magnifyv.

Brit.

/ˈmaɡnᵻfʌɪ/, U.S.

/ˈmæɡnəˌfaɪ/

Forms: Middle English magnefy, Middle English magnefye, Middle English magnyffye, Middle English magnyfie, Middle English magnyfiy, Middle English–1500s magnefie, Middle English–1500s magnifye, Middle English–1500s magnyfy, Middle English–1500s magnyfye, Middle English–1700s magnifie, late Middle English– magnify, 1500s magnifi, 1500s mangnify; Scottish pre-1700 magnife, pre-1700 magnifie, pre-1700 magrify, pre-1700 mangnify, pre-1700 1700s– magnify.

Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French magnifier; Latin magnificāre.

Etymology: < Middle French, French magnifier to glorify (God) (early 12th cent. in Old French), to praise (a person) (early 13th cent. in Old French), to make larger or more beautiful (early 16th cent.) or its etymon classical Latin magnificāre to esteem greatly, to praise, in post-classical Latin also to increase, enlarge (Vulgate) < magnificus (see magnific adj.): compare -fy suffix. Compare Magnificat n. and Magnificet n.Sense 4 is principally English, equivalent to French grossir, Italian ingrandire (compare magnificare to glorify, exaggerate), Castilian Spanish ampliar and European Portuguese ampliar (compare Castilian Spanish magnificar, European Portuguese magnificar to extol, used in American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese also with the sense ‘to enlarge an image’).

†a. transitive. To praise highly; to glorify, extol. Obsolete except as in sense 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > commend or praise [verb (transitive)]

heryc735

mickleeOE

loveOE

praise?c1225

upraisea1300

alosec1300

commenda1340

allow1340

laud1377

lose1377

avauntc1380

magnifya1382

enhancea1400

roosea1400

recommendc1400

recommanda1413

to bear up?a1425

exalt1430

to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445

laudifyc1470

gloryc1475

advance1483

to bear out1485

prizec1485

to be or to have in laudationa1500

joya1500

extol1509

collaud1512

concend?1521

solemnize?1521

celebrate1522

stellify1523

to set up1535

well-word1547

predicate1552

glorify1557

to set forth1565

admire1566

to be up with1592

voice1594

magnificate1598

plaud1598

concelebrate1599

encomionize1599

to con laud1602

applauda1616

panegyrize1617

acclamate1624

to set offa1625

acclaim1626

raise1645

complement1649

encomiate1651

voguec1661

phrase1675

to set out1688

Alexander1700

talk1723

panegyricize1777

bemouth1799

eulogizea1810

rhapsodize1819

crack up1829

rhapsody1847

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xii. 2 I schall magnifie [L. magnificabo] þi [sc. Abraham's] name, & þou schalt be blissid.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 2 (MED) Þei maken Cristis wordis unworshipid and magnifien þer owne wordis.

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. 159 (MED) This was the eende of fals Machomeete..Whom Sarsyns so gretli magnefie.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2838 (MED) Obey þe to þe baratour..Magnifie him with þi mouthe.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 100 Quhois force all France in fame did magnifie.

1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Gviij Columbus..was..greatlye magnified with innumerable glorious tittles.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 524 After this victorie, the lorde Scales..returned to the siege, where he was..highly magnified and praysed.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. M1^v If the inuention of the Shippe was thought so noble,..how much more are letters to bee magnified, which as Shippes, passe through the vast Seas of time.

1669 S. Pepys Diary 10 Feb. (1976) IX. 443 Here he dined, and did mightily magnify his Sawce.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 248 He had magnified him highly to the King, as much the greatest man of the Scotish Clergy.

1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. III. 64 Sunday-school teachers admire their pupils; and the scholars magnify their teachers.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 191 Everywhere men magnified his valour, genius, and patriotism.

1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxiv. 189 Tom was a glittering hero once more... His name even went into immortal print, for the village paper magnified him.

b. transitive. spec. To praise, render honour to (God). archaic in later use.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > [verb (transitive)]

heryc735

wortheOE

hallowa1000

blessOE

worshipa1200

servec1225

anourec1275

adorec1300

glorify1340

laud1377

magnifya1382

praisea1382

sacre1390

feara1400

reverencec1400

anorna1425

adorn1480

embrace1490

elevatea1513

reverent1565

god1595

venerate1623

thanksgivea1638

congratule1657

doxologizea1816

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. xix. 9 As lombis þei ful-out ioȝeden, magnyfiynge [L. magnificantes] þee, lord.

c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 2102 With heuynly spyrytes, hys name to magnyfy.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xliii. 30 Prayse the Lorde, and magnifie him as moch as ye maye.

