What is the Latin word for big?

The usual Latin words for “big” are magnus, grandis, amplus; also ingēns, immānis, vāstus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“big” in Latin

magnusgreat, large, big; (of things) vast, extensive, spacious (of physical size or quantity); great, grand, mighty, noble, lo grandisfull-grown, grown up; large, great, grand, lofty, big; powerful ampluslarge, spacious, roomy; abundant, ample; impetuous, violent, strong ingēnshuge, vast, enormous; immoderate, exorbitant; extraordinary, unnatural immānisimmense, enormous, huge, vast; brutal, inhuman, frightful, savage vāstusEmpty, unoccupied, i.e. waste, desert.; Desolate, deserted, made lonely.; Wasted by destruction, laid waste, ravaged, de graviduspregnant, with child, gravid; full, filled, laden, abundant, teeming; burdened praegnanswith child plēnusfull; filled; complete; full of; plump; bulky gravisheavy; pregnant; troublesome, hard

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

big

magnus (without any accessory notion: opposed to parvus): grandis (with the accessory notion of strength and grandour: opposed to exilis, minutus, exiguus, etc.): amplus (with the notion of comeliness, making an imposing impression): ingens (unnaturally large, huge): immanis (fearfully large): vastus (so large as to be deficient in regularity of form). The words are found in this connection and order), vastus et immanis: amplus et grandis: spatiosus (roomy): procerus (tall, but only of things that grow). As big as, instar (with genitive). The epistle was as big as a book, instar voluminis erat epistola. To be as big as something else, complere magnitudinem alicujus rei. This gown is too big for me, haec toga major est quam pro corpore meo. Somewhat big, subgrandis. Very big, parmagnus, pergrandis: hugely so, ingens: immoderately so, praegrandis: monstrously so, vastus, immanis. A big man, homo magni corporis, homo grandis, homo procerus. That has a big head, nose, capito, naso. Grown big, adultus, grandis. To grow big, pubescero. Somewhat bigger, grandiusculus. Bigger cups, scyphi capaciores.

Pregnant, gravida, praegnans. Clouds big with rain, gravidae nubes, graves imbre nubes: the south wind is big with showers, notus parturit imbres. A day big with fate, dies fatalis.

Full, plenus, gravis.

Swollen (as with rage, etc.), tunens, tumidus.

Puffed up, tumid, tumens, tumidus, turgidus, inflatus. Big talk, verborum tumor, oratio inflata, ampullae; jactatio, venditatio. Big looks, supercilium grande.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for big?: The usual Latin words for “big” are magnus, grandis, amplus; also ingēns, immānis, vāstus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.