Webster's English Dictionary

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magnitude

mag.ni.tude \'mag-n*-.t(y)u:d\ n [ME, fr. L magnitudo, fr. magnus] obs  1: 
   greatness of character or position  2a: great size or extent  2b1: spatial 
   quality : SIZE  2b2: QUANTITY, NUMBER  2b3: volume of sound : LOUDNESS  3: 
   the important, quality, or caliber of something  4: a number representing 
   the intrinsic or apparent brightness of a celestia l body on a logarithmic 
   scale in which a difference of one unit corresponds to the multiplication 
   or division of the brightness of light by 2.512+ 5: a numerical 
   quantitative measure expressed usu. as a multiple of a stand ard unit