cry+of+love

- promienieć szczęściem to beam with happiness

- płakać/skakać ze szczęścia to cry/jump for joy

- nigdy nie zaznają szczęścia they will never be happy

- nic jej do szczęścia nie brakuje she has everything she could wish for

- jeszcze nam tylko tego do szczęścia brakowało! iron. that’s all we needed! iron.

- nie posiadać się ze szczęścia to be beside oneself with joy

- dzieci były jej największym szczęściem her children were the joy of her life

- mieć szczęście to be lucky

- mieć szczęście w kartach to be lucky at cards

- miałem szczęście go spotkać I had the good fortune to meet him

- mieć szczęście do pogody/współpracowników to be fortunate in the weather/one’s colleagues

- mam szczęście do złodziei/oszustów iron. I seem to attract thieves/crooks

- masz szczęście, że ich nie było/że był w dobrym humorze you were lucky they were out/he was in a good mood

- ten to ma zawsze szczęście! he’s a lucky bastard! pot.

- masz więcej szczęścia niż rozumu! the devil looks after his own!

- szukać szczęścia to seek one’s fortune

- wyjechał szukać szczęścia za granicą he went abroad to seek his fortune

- próbować szczęścia w czymś to try one’s luck at sth

- szczęście się do nas uśmiechnęło fortune smiled on us

- szczęście nam sprzyjało luck was on our side

- odważnym szczęście sprzyja fortune favours the brave

- dać coś komuś/nosić coś na szczęście to give sth to sb/to wear sth as a good luck charm

- przynieść komuś szczęście to bring sb good luck

- zdać się na los szczęścia to take pot luck

- to kwestia szczęścia it’s the luck of the draw

- przy odrobinie szczęścia with a bit of luck

- takie to już moje szczęście! iron. my luck!

- na szczęście luckily, fortunately

- na szczęście miałem przy sobie jakieś pieniądze luckily a. fortunately I had some money

- i całe szczęście! and just as well!

- (całe) szczęście, że… it was just as well that…

- całe szczęście, że dom był ubezpieczony it was just as well that a. fortunately the house was insured

- szczęściem udało mu się uciec książk. fortunately he managed to run away

- mieliśmy szczęście w nieszczęściu it was just as well

- szczęście w nieszczęściu, że… it was just as well that…

■ kto ma szczęście w kartach, ten nie ma szczęścia w miłości lucky in cards, unlucky in love

- mieć garbate szczęście to have rotten luck

bacchor, ātus ( part. pres. gen. plur. bacchantum; v. I. fin. infra), 1, v. dep. [Bacchus].

Lit., to celebrate the festival of Bacchus:

Baccha bacchans,

Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 71:

saxea ut effigies bacchantis prospicit Evoe,

i. e. which cries Evoe in the orgies, Cat. 64, 61; 64, 255:

cum aliquo,

Plin. 3, 1, 3, § 8.—Hence, P. a. as subst.: bacchan-tes, um, f., Bacchae, the Bacchantes: passis Medea capillis Bacchantum ritu, Ov.M. 7, 258; 3, 703; Curt. 8, 10, 15; gen. Bacchantium, id. 9, 10, 24.—

Pass. (as in later Gr. bakcheuesthai, bakcheuthênai) of the place in which the orgies of Bacchus were celebrated:

virginibus bacchata Lacaenis Taygeta,

Verg. G. 2, 487 Heyn.:

bacchata jugis Naxos,

id. A. 3, 125:

Dindyma sanguineis famulum bacchata lacertis,

Val. Fl. 3, 20: ita obsoletum sono furenter ab omni parti bacchatur nemus, Santra ap. Non. p. 78, 28:

ululatibus Ide bacchatur,

Claud. Rapt. Pros. 1, 206.—

Transf., in gen., to revel, rave, rant, like the Bacchœ (of every species of mental excitement, love, hatred, joy, etc.; mostly poet. and in more elevated prose):

quibus gaudiis exsultabis? quantā in voluptate bacchabere?

