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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-84/
- Published: 2024-10-19T17:15:35.000Z
- Updated: 2024-10-19T17:15:34.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

by and large (adverb): 

: on the whole : in general

Source : [Merriam -Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20and%20large?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : An adverb today - it will be a good day. By and large is originally a sailing term meaning "alternately close-hauled and not close-hauled." A ship that is sailing "close-hauled" is sailing as directly into the wind as possible (typically within about 45 degrees of the wind). The by part of the phrase means "close-hauled." (This by also appears in the term full and by, meaning "sailing with all sails full and as close to the wind as possible.") Large, by contrast, refers to a point of sail in which the wind is hitting the boat "abaft the beam," or behind the boat's widest point. A 1669 example of a variant spelling of by and large gives us a sense of the range implied: "Thus you see the ship handled in fair weather and foul, by and learge" (S. Sturmy, Mariners Magazine). The suggestion of a wide range carries over into the term's "in general" sense.

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