giant
pronunciation
How to pronounce giant in British English:
UK [ˈdʒaɪənt]
How to pronounce giant in American English:
US [ˈdʒaɪənt]
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- Noun:
- any creature of exceptional size
- a person of exceptional importance and reputation
- an unusually large enterprise
- a very large person; impressive in size or qualities
- someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
- an imaginary figure of superhuman size and strength; appears in folklore and fair tales
- a very bright star of large diameter and low density (relative to the Sun)
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- Adjective:
- of great mass; huge and bulky
Word Origin
- giant (n.)
- c. 1300, "fabulous man-like creature of enormous size," from Old French geant, earlier jaiant "giant, ogre" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *gagantem (nominative gagas), from Latin gigas "a giant," from Greek Gigas (usually in plural, Gigantes), one of a race of divine but savage and monstrous beings (personifying destructive natural forces), sons of Gaia and Uranus, eventually destroyed by the gods. The word is of unknown origin, probably from a pre-Greek language. Derivation from gegenes "earth-born" is considered untenable. In þat tyme wer here non hauntes Of no men bot of geauntes. [Wace's Chronicle, c. 1330] It replaced Old English ent, eoten, also gigant (from Latin). The Greek word was used in Septuagint to refer to men of great size and strength, hence the expanded use in modern languages; in English of very tall and unusually large persons from 1550s; of persons who have any quality in extraordinary degree from 1530s. As a class of stars, from 1912. As an adjective from early 15c. Giant-killer is from 1726.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. The lehman brothers failure was a giant mess .
- 2. It is certainly no giant in investment banking now .
- 3. Giant robotic cages to roam seas as future fish farms ?
- 4. Redistribution would require a giant leap towards political union .
- 5. Does a red giant wake up one morning and suddenly just decide to go supernova ?