1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 46 And Marie said, My soule doth magnifie the Lord. And my spirit hath reioyced in God my sauiour.

1864 W. W. Skeat tr. J. L. Uhland Songs & Ballads 91 When on your knees ye humbly fell And magnified a Higher Power.

1994 Catech. Catholic Church 569 Two movements usually alternate with one another: the first ‘magnifies’ the Lord for the ‘great things’ he did for his lowly servant.

a. transitive. To make greater in size, status, importance, etc.; to enlarge, increase, augment, or advance. Also: †to render magnificent (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)]

broada1250

room?1316

enlargec1380

largea1382

magnifya1382

alargec1384

spreada1387

amplify1432

brede1440

expanse1477

ampliatea1513

dilate1528

propagate1548

widen1566

explicate1578

expatiate1603

diduce1605

engross?1611

dilatate1613

biggen1643

promote1652

intend1658

expand1665

to run out1683

amplificate1731

broaden1744

outstretcha1758

largen1869

big1884

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > make more important

arearc885

upheavea1300

upraisea1300

uphigh13..

enhancec1325

liftc1330

uplift1338

uphebbe1340

uptakec1340

magnifya1382

upreara1382

uphancec1390

preponder?1504

upbring1513

exaggerate1564

greaten1589

weighc1595

to make much matter ofa1649

aggravate1698

aggrandize1709

beef1941

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > invest with splendour > render magnificent

magnifya1382

adornc1425

emperiala1475

emblazea1529

enamel1593

magnificate1598

aggrandize1709

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. ii. 4 I magnefiede [L. magnificavi] my werkis; I bilde to me houses and plauntide vynes.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxiii. 5 Thei alargen her filateries..and magnyfie [L. magnificant] hemmys.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 2998 (MED) He gan to syke For cloth of gold and for perrie, Which him was wont to magnefie.

c1450 (?a1405) J. Lydgate Complaint Black Knight (Fairf.) 428 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 400 (MED) Lesynges..Accept ben..And can hem-self now best magnifie With feyned port.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xx. 6 Though he be magnified vp to the heauen.

1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales xii. vii. 162 Agrippina also was magnified [L. augetur] with the surname of Augusta.

1611 Bible (King James) Job xix. 5 If indeed yee will magnifie your selues against me, and plead against me my reproch.

1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra ii. v. §10 The Least Error in a Small Quantity, as in a Small Circle: will, in a great one, as in the Circles of the Heavenly Orbs, be proportionally Magnify'd.

1710 W. Congreve To Cynthia in Wks. III. 989 Speak, e'er my Fancy magnifie my Fears.

1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 10. ⁋3 Arbitrary Power..creates [in a man] an Ambition of magnifying Himself, by the Exertion of such a Power in all its Instances.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 542 Her head, adorned with lappets pinned aloft, And magnified beyond all human size.

1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. §37. 369 The spirit of law is also represented as magnified by the very act of superseding its letter.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 210 The oblique arrangement of the crevasses also magnified the labour by increasing the circuits.

1894 Times 11 Aug. 11/1 Any irregularities in a curve were magnified in its differential coefficients.

1908 Daily Chron. 3 Apr. 7/2 Huge steel arms..much like the main shaft of a crane, greatly magnified.

1966 L. M. Hurvich & D. A. Jameson Perception of Brightness & Darkness v. 85 What the contrast mechanism seems to do..is to magnify the differences in apparent brightness between adjacent areas of different luminances.

1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. (Business section) iii. 3.2 The gearing multiplies the profits when the fund managers make the right calls, but is also magnifies the losses when they get it wrong.

b. intransitive. To become larger or greater.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)]

greateOE

grow1382

enlarge1481

to gain more feathers1600

spread1611

burnish1624

sizea1631

dilate1636

greaten1638

expatiate1650

widen1650

biggen1652

expand1791

magnify1814

1814 J. Randolph 22 Mar. in Life J. Quincy 350 The curse of slavery, however,—an evil daily magnifying, great as it already is,—embitters many a moment of the Virginian landholder.

1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cxxxiii. 605 He..saw a white living spot no bigger than a white weasel, with wonderful celerity uprising, and magnifying as it rose.

