Bigs

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /bɪɡz/

Definitions

1. Plural form referring to entities of great size or importance; denotes large or significant individuals or objects
2. Used to describe multiple considerable or influential persons or items; indicating several things of substantial magnitude or prominence
3. Refers collectively to various considerable sizes or high-ranking figures, signifying more than one major or imposing element

Etymology: The plural "bigs" is simply the regular plural of the adjective-turned-noun "big," so its history is the history of "big" itself. That history is murkier than most English words. The adjective first appears in Middle English as "bigge," meaning "powerful" or "strong," and its ancestry is uncertain: it may come from a dialect word in an early Germanic language, and some scholars have linked it to a prehistoric root meaning "to swell," which would connect it to words like "bogey," "bugbear" and "bug." A dialect Norwegian word "bugge," meaning "great man," and Low German "Bögge" suggest a family of related sense. Despite the modern association with size, the older sense of "big" was closer to strength or force, and the physical meaning of bulk developed from that idea. The plural "bigs" takes the word into noun use, where it denotes large or important people or things, so the modern sense of significance grows out of that early notion of power.

Synonyms: elders, bosses, leaders

Antonyms: small, minors