outsizeadj.n.
/ˈaʊtˌsʌɪz/, U.S. /ˈaʊtˌsaɪz/ A. adj.
Larger than average, exceptionally large; esp. (of an item of clothing) larger than the standard or stock sizes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > of specific size
outsize1812
WX1926
portly1939
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of larger than normal size
outsize1812
outsized1830
oversizeda1834
queen-size1906
king-size1909
oversize1909
king-sized1940
queen-sized1946
1812 Rep. Comm. Expired Laws App. V. 63 Size..Outsize Mens.
c1890 in Amer. Mail Order Fashions (1961) 12 Ladies' outsize plated silk hose.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 682 A pair of outsize ladies' drawers of India mull, cut on generous lines.
1928 Blackwood's Mag. May 709/1 A valley of utter desolation,..with an outsize snow mountain..at either end of it.
1958 Times 31 Oct. 3/5 Her voice is of a rich mezzo-soprano quality, not outsize, but certainly amply big enough for most lieder.
1974 A. Williams Gentleman Traitor v. 86 He..dressed in an outsize suit of white slub-silk.
1999 Shakespeare Q. 50 196 Apart from..an outsize conch, brought on as Caliban's cell, this was a bare island.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 16 Sept. ii. 1/2 His outsize list included a two-story Cape Cod cottage, a leaflet-bomb carousel..and various banged-up rolling stock.
B. n.
A person who or thing which is (substantially) larger than average in size; esp. an item of clothing larger than the standard or stock sizes; the size of such an item.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > of specific size
fives16..
twelve1607
sices1796
outsize1845
skimp1862
portly1930
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > larger than normal size
outsize1845
king-size1920
queen-size1934
outsizeness1937
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > larger than normal size > that which is
outsize1845
oversize1902
1845 Ainsworth's Mag. 7 213 The borrowed child being ra-ther an out-size..rendered Cora's carrying him a matter of difficulty.
1883 Morning Star (Washington) 31 Oct. 3/6 A stocking of an out size is one with the same foot as another, but wider in the..middle [of the leg].
1894 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Oct. 91 She was ‘rather an out size’ as they say in the Duchy.
1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It viii. 211 Robert was indeed what a draper would call an ‘out-size’ in boys.
1933 G. K. Chesterton St. Thomas Aquinas i. 14 In the present case the outline is rather an outsize. The gown that could contain that colossal friar is not kept in stock.
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 238/2 Outsize, size larger than the regular sizes; generally used for sizes larger than 46 bust. Also applied to hosiery having a top larger than average.
1995 G. Cooklin (title) Master patterns and grading for women's outsizes.
Derivatives
ˈoutˌsizeness n. rare the condition of being outsize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > larger than normal size
outsize1845
king-size1920
queen-size1934
outsizeness1937
1937 W. H. Auden & L. MacNeice Lett. from Iceland xii. 173 She wears an amazing woollen helmet with earflaps which combined with her goggles and general outsizeness makes her look like a piece of Archaic Greek sculptuary.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1812