What is "great seal"

Great \Great\ (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. Greater; superl. Greatest.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre['a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. Groat the coin.]

1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length.

2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc.

3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval.

4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.

5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc.

6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc.

   He doth object I am too great of birth.
   --Shak.

7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle.

8. Pregnant; big (with young).

   The ewes great with young.
   --Ps. lxxviii. 71.

9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain.

   We have all Great cause to give great thanks.
   --Shak.

10. (Genealogy) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grandmother's father), great-grandson, etc. Great bear (Astron.), the constellation Ursa Major. Great cattle (Law), all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings. --Wharton. Great charter (Eng. Hist.), Magna Charta. Great circle of a sphere, a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere. Great circle sailing, the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places. Great go, the final examination for a degree at the University of Oxford, England; -- called also greats. --T. Hughes. Great guns. (Naut.) See under Gun. The Great Lakes the large fresh-water lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) which lie on the northern borders of the United States. Great master. Same as Grand master, under Grand. Great organ (Mus.), the largest and loudest of the three parts of a grand organ (the others being the choir organ and the swell, and sometimes the pedal organ or foot keys), It is played upon by a separate keyboard, which has the middle position. The great powers (of Europe), in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy. Great primer. See under Type. Great scale (Mus.), the complete scale; -- employed to designate the entire series of musical sounds from lowest to highest. Great sea, the Mediterranean sea. In Chaucer both the Black and the Mediterranean seas are so called. Great seal.

    1. The principal seal of a kingdom or state.

    2. In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office.

       Great tithes. See under Tithes.

       The great, the eminent, distinguished, or powerful.

       The Great Spirit, among the North American Indians, their chief or principal deity.

       To be great (with one), to be intimate or familiar (with him).
       --Bacon.

Seal \Seal\, n. [OE. seel, OF. seel, F. sceau, fr. L. sigillum a little figure or image, a seal, dim. of signum a mark, sign, figure, or image. See Sign, n., and cf. Sigil.]

1. An engraved or inscribed stamp, used for marking an impression in wax or other soft substance, to be attached to a document, or otherwise used by way of authentication or security.

2. Wax, wafer, or other tenacious substance, set to an instrument, and impressed or stamped with a seal; as, to give a deed under hand and seal.

   Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud.
   --Shak.

3. That which seals or fastens; esp., the wax or wafer placed on a letter or other closed paper, etc., to fasten it.

4. That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; that which authenticates; that which secures; assurance. ``Under the seal of silence.''
   --Milton.

   Like a red seal is the setting sun On the good and the evil men have done.
   --Longfellow.

5. An arrangement for preventing the entrance or return of gas or air into a pipe, by which the open end of the pipe dips beneath the surface of water or other liquid, or a deep bend or sag in the pipe is filled with the liquid; a draintrap.

   Great seal. See under Great.

   Privy seal. See under Privy, a.

   Seal lock, a lock in which the keyhole is covered by a seal in such a way that the lock can not be opened without rupturing the seal.

   Seal manual. See under Manual, a.

   Seal ring, a ring having a seal engraved on it, or ornamented with a device resembling a seal; a signet ring.
   --Shak.

n. The main seal of a nation or state that symbolizes its authority, and with which official documents are stamped.

n. the principal seal of a government, symbolizing authority or sovereignty

The term "Great Seal" is used by several governments to refer to the seal (emblem) that they use to authenticate certain documents. These include:

• Great Seal of Canada
  • Great Seal of Ontario
• Great Seal of France
• Seal of the President of Ireland
• Seal of New Zealand
• Great Seal of the Realm (United Kingdom)
  • Great Seal of Northern Ireland
  • Great Seal of Scotland
  • Welsh Seal
• Great Seal of the State (Peru)
• Great Seal (Philippines)
• Great Seal of the United States

• Great Seal of the Commonwealth (1655)
• Confederate Seal
• Public Seal of Hong Kong, the official seal prior to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong
• Great Seal of the Irish Free State
• The Seal of Solomon is often referred to as the Great Seal