great seal
2
7.5
- noun
- /ɡreɪt siːl/
- Formal
:
gran sello
- Every state in the U.S. has its own great seal, which represents its authority and heritage.
- great seal of the United
Examples
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PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): The obverse side of the great seal of Virginia depicts the Roman goddess.
Academic text (1990) -
Commanding also our well beloved and faithful Counsellor Elizabeth Mary Truss, Chancellor of Great Britain, to seal these our letters with the Great Seal of our Realm.
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Shortly before his death, the King made a declaration, which has been witnessed by his Council and marked with his great seal.
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Second, our Great Seal does not say "Out of Two, One." It says "Out of Many, One." From this distinction, we can affirm that our creative diversity allows for the likelihood that there are more than two valid points of view and more than two solutions for our many challenges.
Blog text (30) -
Thus dictated, I order this decree sent out under the great seal of Mordecai, prince of Persia, a Jew.
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PARLIAMENT HAS SEALED HIS DOOM, SIRE, WITH THE GREAT SEAL.
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The great seal is used to authenticate official documents issued by the government.
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The President applied the great seal to the treaty as a symbol of its ratification.
Synonyms
106
4.2
An official mark that shows a document is real
1
9.9
A mark used to show a document is real and from an important person
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'principal official seal of a government' is directly derivable from combining 'great' (major/important) with 'seal' (an official stamp). This composition — an important or principal seal — is cross-linguistically common for state symbols, so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Great seal comes from a very large physical seal, a special stamp used by kings and governments to mark important papers. That stamp showed the ruler's 'authority', so today great seal means the official mark that proves a state document is real.