The Collaborative International Dictionary
Grand \Grand\ (gr[a^]nd), a. [Compar. Grander (gr[a^]nd"[~e]r); superl. Grandest.] [OE. grant, grount, OF. grant, F. grand, fr. L. grandis; perh. akin to gravis heavy, E. grave, a. Cf. Grandee.]
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Of large size or extent; great; extensive; hence, relatively great; greatest; chief; principal; as, a grand mountain; a grand army; a grand mistake. ``Our grand foe, Satan.''
--Milton.Making so bold . . . to unseal Their grand commission.
--Shak. -
Great in size, and fine or imposing in appearance or impression; illustrious, dignifled, or noble (said of persons); majestic, splendid, magnificent, or sublime (said of things); as, a grand monarch; a grand lord; a grand general; a grand view; a grand conception.
They are the highest models of expression, the unapproached masters of the grand style.
--M. Arnold. Having higher rank or more dignity, size, or importance than other persons or things of the same name; as, a grand lodge; a grand vizier; a grand piano, etc.
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Standing in the second or some more remote degree of parentage or descent; -- generalIy used in composition; as, grandfather, grandson, grandchild, etc.
What cause Mov'd our grand parents, in that happy state, Favor'd of Heaven so highly, to fall off From their Creator.
--Milton.Grand action, a pianoforte action, used in grand pianos, in which special devices are employed to obtain perfect action of the hammer in striking and leaving the string.
Grand Army of the Republic, an organized voluntary association of men who served in the Union army or navy during the civil war in the United States. The order has chapters, called Posts, throughout the country.
Grand paunch, a glutton or gourmand. [Obs.]
--Holland.Grand pensionary. See under Pensionary.
Grand piano (Mus.), a large piano, usually harp-shaped, in which the wires or strings are generally triplicated, increasing the power, and all the mechanism is introduced in the most effective manner, regardless of the size of the instrument.
Grand relief (Sculp.), alto relievo.
Grand Seignior. See under Seignior.
Grand stand, the principal stand, or erection for spectators, at a, race course, etc.
Grand vicar (Eccl.), a principal vicar; an ecclesiastical delegate in France.
Grand vizier. See under Vizier.
Syn: Magnificent; sublime; majestic; dignified; elevated; stately; august; pompous; lofty; eralted; noble.
Usage: Grand, Magnificent, Sublime. Grand, in reference to objects of taste, is applied to that which expands the mind by a sense of vastness and majesty; magnificent is applied to anything which is imposing from its splendor; sublime describes that which is awful and elevating. A cataract is grand; a rich and varied landscape is magnificent; an overhanging precipice is sublime. ``Grandeur admits of degrees and modifications; but magnificence is that which has already reached the highest degree of superiority naturally belonging to the object in question.''
--Crabb.
Wikipedia
The "Grand Army of the Republic" (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army ( United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War for the Northern/Federal forces. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, and growing to include hundreds of posts (local community units) across the nation, (predominately in the North, but also a few in the South and West), it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member, Albert Woolson (1850–1956) of Duluth, Minnesota, died. Linking men through their experience of the war, the G.A.R. became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, promoting patriotic education, helping to make Memorial Day a national holiday, lobbying the United States Congress to establish regular veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership, at more than 490,000, was in 1890, a high point of various Civil War commemorative and monument dedication ceremonies. It was succeeded by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), composed of male descendants of Union Army and Union Navy veterans.
Grand Army of the Republic may refer to:
- Grand Army of the Republic, a US Civil War veterans' organization
- Grand Army of the Republic, a fictional military force of clone troopers in the Star Wars franchise
Usage examples of "grand army of the republic".
And as my first act with this new authority, I will create a grand army of the Republic to counter the increasing threats of the separatists.
This one could have served as mess hall for the Grand Army of the Republic.
May and December marriages between sweet young things and old toothless Grand Army of the Republic vets were quite ordinary in those days.
In the face of such a juggernaut, both the Jedi and the Grand Army of the Republic might fall.
Perhaps if the Grand Army of the Republic had not assumed political force and direction his voice might not have been heard so clearly in Washington, but the spokesman for a block of nearly a million men was not to be ignored.