By and Large

A few weeks ago, I used the expression “by and large” in a Facebook post. 

I knew what I meant, and assume my readers did as well, but I’ll admit I had no idea why it means what it does or how it came to be part of our language.

While a precise definition may not be easy, most folks would agree that the expression means ‘all things considered’ or ‘generally speaking’ or ‘for all practical purposes’ or something like that – well enough understood to be acceptable in normal discourse.

A little research reveals that the term is a nautical expression from the early days of sailing ships.  A ship sailing with the wind was said to be large – probably in reference to the full sails.  Even the best sailing ship can’t sail directly into the wind, but with proper rigging, a good ship could sail within a couple points (there are 32 points on the compass) of the wind, or by the wind.

So, something that is true by and large is true enough to be accepted as a general rule.

The earliest known reference to 'by and large' in print is from Samuel Sturmy, in The Mariners Magazine, 1669:

"Thus you see the ship handled in fair weather and foul, by and learge."

I recently heard the smartest person I know misuse a similar expression – she said “for all intensive purposes.”  When I explained that the correct term was intents and purposes, she said that intensive was what she thought she heard as a child and that she had been saying it that way all her life.