Wiktionary

colossal

English

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WOTD – 15 April 2006

Etymology

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From French colossal, formed from Latin colossus, from Ancient Greek κολοσσός (kolossós, “giant statue”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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colossal (comparative more colossal, superlative most colossal)

  1. Extremely large or on a great scale.
    A single puppy can make a colossal mess.
    • 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
      Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. […] Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.
    • 2017 April 23, “Ivanka & Jared”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 10, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
      What is wrong with you, you colossal fucking creep⁉ You found the only possible wrong answer to that question! “What’s your favorite color? Hitler.”
  2. Amazingly spectacular; extraordinary; epic.
    • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
      "It's just the very biggest thing that I ever heard of!" said I, though it was my journalistic rather than my scientific enthusiasm that was roused. "It is colossal. You are a Columbus of science who has discovered a lost world."

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From colosse +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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colossal (feminine colossale, masculine plural colossaux, feminine plural colossales)

  1. colossal, huge
    Synonyms: énorme, gigantesque, titanesque

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → English: colossal
  • → German: kolossal

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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Pseudo-anglicism, derived from colossal. First attested in 1986.

Noun

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colossal m (invariable)

  1. (film, theater) high-budget film or play with a high production value, ensemble cast, etc.

Portuguese

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Etymology

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From colosso +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: co‧los‧sal

Adjective

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colossal m or f (plural colossais)

  1. colossal (extremely large)
    Synonyms: gigante, enorme

Further reading

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