Crossword clues for magnificence
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Magnificence \Mag*nif"i*cence\, n. [F. magnificence, L.
magnificentia. See Magnific.]
The act of doing what is magnificent; the state or quality of
being magnificent.
--Acts xix. 27. ``Then cometh
magnificence.''
--Chaucer.
And, for the heaven's wide circuit, let it speak
The Maker's high magnificence, who built
so spacious.
--Milton.
The noblest monuments of Roman magnificence.
--Eustace.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-14c., "great-mindedness, courage," from Old French magnificence "splendor, nobility, grandeur," from Latin magnificentia "splendor, munificence," from stem of magnificus "great, elevated, noble, eminent," also "splendid, rich, fine, costly," literally "doing great deeds," from magnus "great" (see magnate) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "greatness, grandeur, glory" in English is from late 14c. That of "beauty, splendor, wealth" is 15c. As one of the Aristotelian and scholastic virtues, it translates Greek megaloprepeia "liberality of expenditure combined with good taste."
Wiktionary
n. 1 grandeur, brilliance, lavishness or splendor 2 The act of doing what magnificent; the state or quality of being magnificent. 3 impressiveness
WordNet
n. splendid or imposing in size or appearance; "the grandness of the architecture" [syn: impressiveness, grandness]
the quality of being magnificent or splendid or grand [syn: brilliance, splendor, splendour, grandeur, grandness]
Wikipedia
Magnificence is a 1973 play by English playwright Howard Brenton. It has two plotlines. Firstly, five far-left revolutionaries squat an unoccupied house in London. Secondly, a Conservative cabinet MP loses faith in himself. The two plotlines converge in the final scene, where Jed (one of the revolutionaries) accidentally kills both himself and the MP with plastic explosive.
The published text of the play takes as its epigraph lines from Brecht's Die Maßnahme:
The word magnificence comes from the Latin “magnum facere”, which means to do something great. The Latin word draws on the Greek “megaloprépeia”. This noun conveys the meaning of doing something great which is fitting or seemly to the circumstance. Magnificence is a philosophical, aesthetic and socio-economic notion deeply rooted in Western culture since classical antiquity. It regards the greatness of actions, courage, excellence, honour, generosity, and splendour of lifestyles of noble purposes.
Usage examples of "magnificence".
Elagabalus lavished away the treasures of his people in the wildest extravagance, his own voice and that of his flatterers applauded a spirit of magnificence unknown to the tameness of his predecessors.
Guinevere, despite her apprehension, was astounded by the gilded magnificence of the building that rose sheer and buttressed to the north side of the court.
For which cause, and for the greater setting out of the excesse and abounding excellency, beyond all the rest of her royall magnificence, euery one sitting in their place after the miraculous, wonderful, and sumpteous banket, without any delaie, she commanded a game to be playd by parsonages, not onelie woorthie the beholding, but of eternall remembrance, which was a game at Chesse, in this sort as followeth.
The faded magnificence of its coloured patches had returned to their initial, burnished brilliance.
Now shone upon the forest, one vast mass Of mingling shade, whose brown magnificence A narrow vale embosoms.
A small man whose waist outperformed his chest in dimension and magnificence, he looked like a holo comedian pretending to be an officer: His spotless white uniform was that of an Imperial grand admiral, while his bald head, luxuriant mustache, florid complexion, and too-cheerful manner suggested a backwater bandit.
My friends, I am entirely overwhelmed by the magnificence of the reception which has been given, I will not say to me, but to the President-elect of the United States of America.
As the historian chiefly insists on the siver plate, his panegyric on the English magnificence shows only how incompetent a judge he was of the matter.
Metropolitan magnificence, which, if the parvenu could not equal, he at least could imitate, seemed a poor return for the feudal splendour and impartial festivity of an Hungarian magnate.
Crown Prince Leopold exuded an ageless, almost ethereal restraint which, in its own understated manner, stood out like a beacon from all the heavy magnificence of the ornate drawing room.
Your Worshiped Grace, your Captivating Magnificence, Herr Unteroffizier Beier, I beg to report .
Several blocks past the landscaped magnificence of the Thai Intercontinental Hotel and the sprawl of a four-story shopping mall, the limo turned right and began making its way along the colorful turbulence of one of the dirty, crowded klongs, or canals, which had given Bangkok its reputation as the Venice of the Orient.
But, this begs the question how many men in Istanbul can truly appreciate the magnificence of my illustrations?
He felt their bloodthirst, their brazen valor, their gaudy magnificence.
On rare occasions one or other of us had sight of the Cavaliere Aquamorta, who maintained the same magnificence at the Albergo del Sole, and was reputed to be making large sums with his faro-bank.