Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb For the most part; generally.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb set phrase, focus
mostly ,generally ; with fewexceptions
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb usually; as a rule
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Earlier, to (the wind) and off it, in one direction and another (said of the manner of handling a sailing vessel) : by, toward + large, with the wind abaft the beam.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From sailing: a ship may (or may not) sail well both close by the wind, and large, downwind, with sheets extended.
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Examples
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reesetee commented on the word by and large
In all cases or in any case. Originally, this term meant into the wind (by) and with the wind (large).
December 10, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word by and large
I had no idea this had a nautical origin!
December 10, 2007