enormous
Meaning
extremely large in size or quantity
Structure
Usage
the project required an enormous amount of time and resources.
she has an enormous capacity for empathy and understanding.
the elephant is an enormous creature compared to most land animals.
Etymology
the word 'enormous' originates from the latin 'enormis', itself formed from the prefix 'e-' (a variant of 'ex-', meaning "out of") and 'norma' (meaning "carpenter's square," hence "rule, standard"). the literal sense was "deviating from the standard rule or pattern." this meaning of irregularity or abnormality was carried into middle english via old french. over time, the sense of deviation from the norm evolved to emphasize the aspect of being extraordinarily large, as something that is irregularly or abnormally big. thus, the modern abstract meaning of "extremely large" developed from the original idea of being outside the normal measure.
Analysis
e- (prefix of Latin origin, meaning "out of"); norm (root of Latin origin, from 'norma' meaning "rule, pattern, standard"); -ous (suffix of Latin origin, forming adjectives meaning "full of, characterized by").