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giant
7 dictionary results for: giant
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
gi·ant       [jahy-uhnt] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.(in folklore) a being with human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.
2.a person or thing of unusually great size, power, importance, etc.; major figure; legend: a giant in her field; an intellectual giant.
3.(often initial capital letter) Classical Mythology. any of the Gigantes.
4.Mining. monitor (def. 12).
5.Astronomy. giant star.
–adjective
6.unusually large, great, or strong; gigantic; huge.
7.greater or more eminent than others.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME geant < OF < L gigant- (s. of gigās) < Gk Gígās; r. OE gigant < L, as above]

—Related forms
gi·ant·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
gi·ant       (jī'ənt)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. A person or thing of great size.
    2. A person or thing of extraordinary power, significance, or importance: a giant in the field of physics; automotive industry giants.
    3. Greek Mythology One of a race of humanlike beings of enormous strength and stature who were destroyed in battle with the Olympians.
    4. A being in folklore or myth similar to one of these beings.
    1. Greek Mythology One of a race of humanlike beings of enormous strength and stature who were destroyed in battle with the Olympians.
    2. A being in folklore or myth similar to one of these beings.

adj.   Marked by exceptionally great size, magnitude, or power: a giant wave; a giant impact.


[Middle English, from Old French geant, jaiant, from Vulgar Latin *gagās, *gagant-, from Latin gigās, from Greek.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
giant 
1297, 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 to refer to men of great size and strength, hence the expanded use in modern languages. Gigantic (1612) replaced earlier gigantine.
"In þat tyme wer here non hauntes Of no men bot of geauntes." [Wace's Chronicle, c.1330]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
giant

adjective
1. of great mass; huge and bulky; "a jumbo jet"; "jumbo shrimp" [syn: elephantine] 

noun
1. any creature of exceptional size 
2. a person of exceptional importance and reputation [syn: colossus] 
3. an unusually large enterprise; "Walton built a retail giant" 
4. a very large person; impressive in size or qualities 
5. someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful 
6. an imaginary figure of superhuman size and strength; appears in folklore and fairy tales 
7. a very bright star of large diameter and low density (relative to the Sun) [syn: giant star] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Giant Forest, CA Zip code(s): 93262

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Giant

Gi"ant\, n. [OE. giant, geant, geaunt, OF. jaiant, geant, F. g['e]ant, L. gigas, fr. Gr. ?, ?, from the root of E. gender, genesis. See Gender, and cf. Gigantic.]

1. A man of extraordinari bulk and stature.

Giants of mighty bone and bold emprise. --Milton.

2. A person of extraordinary strength or powers, bodily or intellectual.

3. Any animal, plant, or thing, of extraordinary size or power.

Giant's Causeway, a vast collection of basaltic pillars, in the county of Antrim on the northern coast of Ireland.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Giant

Gi"ant\, a. Like a giant; extraordinary in size, strength, or power; as, giant brothers; a giant son.

Giant cell. (Anat.) See Myeloplax.

Giant clam (Zo["o]l.), a bivalve shell of the genus Tridacna, esp. T. gigas, which sometimes weighs 500 pounds. The shells are sometimes used in churches to contain holy water.

Giant heron (Zo["o]l.), a very large African heron (Ardeomega goliath). It is the largest heron known.

Giant kettle, a pothole of very large dimensions, as found in Norway in connection with glaciers. See Pothole.

Giant powder. See Nitroglycerin.

Giant puffball (Bot.), a fungus (Lycoperdon giganteum), edible when young, and when dried used for stanching wounds.

Giant salamander (Zo["o]l.), a very large aquatic salamander (Megalobatrachus maximus), found in Japan. It is the largest of living Amphibia, becoming a yard long.

Giant squid (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of very large squids, belonging to Architeuthis and allied genera. Some are over forty feet long.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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