Grande Meaning
/ˈɡɹɑndeɪ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf a cup of coffee: smaller than venti but larger than tall, usually 16 ounces (~ 455 ml).
nounA grande cup of coffee.
Sentence Examples
He crossed the Rio Grande River.
Rio is a very large city and Campo Grande is the biggest neighbor.
Warm sunlight lay upon the hacienda called Casa Grande.
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the coffee shop, I ordered the ____ size because I wanted more than a small.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I would like to order a ____ latte with extra foam and a pump of vanilla syrup to go, please.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Italian grande. Doublet of grand and grandee.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As she went to work the only concern prominent in her mind was a strong desire for a couple of grandes from Starbucks."
— 1997, J. H. Marks, Conspiracy Theory, Signet, →ISBN, page 148:
"Kevin considered bumming a cig, but he doubted any of them would part with one. Clutching their Starbucks grandes, guarding their garment bags with practiced eyes—how much sympathy could they be expected to muster?"
— 1998, Doug Guinan, California Screaming, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 287:
"“Harrumph,” Daddy said, flipping through the morning’s deliveries – the L.A. Times, the New York Times and two grandes from Starbucks: decaf Colombian for my stressed superior, and a nonfat capp with a double espresso shot for me."
— 1999, Elizabeth Lenhard, Bettypalooza, Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 80:
"Console yourself with the practical philosophy of our countryman, Private Curtis, who was the picture of a Spanish Grande of the first class, and whom I once heard after a Lenten dinner extemporize with great good-humour this Leonine distich:—“Quod deficit in ferculis / Supplebitur in poculis!”"
— 1847, T[erence] M[cMahon] Hughes, “Hercules Rafferty.—An Asturianillo.—An Irish stew.—A Bottle-Hero.—Don Tito de Chiclana.—O’Gorman.—Perils of love-making in the Peninsula.” (chapter VI), in An Overland Journey to Lisbon at the Close of 1846; with a Picture of the Actual State of Spain and Portugal, volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 89:
"When we read in almost every book in which the life of Philip is described that he was a man of haughty character with an aversion to every vulgarity; when we read of his ability in courting ladies, his manly beauty, his fine dress as a Spanish grande, we incline to think that before us stands a nobleman of kindred feelings, of carefully fostered nobility."
— 1912, Tiemen De Vries, Dutch History, Art and Literature for Americans: Lectures Given in the University of Chicago, Eerdmans-Sevensma Company, pages 85–86:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the coffee shop, I ordered the ____ size because I wanted more than a small.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I would like to order a ____ latte with extra foam and a pump of vanilla syrup to go, please.