gross

Definition

Highly or conspicuously offensive.

Etymology

From Middle English gros (“large, thick, full-bodied; coarse, unrefined, simple”), from Old French gros, from Latin grossus (“big, fat, thick”, in Late Latin also “coarse, rough”), of uncertain further origin but perhaps related to Proto-Celtic *brassos (“great, violent”).

Example Sentences

• "a gross mistake; gross injustice; gross negligence; a gross insult"
• "Henry IV. My gracious uncle, let me know my fault: / On what condition stands it and wherein? / Edmund of Langley. Even in condition of the worst degree, / In gross rebellion and detested treason:"
• "Your very faults, how gross soere, to me / Have something pleasing in ’em."