preponderancen.
/prᵻˈpɒnd(ə)rəns/, /prᵻˈpɒnd(ə)rn̩s/, U.S. /prəˈpɑnd(ə)rəns/ 1.
a. Greater heaviness or physical weight. Now only in sense 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > property of being heavy > greater heaviness
preponderancy1646
preponderation1650
preponderance1681
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. v. ii. 106 Little light Boats..To the side whereof, this Fish [remora] fastening her self, might easily make it swag, as the least preponderance on either side will do.
1745 E. Young Consolation 75 Close with the Side where One Grain turns the Scale; What vast Preponderance is Here?
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. ix. 87 The subject of preponderance, or of the action of weights or forces counteracted by other forces, and incumbered with foreign matter to be put in motion.
1831 D. Lardner Pneumatics iv. 259 The preponderance of the iron ball assists the atmospheric pressure in sustaining the column.
b. Gunnery. The amount by which the weight of the part of a gun behind the trunnions exceeds that of the part in front of them.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > excess weight to rear
preponderance1850
1850 Ordnance Man. for Use of Officers (U.S. Army Ordnance Dept.) (ed. 2) i. 4 The preponderance of the breech of the gun is the excess of weight of the part in rear of the trunnions over that in front: it is measured by the weight which it is necessary to apply in the plane of the muzzle to balance the gun when suspended freely on the axis of the trunnions.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1783/2 The preponderance of a gun is usually 1/ 20 of its weight.
1887 Text Bk. Gunnery 81 The trunnions..are generally placed a very little way in front of the centre of gravity to allow of elevating with ease; this causes a statical pressure on the elevating gear called preponderance, which is necessary for steadiness.
1975 I. V. Hogg German Artillery World War II 120/2 The gun..was exceptionally long..and required to be braced throughout its length to prevent it bending under its own weight. It was..considered impossible to balance such a preponderance and so the trunnions were set forward to obtain as much weight as possible at the breech.
2. Superiority in power, influence, persuasiveness, or value; predominance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > predominance or preponderance > [noun]
predominy?a1475
weight1569
predomination1592
predominance1595
predominancy1598
ascendant1607
predominion1607
prepotency1623
overweight1626
overbearance1639
preponderation1650
prepollency1663
preponderancy1689
the transcendent1691
overpoise1697
preponderance1704
prepollence1730
1704 R. Pitt Antidote 252 The Life appeared less weighty and valuable by the preponderance of the other.
1780 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. (1789) xiv. §3 The good would have an incontestible preponderance over the evil.
1808 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) IV. 55 It would give Great Britain the preponderance in the conduct of the war in the Peninsula.
1883 T. Martin Life Ld. Lyndhurst xi. 299 The Ministry had the great preponderance of popular opinion at their back.
1973 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 4 Sept. 17/1 As the trier of the fact, the Court concludes that the contestants have failed to establish by a fair preponderance of the evidence the existence of these cash assets.
1992 ABA Jrnl. Mar. 75/3 The..requirement that the plaintiffs prove the elements of the case by a preponderance of the evidence.
3. Superiority in number or amount. Also: an abundance, a great number, a large quantity, a majority.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > condition of being more than another > superiority in amount or quantity
domination1526
eminency1608
preponderance1787
preponderancy1829
1787 Daily Universal Reg. 28 May 2 Miss Bertles stands unrivalled in point of feeling..but is not happy in her voice, which, however, is perhaps hardly fair to mention, when this defect is so abundantly compensated by a preponderance of beauties.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation ii. i. 157 A consequence..of their immense preponderance in point of numbers.
1863 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. 516 The collection of animals has a strikingly Oriental character, except in the preponderance of Ungulates.
1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man 305 The more social animals are in overwhelming preponderance over the unsocial.
1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown xxii. 355 A cross-section of church membership indicates a preponderance of females.
1954 E. Taylor Hester Lilly 141 Thirty miles from London, the village had a preponderance of middle-sized houses.
1978 L. Kramer Faggots 103 He considered going to the baths, Friday being two-for-the-price-of-one night at the Club, which meant a preponderance of younger fellows taking advantage of the economy.
2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. iii. 141 Since each electron state cannot contain more than one electron of a given spin, it is clear that any preponderance of electrons of a given spin must increase the Fermi energy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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