Cic. Cat. 1, 10, 26:

furor in vestrā caede bacchantis,

id. ib. 4, 6, 11; id. Har. Resp. 18, 39:

non ego sanius Bacchabor Edonis,

Hor. C. 2, 7, 26; Col. poët. 10, 198; * Suet. Calig. 56; Claud. Laud. Stil. 2, 213; id. VI. Cons. Hon. 192.—Of murderous fury:

tantā in illos caede bacchati sunt,

Vulg. Judic. 20, 25.—So of poet. inspiration, Stat. S. 1, 2, 258;

and with carmen as object: grande Sophocleo carmen bacchamur hiatu,

Juv. 6, 636; cf.:

furebant Euhoe bacchantes,

raving to the cry of Euhoe, Cat. 64, 255; 64, 61.—Also, to go or run about in a wanton, wild, raving, or furious manner: animans Omne, quod in magnis bacchatur montibu' passim, * Lucr. 5, 822:

saevit inops animi, totamque incensa per urbem Bacchatur,

Verg. A. 4, 301 ( = discursitat, Heyne):

immanis in antro Bacchatur vates,

raves, is inspired, id. ib. 6, 78;

7, 385: infelix virgo totā bacchatur in urbe,

id. Cir. 166.—Hence,

Transf. to inanimate things, to be furious, rage with fury, etc., to be impetuous, etc.

So of a vessel of wine that is filled very often:

ubi bacchabatur aula, casabant cadi,

Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 41 Lorenz ad loc.—

Of winds:

Thracio bacchante magis sub interlunia vento,

Hor. C. 1, 25, 11; Ov. Tr. 1, 2, 29.—Of violent rain, Val. Fl. 6, 632.—

Of a rumor: concussam bacchatur fama per urbem, spreads rapidly, Verg A. 4, 666.—

Of enthusiastic, raging discourse:

quod eos, quorum altior oratio actioque esset ardentior furere et bacchari arbitraretur,

Cic. Brut. 80, 276:

vitiosum dicendi genus, quod inanibus locis bacchatur, etc.,

Quint. 12, 10, 73.

bacchor, ātus ( part. pres. gen. plur. bacchantum; v. I. fin. infra), 1, v. dep. [Bacchus].

Lit., to celebrate the festival of Bacchus:

Baccha bacchans,

Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 71:

saxea ut effigies bacchantis prospicit Evoe,

i. e. which cries Evoe in the orgies, Cat. 64, 61; 64, 255:

cum aliquo,

Plin. 3, 1, 3, § 8.—Hence, P. a. as subst.: bacchan-tes, um, f., Bacchae, the Bacchantes: passis Medea capillis Bacchantum ritu, Ov.M. 7, 258; 3, 703; Curt. 8, 10, 15; gen. Bacchantium, id. 9, 10, 24.—

Pass. (as in later Gr. bakcheuesthai, bakcheuthênai) of the place in which the orgies of Bacchus were celebrated:

virginibus bacchata Lacaenis Taygeta,

Verg. G. 2, 487 Heyn.:

bacchata jugis Naxos,

id. A. 3, 125:

Dindyma sanguineis famulum bacchata lacertis,

Val. Fl. 3, 20: ita obsoletum sono furenter ab omni parti bacchatur nemus, Santra ap. Non. p. 78, 28:

ululatibus Ide bacchatur,

Claud. Rapt. Pros. 1, 206.—

Transf., in gen., to revel, rave, rant, like the Bacchœ (of every species of mental excitement, love, hatred, joy, etc.; mostly poet. and in more elevated prose):

quibus gaudiis exsultabis? quantā in voluptate bacchabere?

