Added 9 October 2026
colossus
/kəˈlɒs.əs/ noun
Latin root: colossus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about colossus at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A statue of gigantic size. The name was especially applied to certain famous statues in antiquity, as the Colossus of Nero in Rome and the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
- Any creature or thing of gigantic size.
- Somebody or something very greatly admired and respected.
Origin
From Latin colossus, from Ancient Greek κολοσσός (kolossós, “large statue, especially the colossus of Rhodes”), from an unknown Pre-Greek etymon (and erroneously associated with κολοφών).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)