august

Etymology 1

From French auguste (“noble, stately; august”) or Latin augustus (“majestic, venerable, august; imperial, royal”), from augeō (“to augment, increase; to enlarge, expand, spread”). Doublet of Augustus.

adj

1. Awe-inspiring, majestic, noble, venerable.
   an august patron of the arts
   In the book of Pſalms there are many things ſaid of David, which ſeem capable of a much auguſter ſenſe than can be pretended to be anſwered by any thing that befel himſelf. 1796, Gilbert Bishop of Sarum [i.e., Gilbert Burnet], “Article VII. Of the Old Testament.”, in An Exposition of the XXXIX Articles of the Church of England, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 123
   [W]e shall not, I think, be able to find language which can convey in few words more fully the idea we should always have impressed on our minds of the august character of our Lord, than the expression, "the word of life." 31 August 1837, William Sollis, A Sermon, Preached in Holsworthy Church on Thursday, August 31, 1837, at the Anniversaries of the Societies for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts.[…], Launceston, Cornwall: Penheale-Press, Rev. H. A. Simcoe, →OCLC, page 7
   The commands of the august sovereign are the imperial commands, or the phœnix (the incomparable) mandate. 1841, E[lijah] C[oleman] Bridgman, “Governmental Affairs”, in A Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, Macao: S[amuel] Wells Williams, →OCLC, section second (Imperial Titles), page 558
   —Inconsciously to the augustest end / Thou hast arisen: second not in rank / So much as time, to him who first ordained / That Florence, thou art to destroy, should be— […] 1846, Robert Browning, “Luria”, in Bells and Pomegranates, volumes VIII (Luria; and A Soul’s Tragedy), London: Edward Moxon, →OCLC; republished in Poems … In Two Volumes, new edition, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall,[…], 1849, →OCLC, act IV, page 192
   The foolish dog […] flew at the cat, who in her fright and consternation took refuge behind the screen of the breakfast-room where his Majesty then was. The Mikado was greatly shocked and agitated. He took the cat into his august bosom, and summoning the chamberlain Tadataka, gave orders that Okinamaro should have a good thrashing and be banished to Dog Island at once. 1899, Sei Shōnagon, “Makura Zōshi [The Attack of the Dog Okinamaro upon the Cat Miyōbu no Otodo]”, in W[illiam] G[eorge] Aston, A History of Japanese Literature, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 111
   For once the story was not about Jamie Vardy, unable to equal Jimmy Dunne's top-flight record of scoring in a dozen consecutive games, but about his august deputy Riyad Mahrez. 5 December 2015, Alan Smith, “Leicester City back on top as Riyad Mahrez hat-trick downs Swansea City”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2017-03-29
   Countless proposals flooded in, sent by sources as august as the World Academy of Sciences and as humble as elementary schools. 2016, Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu, Death's End, Tor, translation of 死神永生, page 280
2. Of noble birth.
   an august lineage
   A branch of the house of Lorraine, in comparison with which even the royal race of Capet was mean, the Guises traced back their august lineage through a long line of warrior princes to the Imperial figure of Charlemagne. 1873, Walter Fitz Patrick, chapter I, in The Great Condé and the Period of the Fronde: A Historical Sketch, volume I, London: T[homas] Cautley Newby, publisher,[…], →OCLC, page 7

Etymology 2

From August.

verb

1. (obsolete, rare) To make ripe; ripen.
2. (obsolete, rare) To bring to realization.
   By divine science and cœlestial art / He for the cause of the dear nations toiled, / And augusted man's heavenly hopes that so, / […] / he might, by awful rites / […] / Adhæsion with Divinity achieve. 1855, Philip James Bailey, The Mystic and Other Poems, London: Chapman and Hall,[…], →OCLC, page 55

Etymology 3

noun

1. Alternative form of auguste (“kind of clown”)