Cic. Cat. 1, 10, 26:

furor in vestrā caede bacchantis,

id. ib. 4, 6, 11; id. Har. Resp. 18, 39:

non ego sanius Bacchabor Edonis,

Hor. C. 2, 7, 26; Col. poët. 10, 198; * Suet. Calig. 56; Claud. Laud. Stil. 2, 213; id. VI. Cons. Hon. 192.—Of murderous fury:

tantā in illos caede bacchati sunt,

Vulg. Judic. 20, 25.—So of poet. inspiration, Stat. S. 1, 2, 258;

and with carmen as object: grande Sophocleo carmen bacchamur hiatu,

Juv. 6, 636; cf.:

furebant Euhoe bacchantes,

raving to the cry of Euhoe, Cat. 64, 255; 64, 61.—Also, to go or run about in a wanton, wild, raving, or furious manner: animans Omne, quod in magnis bacchatur montibu' passim, * Lucr. 5, 822:

saevit inops animi, totamque incensa per urbem Bacchatur,

Verg. A. 4, 301 ( = discursitat, Heyne):

immanis in antro Bacchatur vates,

raves, is inspired, id. ib. 6, 78;

7, 385: infelix virgo totā bacchatur in urbe,

id. Cir. 166.—Hence,

Transf. to inanimate things, to be furious, rage with fury, etc., to be impetuous, etc.

So of a vessel of wine that is filled very often:

ubi bacchabatur aula, casabant cadi,

Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 41 Lorenz ad loc.—

Of winds:

Thracio bacchante magis sub interlunia vento,

Hor. C. 1, 25, 11; Ov. Tr. 1, 2, 29.—Of violent rain, Val. Fl. 6, 632.—

Of a rumor: concussam bacchatur fama per urbem, spreads rapidly, Verg A. 4, 666.—

Of enthusiastic, raging discourse:

quod eos, quorum altior oratio actioque esset ardentior furere et bacchari arbitraretur,

Cic. Brut. 80, 276:

vitiosum dicendi genus, quod inanibus locis bacchatur, etc.,

Quint. 12, 10, 73.

(1929-1987)

   Balladeer, singer, poet, musician, composer, and teacher. Known to the public simply as "Zeca" or "José Afonso," he was a student poet, singer, and musician in the 1950s, and premier interpreter of Coimbra fado, creator of a new school of fado music, and leader of a reform movement in popular music. Using his distinctive musical compositions, appealing baritone singing voice, and iconoclastic lyrics of resistance to tyranny, Afonso Santos employed his poetic and musical gifts as instruments of resistance and opposition to the enduring Estado Novo. Two recorded songs became early shots in this war: Balada de Outono (Autumn's Ballad) and Menino d'Oiro (Golden Boy). With diverse, subversive meanings usually disguised in allegory, his lyrics and style eschewed the traditional Coimbra fado's fare of broad sentiment and unrequited love. Instead, Afonso presented new ballads with contemporary resonance. In the mid-1960s, when so many Portuguese youth were drafted and mobilized for Portugal's colonial wars in Africa, he lived and taught school in Mozambique, where he organized opposition to the regime. Later in that colony, he was arrested by the PIDE.

   After his return to Portugal, Afonso's reputation as a rebel ballad-eer grew; among his most celebrated recorded ballads were Cantigas de Maio (Songs of May, 1971) and Venham Mais Cinco (Five More Came, 1973). His famous revolutionary, rallying song, Grândola, Vila Morena, banned by the Estado Novo before 1974, became the single most famous piece of Portuguese revolutionary music in the second half of the 20th century. Grândola featured Afonso's voice and lyrics and expressed a clearly leftist ideology and resistance to tyranny, to the background sounds of marching feet growing louder. Selected by the coup planners of the Armed Forces Movement as a signal for action, a secret password sign to be played over Lisbon radio at about midnight on 24/25 April 1974, this remarkable song acquired new fame and a place in history as both an actual signal for rebel military operations to begin and an enduring revolutionary rallying cry. After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, Grândola became the most potent symbol of the move to topple the Estado Novo and open the way for profound change, as well as a musical icon, equaled only by the iconographic red carnation. The first stanza of Afonso's lyrics, translated from the Portuguese, is: Grândola, dark-brown town, Homeland of Brotherhood The people have more power within you, oh city....

μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα (Hom.+) comp. μείζων and beside it, because of the gradual disappearance of feeling for its comp. sense, μειζότερος 3J 4 (APF 3, 1906, 173; POxy 131, 25; BGU 368, 9; ApcSed 1:5 [cp. J 15:13]; s. B-D-F §61, 2; W-S. §11, 4; Mlt-H. 166; Gignac II 158). Superl. μέγιστος (2 Pt 1:4).

① pert. to exceeding a standard involving related objects, large, great

ⓐ of any extension in space in all directions λίθος Mt 27:60; Mk 16:4. δένδρον Lk 13:19 v.l. (TestAbr B 3 p. 107, 6 [Stone p. 62]). κλάδοι Mk 4:32. Buildings 13:2. Fish J 21:11. A mountain (Tyrtaeus [VII B.C.], Fgm. 4, 8 D.²; Ps.-Aristot., Mirabilia 138; Theopomp. [IV B.C.]: 115 Fgm. 78 Jac.) Rv 8:8. A star vs. 10. A furnace 9:2 (ParJer 6:23). A dragon (Esth 1:1e; Bel 23 Theod.) 12:3, 9. ἀετός (Ezk 17:3; ParJer 7:18 [RHarris; om. Kraft-Purintun]) vs. 14. μάχαιρα a long sword 6:4. ἅλυσις a long chain 20:1. πέλαγος AcPl Ha 7, 23 (first hand).

ⓑ with suggestion of spaciousness ἀνάγαιον a spacious room upstairs Mk 14:15; Lk 22:12. θύρα a wide door 1 Cor 16:9. A winepress Rv 14:19 (ληνός μ. ‘trough’ JosAs 2:20); χάσμα a broad chasm (2 Km 18:17) Lk 16:26. οἰκία (Jer 52:13) 2 Ti 2:20.

ⓒ with words that include the idea of number ἀγέλη μ. a large herd Mk 5:11. δεῖπνον a great banquet, w. many invited guests (Da 5:1 Theod.; JosAs 3:6) Lk 14:16. Also δοχὴ μ. (Gen 21:8) Lk 5:29; GJs 6:2.

ⓓ of age (Jos., Ant. 12, 207 μικρὸς ἢ μέγας=‘young or old’); to include all concerned μικροὶ καὶ μεγάλοι small and great (PGM 15, 18) Rv 11:18; 13:16; 19:5, 18; 20:12. μικρῷ τε καὶ μεγάλῳ Ac 26:22. ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου (Gen 19:11; 4 Km 23:2; 2 Ch 34:30; POxy 1350) 8:10; Hb 8:11 (Jer 38:34). μέγας γενόμενος when he was grown up 11:24 (Ex 2:11). ὁ μείζων the older (O. Wilck II, 144, 3 [128 A.D.]; 213, 3; 1199, 2; LXX; cp. Polyb. 18, 18, 9 Σκιπίων ὁ μέγας; 32, 12, 1) Ro 9:12; 13:2 (both Gen 25:23).

② pert. to being above average in quantity, great πορισμός a great means of gain 1 Ti 6:6. μισθαποδοσία rich reward Hb 10:35.

