"Big Brother" meaning in All languages combined

See Big Brother on Wiktionary

Proper name [English]

Etymology: After the nominal leader of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Head templates: {{en-proper noun|head=Big Brother}} Big Brother
  1. Unwarranted, invasive, and discreet surveillance, especially of a people by its government Categories (topical): Government Translations (unwarranted and invasive government surveillance): isoveli (Finnish), Big Brother (French), Μεγάλος Αδελφός (Megálos Adelfós) [masculine] (Greek), Nagy Testvér (Hungarian), Wielki Brat [masculine] (Polish), Grande Irmão [masculine] (Portuguese), Большо́й Брат (Bolʹšój Brat) [masculine] (Russian), велики брат [masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), veliki brat [masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), Gran Hermano [masculine] (Spanish), storebror [common-gender] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-Big_Brother-en-name-ruB8bhRk Disambiguation of Government: 100 0 Disambiguation of 'unwarranted and invasive government surveillance': 99 1
  2. Any omnipresent figurehead representing oppressive control Categories (topical): British fiction, Collectives, Fictional characters, Forms of government Synonyms: big brother Derived forms: Big-Brotherish, Big Brotherism Translations (a figurehead representing oppressive control): 老大哥 (lǎodàgē) (Chinese Mandarin), Wielki Brat [masculine] (Polish), Grande Irmão [masculine] (Portuguese), Gran Hermano [masculine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-Big_Brother-en-name-LMqzr5v4 Disambiguation of British fiction: 37 63 Disambiguation of Collectives: 17 83 Disambiguation of Fictional characters: 19 81 Disambiguation of Forms of government: 34 66 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 12 88 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 17 83 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 12 88 Disambiguation of 'a figurehead representing oppressive control': 2 98

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for Big Brother meaning in All languages combined (6.4kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "After the nominal leader of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "Big Brother"
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      "expansion": "Big Brother",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "100 0",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Government",
          "orig": "en:Government",
          "parents": [
            "Politics",
            "Society",
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            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002, Lorrie Faith Cranor, Web privacy with P3P, page 12",
          "text": "Some people are worried about marketing calls at dinnertime or junk mail or spam, while others are more concerned about Big Brother."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Bertrand du Castel, Timothy M. Jurgensen Computer Theology, page 314",
          "text": "When one mentions the concepts of identity and governance in the same breath, a virtually autonomic response from many is the concern that a governmental big brother will soon be looking over their shoulders."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Unwarranted, invasive, and discreet surveillance, especially of a people by its government"
      ],
      "id": "en-Big_Brother-en-name-ruB8bhRk",
      "links": [
        [
          "Unwarranted",
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        [
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        [
          "discreet",
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          "surveillance"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "word": "isoveli"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "word": "Big Brother"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "Megálos Adelfós",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
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          "word": "Μεγάλος Αδελφός"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "word": "Nagy Testvér"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
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          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
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        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
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          "word": "Grande Irmão"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "Bolʹšój Brat",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Большо́й Брат"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
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          "word": "велики брат"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
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        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Gran Hermano"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "storebror"
        }
      ]
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "17 83",
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          "_dis": "37 63",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "British fiction",
          "orig": "en:British fiction",
          "parents": [
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          "_dis": "17 83",
          "kind": "topical",
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          "_dis": "19 81",
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          "_dis": "34 66",
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          "parents": [
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            "Politics",
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            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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          "_dis1": "25 75",
          "word": "Big-Brotherish"
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          "word": "Big Brotherism"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Rebecca A. Grant, Colin John Bennett, Visions of privacy: policy choices for the digital age, page 244",
          "text": "In the late 1960s and early 1970s, at the height of public concern over the emergence of a Big Brother society, privacy activism shared features in common with some of the hard-line environmental campaigns of the 1990s."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Rodney Carlisle, Rodney P. Carlisle, Complete idiot's guide to spies and espionage, page 195",
          "text": "When the agencies of the federal government spied on the political activities of US citizens, they moved into the grey area between concern with national security and a Big Brother system that violated constitutional protections."
        }
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      "glosses": [
        "Any omnipresent figurehead representing oppressive control"
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      "id": "en-Big_Brother-en-name-LMqzr5v4",
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      "synonyms": [
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          "_dis1": "42 58",
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "lǎodàgē",
          "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
          "word": "老大哥"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
          "tags": [
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          ],
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        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
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        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Gran Hermano"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Big Brother",
    "George Orwell",
    "Nineteen Eighty-Four"
  ],
  "word": "Big Brother"
}
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    "English terms derived from Nineteen Eighty-Four",
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    "en:Forms of government",
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  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Big-Brotherish"
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    {
      "word": "Big Brotherism"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "After the nominal leader of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.",
  "head_templates": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2002, Lorrie Faith Cranor, Web privacy with P3P, page 12",
          "text": "Some people are worried about marketing calls at dinnertime or junk mail or spam, while others are more concerned about Big Brother."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Bertrand du Castel, Timothy M. Jurgensen Computer Theology, page 314",
          "text": "When one mentions the concepts of identity and governance in the same breath, a virtually autonomic response from many is the concern that a governmental big brother will soon be looking over their shoulders."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Unwarranted, invasive, and discreet surveillance, especially of a people by its government"
      ],
      "links": [
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          "Unwarranted",
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        ],
        [
          "invasive",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Rebecca A. Grant, Colin John Bennett, Visions of privacy: policy choices for the digital age, page 244",
          "text": "In the late 1960s and early 1970s, at the height of public concern over the emergence of a Big Brother society, privacy activism shared features in common with some of the hard-line environmental campaigns of the 1990s."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Rodney Carlisle, Rodney P. Carlisle, Complete idiot's guide to spies and espionage, page 195",
          "text": "When the agencies of the federal government spied on the political activities of US citizens, they moved into the grey area between concern with national security and a Big Brother system that violated constitutional protections."
        }
      ],
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          "control"
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  "synonyms": [
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      "word": "big brother"
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "word": "isoveli"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "word": "Big Brother"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "Megálos Adelfós",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Μεγάλος Αδελφός"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "word": "Nagy Testvér"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Wielki Brat"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Grande Irmão"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "Bolʹšój Brat",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Большо́й Брат"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "велики брат"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "veliki brat"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Gran Hermano"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "unwarranted and invasive government surveillance",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "storebror"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "lǎodàgē",
      "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
      "word": "老大哥"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Wielki Brat"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Grande Irmão"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "a figurehead representing oppressive control",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Gran Hermano"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Big Brother",
    "George Orwell",
    "Nineteen Eighty-Four"
  ],
  "word": "Big Brother"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.