1989 A. Stoddard Living Beautifully Together (1991) i. 120 The more wound-up I am, the more my voice magnifies.

3. transitive. To represent (a person, action, or thing) as greater than in reality; to exaggerate, intensify. Now often associated with sense 4.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > exaggerate [verb (transitive)]

flatter?c1225

engregec1386

enhancec1400

extol?1504

extend1509

aggravate1533

exagger1535

blowa1538

amplify1561

exasperate1561

bombast1566

aggerate1570

enlarge1592

rengrege1601

exaggerate1604

magnify1605

hyperbolize1609

to slobber over ——1761

bloat1896

over-heighten1904

overpitch1904

overblow1961

inflate1982

1605 H. Wotton Let. 18 Aug. in L. P. Smith Life & Lett. Sir H. Wotton (1907) I. 331 The annual number..partly being uncertain in itself, and partly magnified by the General of the Jesuits to the Pope.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xv. 93 And he, I think, very much magnifies to himself the Capacity of his own Understanding.

1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. vi, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 399 Fame magnified the number and progress of their troops.

1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 476 Each vainly magnifies his own success, Resents his fellows, wishes it were less.

1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) III. xxv. 397 But his enemies at home magnified the danger of Argos.

1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. 19. 276 Unquestionably external evidences..have been unduly magnified.

1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles iii. xii. 155 Ill reports never lose by carrying: the two cats on the tiles, you know, were magnified into a hundred.

1908 J. London Martin Eden xlv. 395 She was stung by his words into realization of the puerility of her act, and yet she felt that he had magnified it unduly and was consequently resentful.

1956 H. L. Mencken Minority Rep. 80 There is an invariable tendency among inferior men to magnify their own importance and puissance by organizing a party.

1987 R. Thomas Strangers v. 170 Isolation magnified feelings that she would have dismissed outside.

a. transitive. To increase the apparent size of (an object) by means of a lens, microscope, etc.; to cause to appear larger. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > magnification or magnifying instruments > magnify [verb (transitive)]

magnifya1631

multiply1647

microscope1888

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] > make appear large

gigantize1630

loom1817

magnify1853

giantize1864

a1631 J. Donne To Mr. Tilman in Poems (1635) 370 A new-found Starre, their Opticks magnifie.

1664 G. Havers tr. T. Renaudot et al. Gen. Coll. Disc. Virtuosi France iii. 18 Amongst other Inventions, was offer'd that of an Instrument which so magnifieth a species, that a Flea appears in it of the bigness and form of a Rat.

1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 278 When magnified they appear like ill-formed warts.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 407 It is supposed that the ancient engravers used glass globes to magnify their figures.

1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. 110 The effects of fogs upon our estimation of dimension..are well known: men are magnified to giants.

1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) iii. 91 A powerful telescope will magnify an object 1,000 times.

1890 Universal Rev. Sept. 88 Every petty local occurrence..is magnified by the reportorial lens.

1944 New Yorker 17 June 31/1 An officer named George Ross was up on the bow, magnifying the void with binoculars.

1957 Encycl. Brit. III. 926/1 He..invented many delicate and sensitive instruments, such as his crescograph for recording plant growth, magnifying a small movement as much as 10,000,000 times.

1984 J. Phillips Machine Dreams 66 Her glasses magnified her eyes.

b. intransitive. To bring about magnification. Frequently with adverbial noun phrase, specifying the degree of magnification.

ΚΠ

1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 60 It would magnifie but 600 times in Diameter.

1735 J. Swift Gulliver in Wks. III. 214 Although their largest Telescopes do not exceed three Feet, they magnify much more than those of a Hundred with us.

1837 C. R. Goring & A. Pritchard Micrographia 57 You only wish to know exactly how much it magnifies.

1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits i. 14 His microscopes, magnifying..two thousand diameters.

1993 Outdoor Canada Mar. 20/3 Newcomers need a pair of binoculars that magnify about eight power.

5. intransitive. regional (originally cant). To have effect; to signify.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > mean [verb (intransitive)]

bea1200

understand?c1425

sense1564

interpret1614

magnify1712

to speak for itself1779

to add up to1873

mean1926

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 431. ¶3 My Governess..told him I was continually eating some Trash or other... But this magnified but little with my Father.

1733 Gentleman's Mag. 3 532 Now may hap, zir, what doez ael this magnify?

1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. To magnify,..a cant word for to have effect.

1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down (at cited entry) That hurt won't magnify.