③ pert. to being above standard in intensity, great δύναμις Ac 4:33; 19:8 D. Esp. of sound: loud φωνή Mk 15:37; Lk 17:15; Rv 1:10; φωνῇ μεγάλῃ (LXX; TestAbr A 5 p. 82, 20f [Stone p. 12]; ParJer 2:2; ApcMos 5:21) Mt 27:46, 50; Mk 1:26; 5:7; 15:34; Lk 4:33; 8:28; 19:37; 23:23 (Φωναῖς μεγάλαις), 46; J 11:43; Ac 7:57, 60; 8:7; Rv 5:12; 6:10 al.; μεγ. φωνῇ (ParJer 5:32); Ac 14:10; 16:28; μεγ. τῇ φωνῇ (ParJer 9:8; Jos., Bell. 6, 188) 14:10 v.l.; 26:24; ἐν φωνῇ μ. Rv 5:2. μετὰ σάλπιγγος μεγάλης with a loud trumpet call Mt 24:31. κραυγή (Ex 11:6; 12:30) Lk 1:42; Ac 23:9; cp. μεῖζον κράζειν cry out all the more Mt 20:31. κοπετός (Gen 50:10) Ac 8:2.—Of natural phenomena: ἄνεμος μ. a strong wind J 6:18; Rv 6:13. λαῖλαψ μ. (Jer 32:32) Mk 4:37. βροντή (Sir 40:13) Rv 14:2. χάλαζα Rv 11:19; 16:21a. χάλαζα λίαν μ. σφόδρα AcPl Ha 5, 7. σεισμὸς μ. (Jer 10:22; Ezk 3:12; 38:19; Jos., Ant. 9, 225) Mt 8:24; 28:2; Lk 21:11a; Ac 16:26. γαλήνη μ. a deep calm Mt 8:26; Mk 4:39; φῶς μ. a bright light (JosAs 6:3; ParJer 9:18 [16]; Plut., Mor. 567f: a divine voice sounds forth from this light; Petosiris, Fgm. 7, ln. 39 τὸ ἱερὸν ἄστρον μέγα ποιοῦν φῶς) Mt 4:16a; GJs 19:2 (Is 9:1). καῦμα μ. intense heat Rv 16:9 (JosAs 3:3).—Of surprising or unpleasant events or phenomena of the most diverse kinds (ἀπώλεια Dt 7:23; θάνατος Ex 9:3; Jer 21:6; κακόν Philo, Agr. 47) σημεῖα (Dt 6:22; 29:2) Mt 24:24; Lk 21:11b; Ac 6:8. δυνάμεις 8:13. ἔργα μ. mighty deeds (cp. Judg 2:7) Rv 15:3. μείζω τούτων greater things than these J 1:50 (μείζονα v.l.); cp. 5:20; 14:12. διωγμὸς μ. a severe persecution Ac 8:1; θλῖψις μ. (a time of) great suffering (1 Macc 9:27) Mt 24:21; Ac 7:11; Rv 2:22; 7:14. πειρασμός AcPl Ha 8, 22. πληγή (Judg 15:8; 1 Km 4:10, 17 al.; TestReub 1:7; TestSim 8:4; Philo, Sacr. Abel. 134) 16:21b. θόρυβος GJs 21:1; AcPl Ha 1, 28f (restored, s. AcPlTh [Aa I 258, 6]) λιμὸς μ. (4 Km 6:25; 1 Macc 9:24) Lk 4:25; Ac 11:28; ἀνάγκη μ. Lk 21:23; πυρετὸς μ. a high fever (s. πυρετός) 4:38.—Of emotions: χαρά great joy (Jon 4:6; JosAs 3:4; 4:2 al.; Jos., Ant. 12, 91) Mt 2:10; 28:8; Lk 2:10; 24:52. φόβος great fear (X., Cyr. 4, 2, 10; Menand., Fgm. 388 Kö.; Jon 1:10, 16; 1 Macc 10:8; TestAbr B 13 p. 117, 18 [Stone p. 82]; JosAs 6:1; GrBar 7:5) Mk 4:41; Lk 2:9; 8:37; Ac 5:5, 11; AcPl Ha 3, 33. θυμὸς μ. fierce anger (1 Macc 7:35) Rv 12:12. μείζων ἀγάπη greater love J 15:13. λύπη profound (Jon 4:1; 1 Macc 6:4, 9, 13; TestJob 7:8) Ro 9:2. σκυθρωπία AcPl Ha 7, 36. πίστις firm Mt 15:28. ἔκστασις (cp. Gen 27:33; ParJer 5:8, 12) Mk 5:42.

