Frederick the Great
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
It came to full- flower after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 when Prussia forced herself as a leader among the German states forming the new German
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Frederick the Great” mean?
It came to full- flower after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 when Prussia forced herself as a leader among the German states forming the new German
Is “Frederick the Great” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.