And if it be larger and wider, we must observe whether, by indicating to us new particulars, it confirm that wideness and largeness as by a collateral security, that we may not either stick fast in things already known, or loosely grasp at shadows and abstract forms, not at things solid and realized in matter."
It's also a better knot for a man with a longer neck, because the wideness of the knot can make the neck look slightly shorter.
In a yet broader sense it is used adjectivally of mere wideness or universality of view, as when we speak of a man as " of catholic sympathies " or " catholic in his tastes."
Cavendish's scientific work is distinguished for the wideness of its range and for its extraordinary exactness and accuracy.