④ pert. to being relatively superior in importance, great

ⓐ of rational entities: of God and other deities θεός (SIG 985, 34 θεοὶ μεγάλοι [LBlock, Megaloi Theoi: Roscher II 2523–28, 2536–40; SCole, Theoi Megaloi, The Cult of the Great Gods at Samothrace ’84]; 1237, 5 ὀργὴ μεγάλη τ. μεγάλου Διός; OGI 50, 7; 168, 6; 716, 1; PStras 81, 14 [115 B.C.] Ἴσιδος μεγάλης μητρὸς θεῶν; POxy 886, 1; PTebt 409, 11; 22 ὁ θεὸς μ. Σάραπις, al.; PGM 4, 155; 482; 778 and oft.; 3052 μέγ. θεὸς Σαβαώθ; 5, 474; Dt 10:17 al. in LXX; En 103:4; 104:1; Philo, Cher. 29 al.; Jos., Ant. 8, 319; SibOr 3, 19; 71 al.—Thieme 36f) Tit 2:13 (Christ is meant). Ἄρτεμις (q.v.) Ac 19:27f, 34f (cp. Ael. Aristid. 48, 21 K.=24 p. 471 D. the outcry: μέγας ὁ Ἀσκληπιός); s. New Docs 1, 106 on this epithet in ref. to deities. Simon the magician is called ἡ δύναμις τ. θεοῦ ἡ καλουμένη μεγάλη Ac 8:10b (s. δύναμις 5). The angel Michael Hs 8, 3, 3; cp. 8, 4, 1.—Of people who stand in relation to the Divinity or are otherw. in high position: ἀρχιερεύς (s. ἀρχιερεύς 2a and ἱερεύς aβ.—ἀρχ. μέγ. is also the appellation of the priest-prince of Olba [s. PECS 641f] in Cilicia: MAMA III ’31 p. 67, ins 63; 64 [I B.C.]) Hb 4:14. προφήτης (Sir 48:22) Lk 7:16. ποιμήν Hb 13:20. Gener. of rulers: οἱ μεγάλοι the great ones, those in high position Mt 20:25; Mk 10:42. Of people prominent for any reason Mt 5:19; 20:26; Mk 10:43; Lk 1:15, 32; Ac 5:36 D; 8:9 (MSmith, HWolfson Festschr., ’65, 741: μ. here and Lk 1:32 may imply a messianic claim).—μέγας in the superl. sense (2 Km 7:9.—The positive also stands for the superl., e.g. Sallust. 4 p. 6, 14, where Paris calls Aphrodite καλή=the most beautiful. Diod S 17, 70, 1 πολεμία τῶν πόλεων=the most hostile [or especially hostile] among the cities) Lk 9:48 (opp. ὁ μικρότερος).—Comp. μείζων greater of God (Ael. Aristid. 27, 3 K.=16 p. 382 D.; PGM 13, 689 ἐπικαλοῦμαί σε, τὸν πάντων μείζονα) J 14:28; Hb 6:13; 1J 3:20; 4:4. More prominent or outstanding because of certain advantages Mt 11:11; Lk 7:28; 22:26f; J 4:12; 8:53; 13:16ab; 1 Cor 14:5. More closely defined: ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει μείζων greater in power and might 2 Pt 2:11. μεῖζον τοῦ ἱεροῦ someth. greater than the temple Mt 12:6. μείζων with superl. mng. (Ps.-Apollod., Epit. 7, 8 Wagner: Ὀδυσσεὺς τρεῖς κριοὺς ὁμοῦ συνδέων … καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ μείζονι ὑποδύς; Appian, Bell. Civ. 2, 87 §366 ἐν παρασκευῇ μείζονι= in the greatest preparation; Vett. Val. 62, 24; TestJob 3:1 ἐν μείζονι φωτί) Mt 18:1, 4; 23:11; Mk 9:34; Lk 9:46; 22:24, 26.

