greaten
verbUK /ˈɡɹeɪtən/
Etymology From Middle English gretnen (“to become great, be pregnant”), equivalent to great + -en.
1
To become great or large; increase; dilate.
2
Obsolete To become great with child; become pregnant.
3
To make great; magnify; enlarge; increase.
- one studies how how to please his prince, the other how to greaten and secure him.1685, Thomas Ken, sermon preached […] at Whitehall:
- No blushes! all my body's blood / Has gone to greaten this poor heart, / That, loving, we may part.1860, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Parting Lovers:
- Related terms
- engreaten