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giant - 8 dictionary results
gi⋅ant
[jahy-uh
nt] 
–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
1250–1300; ME geant < OF < L gigant- (s. of gigās) < Gk Gígās; r. OE gigant < L, as above
Related forms:
gi⋅ant⋅like, adjective
giant star
–noun
| a star having a diameter of from 10 to 100 times that of the sun, as Arcturus or Aldebaran. |
mon⋅i⋅tor
[mon-i-ter] –noun
| 1. | a student appointed to assist in the conduct of a class or school, as to help take attendance or keep order. |
| 2. | a person appointed to supervise students, applicants, etc., taking an examination, chiefly to prevent cheating; proctor. |
| 3. | a person who admonishes, esp. with reference to conduct. |
| 4. | something that serves to remind or give warning. |
| 5. | a device or arrangement for observing, detecting, or recording the operation of a machine or system, esp. an automatic control system. |
| 6. | an instrument for detecting dangerous gases, radiation, etc. |
| 7. | Radio and Television.
|
| 8. | Computers.
|
| 9. | Nautical.
|
| 10. | a raised construction straddling the ridge of a roof and having windows or louvers for lighting or ventilating a building, as a factory or warehouse. |
| 11. | an articulated mounting for a nozzle, usually mechanically operated, which permits a stream of water to be played in any desired direction, as in firefighting or hydraulic mining. |
| 12. | Also called giant. (in hydraulic mining) a nozzle for dislodging and breaking up placer deposits with a jet of water. |
| 13. | any of various large lizards of the family Varanidae, of Africa, southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, fabled to give warning of the presence of crocodiles: several species are endangered. |
–verb (used with object)
| 14. | Radio and Television.
|
| 15. | to observe, record, or detect (an operation or condition) with instruments that have no effect upon the operation or condition. |
| 16. | to oversee, supervise, or regulate: to monitor the administering of a test. |
| 17. | to watch closely for purposes of control, surveillance, etc.; keep track of; check continually: to monitor one's eating habits. |
–verb (used without object)
| 18. | to serve as a monitor, detector, supervisor, etc. |
Origin:
1540–50; < L: prompter, adviser, equiv. to moni-, var. s. of monēre to remind, advise, warn + -tor -tor
1540–50; < L: prompter, adviser, equiv. to moni-, var. s. of monēre to remind, advise, warn + -tor -tor
Related forms:
mon⋅i⋅tor⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To giant
| gi·ant (jī'ənt) n.
[Middle English, from Old French geant, jaiant, from Vulgar Latin *gagās, *gagant-, from Latin gigās, from Greek.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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.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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Language Translation for : giant
Spanish:
gigante; giganta,
German:
der Riese, die Riesin,
Japanese:
大男
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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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.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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