Enlarges

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Increases the size or scale of something, making it larger or more extensive
2. Expands the dimensions or extent of an object or area beyond its original state
3. Causes an item or space to grow in size or become more comprehensive

Etymology: "Enlarges" is the third-person singular present form of "enlarge," so the story belongs to the verb itself. The verb came into English from Old French "enlargier" (also "enlargir"), which combined "en-," a prefix that turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to put into a state," with "large," meaning broad or big. Middle English speakers borrowed it as "enlargen," so the word was built from the same parts English already used, a neat piece of word-making rather than something exotic. The notable thing is how far the sense has travelled from its adjective. "Large" originally describes size, but "enlarge" as a verb first meant to set free or to release, a sense it kept for a long time in Old French and early English before it settled on growing. The modern meaning, to make bigger or more complete, is the one readers meet today, and the older sense survives only in the phrase "enlarged to," but the link to freedom and liberty is what makes the verb's history unexpected.

Synonyms: expands, increases, broadens, amplifies, stretches

Antonyms: reduces, decreases, diminishes, shrinks, contracts