meant a “law or regulation that determines the amount to be paid”, from Middle English syse, sise (“regulation, control, limit”), from Old French cise, sise, aphetism of assise (“assize”), from the verb asseoir (“to sit down”), from Latin assidēre, composed of ad- (“to, towards, at”) + sedeō (“sit; settle down”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed-. Displaced native Old English miċelnes (literally “bigness”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary