Etymologically
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colossus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈlɒs.əs/ (UK); /kəˈlɑ.səs/, /kəˈlɒs.əs/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin colossus (“a statue larger than life”),[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek κολοσσός (kolossós, “gigantic statue”),[2][3][4][5] a word of unknown origin,[4] probably borrowed from a pre-Greek Aegean or Mediterranean language.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A statue of very large size, the most famous being the bronze statue of the sun god at the entrance of the harbour of Rhodes (1398 in the OED; before 1398 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline).[8][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus used the Greek word of gigantic Egyptian statues,[3][4][9] and the Romans of the bronze Helios at Rhodes.[4][7] From 1606 colossus-wise meant astride, like the Rhodian Colossus.[8] The figurative sense, anything vast or overawing in its greatness, is from 1794;[8][3][4] it is used of very powerful persons, nations and companies.[5][10] The adjective colossal dates from 1712.[3] Weekley notes that the word was punningly applied to Cecil Rhodes.[9]

Timeline

  • 1398 – a gigantic statue.[8][3]
  • 1606 – colossus-wise, astride.[8]
  • 1712 – colossal.[3]
  • 1794 – anything vast or overpowering.[8][3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A huge statue, especially the bronze statue of Helios at Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
  2. A person or thing of immense size, importance or power.
  • colossal
  • Colosseum
  • coliseum
  • giant

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster