كَبِيرٌ
1.
Great [in body, or corporeal substance, and in estimation or rank or dignity; opposite of
صَغِيرٌ, but see عَظِيمٌ]; (S, K;) as also كِبِيرٌ, as asserted by En-Nawawee and others, (TA,) and
كُبَارٌ (S, K) [in an intensive sense, like عُطَامٌ,] and
كَابِرٌ and
كُبَّارٌ: (K:) or the last signifies excessively great: (S, TA:) and كَابِرٌ is an epithat applied to a man, and signifying great in dignity and nobility; (S, TA;) or great and noble; (Msb;) or one overcoming in greatness; (A;) or a lord, or chief; and the greatest, or oldest, ancestor: (AA:) the feminine [of كَبِيرٌ] is with ة: (K:) and the plural is كِبَارٌ (S, K) and كُبَرَاءُ, applied to men, (TA,) and مَكْبُورَاءُ, (S, * K,) [or rather the last is a quasi-plural n.,] like مَشْيُوخَاءُ; [see شَيْخٌ;] (TA;) and [of كُبَّارٌ] كُبَّارُونَ. (K.) [See also أَكْبَرُ, and مُتَكَبِّرٌ.] You say تَوَارَثُوا
الْمَجْدَ كَابِرًا عَنْ كَابِرٍ
They inherited by degrees dignity, or nobility, one great in dignity and nobility from another great in dignity and nobility: (S:) or one great and noble from another great and noble: (Msb:) or عَنْ is here used in the sense of بَعْدَ [after]: (TA voce طَبَقٌ:) or one overcoming in greatness from another overcoming in greatness. (A.) [In the A and Msb, instead of توارثوا, I find وَرِثُوا.]
2.
Great, or advanced, in age; old: (A, Msb, TA:) and also big; meaning full-grown; and adolescent: (see كَبِرَ:) occurring in apposition to بَالِغٌ in article برك in the S; and often, like بَالِغٌ, when applied to a human being, signifying one who has attained to puberty; opposed to صَغِيرٌ:] feminine with ة: and plural كِبَارٌ. (Msb.)
3.
[Hence,] A teacher, and master: so in the Qur'an, 20:74, and xxvi. 48: (Ks:) and the most knowing, or learned, of a people: so in the Qur'an, 12:80. (Mujáhid.)
4.
Difficult, severe, grievous, distressing, afflictive, troublesome, or burdensome: (TA:) feminine with ة; occurring in this sense in the Qur'an, 2:42. (Bd, TA.) [The feminine is often used in the present day as an epithet in which the quality of a subst. predominates, meaning, An affair, or a matter, that is difficult, severe, grievous, &c.]
5.
الكَبِيرُ as an epithet applied to God is synonym with
العَظِيمُ [signifying The Incomparably-great]. (TA in article عظم.)