dictionary definitions for "giant"


From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:

  giant
      adj : of great mass; huge and bulky; "a jumbo jet"; "jumbo shrimp"
             [syn: elephantine, gargantuan, jumbo]
      n 1: any creature of exceptional size
      2: a person of exceptional importance and reputation [syn:
         colossus, behemoth, heavyweight, titan]
      3: an unusually large enterprise; "Walton built a retail giant"
         
      4: a very large person; impressive in size or qualities [syn:
         hulk, heavyweight, whale]
      5: someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
         [syn: goliath, behemoth, monster, colossus]
      6: an imaginary figure of superhuman size and strength; appears
         in folklore and fair tales
      7: a very bright star of large diameter and low density
         (relative to the Sun) [syn: giant star]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A man of extraordinari bulk and stature.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Giants of mighty bone and bold emprise. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A person of extraordinary strength or powers, bodily or
        intellectual.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Any animal, plant, or thing, of extraordinary size or
        power.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Giant's Causeway, a vast collection of basaltic pillars, in
        the county of Antrim on the northern coast of Ireland.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Giant \Gi"ant\, a.
     Like a giant; extraordinary in size, strength, or power; as,
     giant brothers; a giant son.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Giant cell. (Anat.) See Myeloplax.
  
     Giant clam (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), a very large aquatic salamander
        (Megalobatrachus maximus), found in Japan. It is the
        largest of living Amphibia, becoming a yard long.
  
     Giant squid (Zool.), one of several species of very large
        squids, belonging to Architeuthis and allied genera.
        Some are over forty feet long.
        [1913 Webster]


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