envergure

scope, scale

noun ahn-vehr-GYUR Rare

Also means

wingspan

Usage Note

Envergure originally referred to a bird's or aircraft's wingspan and has extended to mean the breadth or scope of a project or person's abilities. Un projet d'envergure is a large-scale undertaking, and une personne d'envergure is someone of great stature or ability. The word has no common everyday synonym that captures both senses.

Examples

"C'est un projet d'envergure internationale."

Natural Translation

It is a project of international scope.

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