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giant

[jahy-uhnt]

noun

(in folklore) a being with human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.

a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend: a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.

(often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. any of the Gigantes.

Mining. monitor (def. 12).

Astronomy. giant star.

adjective

unusually large, great, or strong; gigantic; huge.

greater or more eminent than others.

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Giant is always a great word to know.

So is Iron Age. Does it mean:

the present age, following the bronze age; the last and worst of the four ages of the human race, characterized by danger, corruption, and toil

a celebrated hero possessing exceptional strength: among his many adventures were the twelve labors performed in order to gain immortality

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English geant < Old French < Latin gigant- (stem of gigās) < Greek Gígās; replacing Old English gigant < Latin, as above

Related forms

gi·ant·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To giant

Example Sentences

Print detailed illustrations of giant tree frogs and other animals to color or use in school projects.

Giant tortoises lumber across the lava rocks, while iguanas defy desert stereotypes and plunge into the sea.

Water used to spill from the conch shell on this cherub's shoulders, splashing into the giant clamshell beneath his feet.

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Print detailed illustrations of giant tree frogs and other animals to color or use in school projects.

Giant tortoises lumber across the lava rocks, while iguanas defy desert stereotypes and plunge into the sea.

Water used to spill from the conch shell on this cherub's shoulders, splashing into the giant clamshell beneath his feet.

Hot water discovered around a giant carbon star requires a new theory for the chemistry around stars to be explained.

Learn about the giant panda baby boom that is happening across the world.

Giant salamanders must swim upstream to lay their eggs, but navigating all the dams can make the trip nearly impossible.

Two giant merger developments were disclosed here yesterday.

The small increase is hardly enough to help organizations out of the giant hole in donations created by the recession.

Britain's government cannot conjure a technology giant out of thin air.

The solar system's giant outer planets appear to have sculpted the asteroid belt as they settled into their current orbits.

The giant of the musical instrument collection makes tunes rootin' tootin' or romantic.

In some shrubby species, conelike male flower clusters sit above showy colored bracts and have the look of giant daisies.

The giant flakes were not quite in the category of sea.

In case there is any doubt, it is emblazoned on two giant balloons tethered over.

Brazil is divided between productive giant operations and inefficient hobby farms.

Follow-up observations on large telescopes confirm that something hit the gas giant.

New research finds that the giant panda may get some bacterial help to digest its bamboo diet.

Don your costume and strut through town with masqueraders and giant puppets.

Exelon, the nuclear giant that recently backed away from building new nuclear plants, is moving into wind.

Each was created by a giant rock from outer space slamming into the earth.

Madagascar's giant jumping rats are less endangered than previously thought, new surveys suggest.

Small dish of silver-coated liquid may be first step to giant liquid telescope on the moon.

Professionals quickly confirmed the sighting and started aiming their powerful telescopes at the gas giant.

Conventional wisdom says that forests prevent flooding by acting as giant sponges.

Efforts to repair a giant breach in the stratosphere could also help slow global warming*.

All these risk-takers see their environment, which is typically urban, as a giant obstacle course waiting to be surmounted.

The giant tiki masks on the walls, tableside lava lamps.

The new world was apparently glimpsed in the closest giant spiral.

The giant planet's moons were gnats, rather than gnarled landscapes of methane lakes and dusty geysers.

In the water you'd see a pretty hostile place, with lots of predatory fish with giant fangs.

Layered plantings, an irregular path, and giant pavers transform the small backyard into a soothing garden escape.

The giant sea spider, whose long mouthpart sucks the tissue out of its invertebrate prey.

Then a giant machine sucks up the nuts and shoots them into the totes.

Visitors step back in time through giant prehistoric animal murals and.

Culms of giant types may grow in length several feet a day.

The rig's perforated red beams resemble a giant segmented insect.

All that's left is a giant scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

The giant anteater can cover its tongue with a sticky saliva to help it get ants.

The mystery here is how this swamp lover's giant leaves remain spatter free in the muddiest swamp.

Some consider the entire state one giant wildlife-watching preserve and with good reason.

Nearby, a stack of giant round metal baskets sits atop billowing jets of steam.

Don't forget to take a picture with the giant badminton birdies on the front lawn.

Even the tabletop's giant seastar centerpiece adds to the coastal theme.

What could be more fantastic than a giant predatory dinosaur equipped with a.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

giant (ˈdʒaɪənt)

—n
1.	Also (feminine): giantess a mythical figure of superhuman size and strength, esp in folklore or fairy tales
2.	a person or thing of exceptional size, reputation, etc: a giant in nuclear physics
3.	Greek myth any of the large and powerful offspring of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth) who rebelled against the Olympian gods but were defeated in battle
4.	pathol a person suffering from gigantism
5.	astronomy See giant star
6.	mining another word for monitor

—*adj*
7.	remarkably or supernaturally large
8.	architect another word for colossal

[C13: from Old French geant, from Vulgar Latin gagās (unattested), from Latin gigās, gigant-, from Greek]

'giant-like

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

giant

c.1300, from O.Fr. geant, from V.L. *gagantem (nom. gagas), from L. gigas "giant," from Gk. gigas (gen. gigantos), one of a race of savage beings, sons of Gaia and Uranus, eventually destroyed by the gods, probably from a pre-Gk. language. Replaced O.E. ent, eoten. The Gk. word was used in Septuagint

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to refer to men of great size and strength, hence the expanded use in modern languages. Gigantic (1610s) replaced earlier gigantine.

"In þat tyme wer here non hauntes Of no men bot of geauntes." [Wace's Chronicle, c.1330]

COLLAPSE

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

giant

in folklore, huge mythical being, usually humanlike in form. The term derives (through Latin) from the Giants (Gigantes) of Greek mythology, who were monstrous, savage creatures often depicted with men's bodies terminating in serpentine legs. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, they were sons of Ge ("Earth") and Uranus ("Heaven"). The Gigantomachy was a desperate struggle between the Giants and the Olympians. The gods finally prevailed through the aid of Heracles the archer, and the Giants were slain. Many of them were believed to lie buried under mountains and to indicate their presence by volcanic fires and earthquakes. The Gigantomachy became a popular artistic theme (found, for example, on the frieze adorning the great altar at Pergamum), and it was interpreted as a symbol of the triumph of Hellenism over barbarism, of good over evil.

Learn more about giant with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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