1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 178/1 It doesn't magnify.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	magnify
释义	magnifyv. Brit. /ˈmaɡnᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈmæɡnəˌfaɪ/ Forms: Middle English magnefy, Middle English magnefye, Middle English magnyffye, Middle English magnyfie, Middle English magnyfiy, Middle English–1500s magnefie, Middle English–1500s magnifye, Middle English–1500s magnyfy, Middle English–1500s magnyfye, Middle English–1700s magnifie, late Middle English– magnify, 1500s magnifi, 1500s mangnify; Scottish pre-1700 magnife, pre-1700 magnifie, pre-1700 magrify, pre-1700 mangnify, pre-1700 1700s– magnify. Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French magnifier; Latin magnificāre. Etymology: < Middle French, French magnifier to glorify (God) (early 12th cent. in Old French), to praise (a person) (early 13th cent. in Old French), to make larger or more beautiful (early 16th cent.) or its etymon classical Latin magnificāre to esteem greatly, to praise, in post-classical Latin also to increase, enlarge (Vulgate) < magnificus (see magnific adj.): compare -fy suffix. Compare Magnificat n. and Magnificet n.Sense 4 is principally English, equivalent to French grossir, Italian ingrandire (compare magnificare to glorify, exaggerate), Castilian Spanish ampliar and European Portuguese ampliar (compare Castilian Spanish magnificar, European Portuguese magnificar to extol, used in American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese also with the sense ‘to enlarge an image’). 1. †a. transitive. To praise highly; to glorify, extol. Obsolete except as in sense 1b. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > commend or praise [verb (transitive)] heryc735 mickleeOE loveOE praise?c1225 upraisea1300 alosec1300 commenda1340 allow1340 laud1377 lose1377 avauntc1380 magnifya1382 enhancea1400 roosea1400 recommendc1400 recommanda1413 to bear up?a1425 exalt1430 to say well (also evil, ill, etc.) of (also by)1445 laudifyc1470 gloryc1475 advance1483 to bear out1485 prizec1485 to be or to have in laudationa1500 joya1500 extol1509 collaud1512 concend?1521 solemnize?1521 celebrate1522 stellify1523 to set up1535 well-word1547 predicate1552 glorify1557 to set forth1565 admire1566 to be up with1592 voice1594 magnificate1598 plaud1598 concelebrate1599 encomionize1599 to con laud1602 applauda1616 panegyrize1617 acclamate1624 to set offa1625 acclaim1626 raise1645 complement1649 encomiate1651 voguec1661 phrase1675 to set out1688 Alexander1700 talk1723 panegyricize1777 bemouth1799 eulogizea1810 rhapsodize1819 crack up1829 rhapsody1847 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xii. 2 I schall magnifie [L. magnificabo] þi [sc. Abraham's] name, & þou schalt be blissid. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 2 (MED) Þei maken Cristis wordis unworshipid and magnifien þer owne wordis. a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ix. 159 (MED) This was the eende of fals Machomeete..Whom Sarsyns so gretli magnefie. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 2838 (MED) Obey þe to þe baratour..Magnifie him with þi mouthe. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 100 Quhois force all France in fame did magnifie. 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Gviij Columbus..was..greatlye magnified with innumerable glorious tittles. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 524 After this victorie, the lorde Scales..returned to the siege, where he was..highly magnified and praysed. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. M1^v If the inuention of the Shippe was thought so noble,..how much more are letters to bee magnified, which as Shippes, passe through the vast Seas of time. View more context for this quotation 1669 S. Pepys Diary 10 Feb. (1976) IX. 443 Here he dined, and did mightily magnify his Sawce. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 248 He had magnified him highly to the King, as much the greatest man of the Scotish Clergy. 1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. III. 64 Sunday-school teachers admire their pupils; and the scholars magnify their teachers. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 191 Everywhere men magnified his valour, genius, and patriotism. 1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xxiv. 189 Tom was a glittering hero once more... His name even went into immortal print, for the village paper magnified him. b. transitive. spec. To praise, render honour to (God). archaic in later use. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > [verb (transitive)] heryc735 wortheOE hallowa1000 blessOE worshipa1200 servec1225 anourec1275 adorec1300 glorify1340 laud1377 magnifya1382 praisea1382 sacre1390 feara1400 reverencec1400 anorna1425 adorn1480 embrace1490 elevatea1513 reverent1565 god1595 venerate1623 thanksgivea1638 congratule1657 doxologizea1816 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. xix. 9 As lombis þei ful-out ioȝeden, magnyfiynge [L. magnificantes] þee, lord. c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 2102 With heuynly spyrytes, hys name to magnyfy. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xliii. 30 Prayse the Lorde, and magnifie him as moch as ye maye. 1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 46 And Marie said, My soule doth magnifie the Lord. And my spirit hath reioyced in God my sauiour. 1864 W. W. Skeat tr. J. L. Uhland Songs & Ballads 91 When on your knees ye humbly fell And magnified a Higher Power. 1994 Catech. Catholic Church 569 Two movements usually alternate with one another: the first ‘magnifies’ the Lord for the ‘great things’ he did for his lowly servant. 2. a. transitive. To make greater in size, status, importance, etc.; to enlarge, increase, augment, or advance. Also: †to render magnificent (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] broada1250 room?1316 enlargec1380 largea1382 magnifya1382 alargec1384 spreada1387 amplify1432 brede1440 expanse1477 ampliatea1513 dilate1528 propagate1548 widen1566 explicate1578 expatiate1603 diduce1605 engross?1611 dilatate1613 biggen1643 promote1652 intend1658 expand1665 to run out1683 amplificate1731 broaden1744 outstretcha1758 largen1869 big1884 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > make more important arearc885 upheavea1300 upraisea1300 uphigh13.. enhancec1325 liftc1330 uplift1338 uphebbe1340 uptakec1340 magnifya1382 upreara1382 uphancec1390 preponder?1504 upbring1513 exaggerate1564 greaten1589 weighc1595 to make much matter ofa1649 aggravate1698 aggrandize1709 beef1941 the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > invest with splendour > render magnificent magnifya1382 adornc1425 emperiala1475 emblazea1529 enamel1593 magnificate1598 aggrandize1709 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. ii. 4 I magnefiede [L. magnificavi] my werkis; I bilde to me houses and plauntide vynes. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxiii. 5 Thei alargen her filateries..and magnyfie [L. magnificant] hemmys. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 2998 (MED) He gan to syke For cloth of gold and for perrie, Which him was wont to magnefie. c1450 (?a1405) J. Lydgate Complaint Black Knight (Fairf.) 428 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 400 (MED) Lesynges..Accept ben..And can hem-self now best magnifie With feyned port. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xx. 6 Though he be magnified vp to the heauen. 1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales xii. vii. 162 Agrippina also was magnified [L. augetur] with the surname of Augusta. 1611 Bible (King James) Job xix. 5 If indeed yee will magnifie your selues against me, and plead against me my reproch. View more context for this quotation 1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra ii. v. §10 The Least Error in a Small Quantity, as in a Small Circle: will, in a great one, as in the Circles of the Heavenly Orbs, be proportionally Magnify'd. 1710 W. Congreve To Cynthia in Wks. III. 989 Speak, e'er my Fancy magnifie my Fears. 1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 10. ⁋3 Arbitrary Power..creates [in a man] an Ambition of magnifying Himself, by the Exertion of such a Power in all its Instances. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 542 Her head, adorned with lappets pinned aloft, And magnified beyond all human size. 1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. §37. 369 The spirit of law is also represented as magnified by the very act of superseding its letter. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 210 The oblique arrangement of the crevasses also magnified the labour by increasing the circuits. 1894 Times 11 Aug. 11/1 Any irregularities in a curve were magnified in its differential coefficients. 1908 Daily Chron. 3 Apr. 7/2 Huge steel arms..much like the main shaft of a crane, greatly magnified. 1966 L. M. Hurvich & D. A. Jameson Perception of Brightness & Darkness v. 85 What the contrast mechanism seems to do..is to magnify the differences in apparent brightness between adjacent areas of different luminances. 1994 Sunday Times 6 Mar. (Business section) iii. 3.2 The gearing multiplies the profits when the fund managers make the right calls, but is also magnifies the losses when they get it wrong. b. intransitive. To become larger or greater. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] greateOE grow1382 enlarge1481 to gain more feathers1600 spread1611 burnish1624 sizea1631 dilate1636 greaten1638 expatiate1650 widen1650 biggen1652 expand1791 magnify1814 1814 J. Randolph 22 Mar. in Life J. Quincy 350 The curse of slavery, however,—an evil daily magnifying, great as it already is,—embitters many a moment of the Virginian landholder. 1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cxxxiii. 605 He..saw a white living spot no bigger than a white weasel, with wonderful celerity uprising, and magnifying as it rose. 1989 A. Stoddard Living Beautifully Together (1991) i. 120 The more wound-up I am, the more my voice magnifies. 3. transitive. To represent (a person, action, or thing) as greater than in reality; to exaggerate, intensify. Now often associated with sense 4. