See Also: giant(dictionary)
red giant(dictionary)
Giant(medicine)
giant chromosome(medicine)
giant colon(medicine)
giant axon(medicine)
Giant's Causeway(dictionary)
giant drusen(medicine)
giant melanosome(medicine)
Sleeping Giant(money)

giant (iou)



giant noun & adjective. ME.
[Old & mod. French geant, jaiant from Proto-Romance var. of Latin gigantem, (nom.) gigas, from Greek gigas, gigant-.]
A. noun.
A mythical, pseudo-historical, or fictional being in human form but of superhuman size; Greek Mythology a member of a race of such beings who fought against the gods. ME.
R. Eden The Gyaunte Atlas beareth the worlde on hys shoulders.
b. fig. An influence or agency of enormous power. M17.
c. Economics. A large or powerful industrial company; a business that dominates its market. M20.
Spectator One of the soap giants, Unilever, is a British firm.
An exceptionally large human being (freq. hyperbol.); any abnormally large creature or thing. M16.
R. Dahl Their..father, an amiable giant nearly seven foot tall.
b. Astronomy. Any of a class of large stars of high intrinsic luminosity and low mean density, as distinguished from the more common (dwarf) stars of the main sequence. Cf. SUPERGIANT. E20.
A person who has some notable quality to an extraordinary degree. M16.
J. H. Blunt The schoolmen were mental giants.
Mining. A discharge-pipe used in washing ore. US. L19.
Phrases: battle of the giants a contest between two pre-eminent parties. sleeping giant: see SLEEPING ppl adjective.
b. adjective. Of extraordinary size or force, gigantic, monstrous; (of species or varieties of plants or animals) much larger than the average of their kind; colloq. (of a packet, carton, etc.) extra large. LME.
Pope His giant voice the echoing region fills. E. Amadi Port Harcourt..was a clean little town, cleaner by far than giant Kano.
Special collocations & comb.: giant brain colloq. an electronic computer. giant-cell Biology any unusually large cell; esp. (a) a platelet-forming cell in the bone marrow; (b) a multinuclear cell formed by fusion of macrophages. giant clam: see CLAM noun2 1(b). giant fibre Zoology an enlarged or fused nerve fibre modified for rapid conduction of impulses, esp. in various invertebrates. giant kangaroo = FORESTER 3a(b). giant-killer a person who defeats a seemingly much more powerful opponent. giant order Architecture an order whose columns extend through more than one storey. giant panda: see PANDA noun1 2. giant petrel either of two large petrels of the genus Macronectes, of southern oceans, which occur in dark and white morphs. giant-powder a kind of dynamite. giant racer a large switchback at a funfair. giant SEQUOIA. giant SLALOM. giant's stride, giant stride a gymnastic apparatus consisting of a pole with a revolving head and hanging ropes enabling the user to take huge strides round the pole. giant toad = cane toad s.v. CANE noun1.
giantess noun a female giant LME.
gianthood noun the nature or characteristics of a giant; the race of giants: M19.
giantish adjective (rare) approaching the size of a giant; giant-like: M17.
giantize verb trans. (rare) give the appearance of a giant to E17.
giant-like adjective resembling a giant; like that of a giant; gigantic: L16.
giantly adjective (now rare) giant-like M16.
giantry noun (rare) the race of giants; giants collectively: E17.
giantship noun (a) the state of being a giant; (b) (with possess. adjective, as
your giantship etc.) a mock title of respect given to a giant: L17.