Found 2 items, similar to Great seal.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: great seal great seal n : the principal seal of a government, symbolizing authority or sovereignty
English → English (gcide) Definition: Great seal Great \Great\ (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. Greater; superl. Greatest.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre['a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. Groat the coin.] 1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length. [1913 Webster] 2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc. [1913 Webster] 3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval. [1913 Webster] 4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings. [1913 Webster] 5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc. [1913 Webster] 6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. [1913 Webster] He doth object I am too great of birth. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle. [1913 Webster] 8. Pregnant; big (with young). [1913 Webster] The ewes great with young. --Ps. lxxviii. 71. [1913 Webster] 9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain. [1913 Webster] We have all Great cause to give great thanks. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 10. (Genealogy) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grandmother's father), great-grandson, etc. [1913 Webster] Great bear (Astron.), the constellation Ursa Major. Great cattle (Law), all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings. --Wharton. Great charter (Eng. Hist.), Magna Charta. Great circle of a sphere, a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere. Great circle sailing, the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places. Great go, the final examination for a degree at the University of Oxford, England; -- called also greats. --T. Hughes. Great guns. (Naut.) See under Gun. The Great Lakes the large fresh-water lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) which lie on the northern borders of the United States. Great master. Same as Grand master, under Grand. Great organ (Mus.), the largest and loudest of the three parts of a grand organ (the others being the choir organ and the swell, and sometimes the pedal organ or foot keys), It is played upon by a separate keyboard, which has the middle position. The great powers (of Europe), in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy. Great primer. See under Type. Great scale (Mus.), the complete scale; -- employed to designate the entire series of musical sounds from lowest to highest. Great sea, the Mediterranean sea. In Chaucer both the Black and the Mediterranean seas are so called. Great seal. (a) The principal seal of a kingdom or state. (b) In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office. Great tithes. See under Tithes. The great, the eminent, distinguished, or powerful. The Great Spirit, among the North American Indians, their chief or principal deity. To be great (with one), to be intimate or familiar (with him). --Bacon. [1913 Webster] Seal \Seal\, n. [OE. seel, OF. seel, F. sceau, fr. L. sigillum a little figure or image, a seal, dim. of signum a mark, sign, figure, or image. See Sign, n., and cf. Sigil.] 1. An engraved or inscribed stamp, used for marking an impression in wax or other soft substance, to be attached to a document, or otherwise used by way of authentication or security. [1913 Webster] 2. Wax, wafer, or other tenacious substance, set to an instrument, and impressed or stamped with a seal; as, to give a deed under hand and seal. [1913 Webster] Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. That which seals or fastens; esp., the wax or wafer placed on a letter or other closed paper, etc., to fasten it. [1913 Webster] 4. That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; that which authenticates; that which secures; assurance. “Under the seal of silence.” --Milton. [1913 Webster] Like a red seal is the setting sun On the good and the evil men have done. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster] 5. An arrangement for preventing the entrance or return of gas or air into a pipe, by which the open end of the pipe dips beneath the surface of water or other liquid, or a deep bend or sag in the pipe is filled with the liquid; a draintrap. [1913 Webster] Great seal. See under Great. Privy seal. See under Privy, a. Seal lock, a lock in which the keyhole is covered by a seal in such a way that the lock can not be opened without rupturing the seal. Seal manual. See under Manual, a. Seal ring, a ring having a seal engraved on it, or ornamented with a device resembling a seal; a signet ring. --Shak. [1913 Webster]