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > exaggerate [verb (transitive)] flatter?c1225 engregec1386 enhancec1400 extol?1504 extend1509 aggravate1533 exagger1535 blowa1538 amplify1561 exasperate1561 bombast1566 aggerate1570 enlarge1592 rengrege1601 exaggerate1604 magnify1605 hyperbolize1609 to slobber over ——1761 bloat1896 over-heighten1904 overpitch1904 overblow1961 inflate1982 1605 H. Wotton Let. 18 Aug. in L. P. Smith Life & Lett. Sir H. Wotton (1907) I. 331 The annual number..partly being uncertain in itself, and partly magnified by the General of the Jesuits to the Pope. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xv. 93 And he, I think, very much magnifies to himself the Capacity of his own Understanding. 1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. vi, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 399 Fame magnified the number and progress of their troops. 1785 W. Cowper Tirocinium in Task 476 Each vainly magnifies his own success, Resents his fellows, wishes it were less. View more context for this quotation 1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) III. xxv. 397 But his enemies at home magnified the danger of Argos. 1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. 19. 276 Unquestionably external evidences..have been unduly magnified. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles iii. xii. 155 Ill reports never lose by carrying: the two cats on the tiles, you know, were magnified into a hundred. 1908 J. London Martin Eden xlv. 395 She was stung by his words into realization of the puerility of her act, and yet she felt that he had magnified it unduly and was consequently resentful. 1956 H. L. Mencken Minority Rep. 80 There is an invariable tendency among inferior men to magnify their own importance and puissance by organizing a party. 1987 R. Thomas Strangers v. 170 Isolation magnified feelings that she would have dismissed outside. 4. a. transitive. To increase the apparent size of (an object) by means of a lens, microscope, etc.; to cause to appear larger. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > magnification or magnifying instruments > magnify [verb (transitive)] magnifya1631 multiply1647 microscope1888 the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] > make appear large gigantize1630 loom1817 magnify1853 giantize1864 a1631 J. Donne To Mr. Tilman in Poems (1635) 370 A new-found Starre, their Opticks magnifie. 1664 G. Havers tr. T. Renaudot et al. Gen. Coll. Disc. Virtuosi France iii. 18 Amongst other Inventions, was offer'd that of an Instrument which so magnifieth a species, that a Flea appears in it of the bigness and form of a Rat. 1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 278 When magnified they appear like ill-formed warts. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 407 It is supposed that the ancient engravers used glass globes to magnify their figures. 1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. 110 The effects of fogs upon our estimation of dimension..are well known: men are magnified to giants. 1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) iii. 91 A powerful telescope will magnify an object 1,000 times. 1890 Universal Rev. Sept. 88 Every petty local occurrence..is magnified by the reportorial lens. 1944 New Yorker 17 June 31/1 An officer named George Ross was up on the bow, magnifying the void with binoculars. 1957 Encycl. Brit. III. 926/1 He..invented many delicate and sensitive instruments, such as his crescograph for recording plant growth, magnifying a small movement as much as 10,000,000 times. 1984 J. Phillips Machine Dreams 66 Her glasses magnified her eyes. b. intransitive. To bring about magnification. Frequently with adverbial noun phrase, specifying the degree of magnification. ΚΠ 1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 60 It would magnifie but 600 times in Diameter. 1735 J. Swift Gulliver in Wks. III. 214 Although their largest Telescopes do not exceed three Feet, they magnify much more than those of a Hundred with us. 1837 C. R. Goring & A. Pritchard Micrographia 57 You only wish to know exactly how much it magnifies. 1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits i. 14 His microscopes, magnifying..two thousand diameters. 1993 Outdoor Canada Mar. 20/3 Newcomers need a pair of binoculars that magnify about eight power. 5. intransitive. regional (originally cant). To have effect; to signify. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > mean [verb (intransitive)] bea1200 understand?c1425 sense1564 interpret1614 magnify1712 to speak for itself1779 to add up to1873 mean1926 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 431. ¶3 My Governess..told him I was continually eating some Trash or other... But this magnified but little with my Father. 1733 Gentleman's Mag. 3 532 Now may hap, zir, what doez ael this magnify? 1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. To magnify,..a cant word for to have effect. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down (at cited entry) That hurt won't magnify. 1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 178/1 It doesn't magnify. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < v.a1382
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