ⓑ of things: great, sublime, important μυστήριον (GrBar 1:6; 2:6; ApcMos 34; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 100 al.; Just., A I, 27, 4) Eph 5:32; 1 Ti 3:16. Of the sabbath day that begins a festival period J 19:31; MPol 8:1b. Esp. of the day of the divine judgment (LXX; En 22:4; ApcEsdr 3:3 p. 27, 7 Tdf.; Just., D. 49, 2 al.; cp. TestAbr A 13 p. 92, 11 [Stone p. 32]) Ac 2:20 (Jo 3:4); Jd 6; Rv 6:17; 16:14. Of Paul’s superb instructional ability μ̣ε̣γάλῃ καθ̣[ηγήσει] AcPl Ha 6, 30f.—μέγας in the superl. sense (Plut., Mor. 35a w. πρῶτος; Himerius, Or. 14 [Ecl. 15], 3 μέγας=greatest, really great; B-D-F §245, 2; s. Rob. 669) ἐντολή Mt 22:36, 38. ἡμέρα ἡ μ. τῆς ἑορτῆς the great day of the festival J 7:37 (cp. Lucian, Pseudolog. 8 ἡ μεγάλη νουμηνία [at the beginning of the year]); Mel., P. 79, 579; 92, 694 ἐν τῇ μ. ἐορτῇ; GJs 1:2; 2:2 (s. deStrycker on 1:2). Of Mary’s day of parturition ὡς μεγάλη ἡ σήμερον ἡμέρα what a great day this is GJs 19:2. μείζων as comp. (Chion, Ep. 16, 8 philosophy as νόμος μείζων=higher law; Sir 10:24) J 5:36; 1J 5:9. μ. ἁμαρτία J 19:11 (cp. schol. on Pla. 189d ἁμαρτήματα μεγάλα; Ex 32:30f). τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα the more important spiritual gifts (in the sense Paul gave the word) 1 Cor 12:31. As a superl. (Epict. 3, 24, 93; Stephan. Byz. s.v. Ὕβλαι: the largest of three cities is ἡ μείζων [followed by ἡ ἐλάττων, and finally ἡ μικρά=the smallest]. The comparative also performs the function of the superlative, e.g. Diod S 20, 22, 2, where πρεσβύτερος is the oldest of 3 men) Mt 13:32; 1 Cor 13:13 (by means of the superl. μ. Paul singles out from the triad the one quality that interests him most in this connection, just as Ael. Aristid. 45, 16 K. by means of αὐτός at the end of the θεοί singles out Sarapis, the only one that affects him).—The superl. μέγιστος, at times used by contemporary authors, occurs only once in the NT, where it is used in the elative sense very great, extraordinary (Diod S 2, 32, 1) ἐπαγγέλματα 2 Pt 1:4.—On the adv. usage Ac 26:29 s. ὀλίγος 2bβ.—Neut. pl. μεγάλα ποιεῖν τινι do great things for someone Lk 1:49 (cp. Dt 10:21). λαλεῖν μεγάλα καὶ βλασφημίας utter proud words and blasphemies Rv 13:5 (Da 7:8; cp. En 101:3). ἐποίει μεγ̣[ά]λα καὶ [θα]υ̣[μά]σ̣ι̣α̣ (Just., A I, 62, 4) (Christ) proceeded to perform great and marvelous deeds AcPl Ha 8, 33/BMM verso 6.

⑤ pert. to being unusual, surprising, neut. μέγα εἰ … θερίσομεν; is it an extraordinary thing (i.e. are we expecting too much = our colloquial ‘is it a big deal’) if we wish to reap? 1 Cor 9:11. οὐ μέγα οὖν, εἰ it is not surprising, then, if 2 Cor 11:15 (on this constr. cp. Pla., Menex. 235d; Plut., Mor. 215f; Gen 45:28; s. AFridrichsen, ConNeot 2, ’36, 46).—B. 878f; 1309. DELG. M-M. TW. Sv.