Take the tour ×  The word enormity is widely used to mean excess
of size, but if somebody talks about the enormity of his
achievements he would look foolish.  Why is that so? Does it
depend on the tone used, or are there deep linguistic reasons?
share|improve this question -1: The word enormity is rarely used
to mean excess of size. –  FumbleFingers Apr 11 '12 at 3:39 add
comment  3 Answers  up vote 4 down vote accepted  The original
meaning of enormity is something which departs from normal
standards, in other words something that is ABnormal. Its
current, and rather specialised, use is to describe something
that is some kind of gross transgression, often in a legal
context. However, perhaps because of its similarity to enormous,
it started to be used over 200 years ago to mean something very
large but, in the words of the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘the
use is now regarded as incorrect’. That meaning can perhaps be
defended etymologically, but, as you suggest, few people would
use it in any kind of figurat