gigante Italian · revision 39348

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1252–1258, Storie de Troia e de Roma|origins=grc γίγας}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /d͡ʒiˈɡan.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gigante''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural giganti)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|giogante]], [[roa-oit|giugante]], [[roa-oit|gegante]] and the northern [[roa-oit|zigante]] and [[roa-oit|zagante]].^(TLIO)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(Prati 1951|502)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|la|gigās|t=giant]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word is a borrowing of [[grc|γίγας|tr=gígas]], the name of the mythical sons of Earth who fought the gods; it was already an adjective in Greek and a common noun in Latin.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The origin of the Greek word is unclear: DELI suggests a pre-Greek substrate word, and DEI calls it an Aegean relic.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|1806)

+

+ The popular outcome of the Latin word is French: [[la-vul|*gagas|alt=*gagantem]], with the first syllable assimilated to the second, gave [[fro|jaiant]], modern [[fr|géant]], from which [[en|giant]] comes.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|1806) The old forms [[roa-oit|giogante]] (Tuscan) and [[roa-oit|zagante]] (Genoese), and [[nap|gialande]] and [[scn|giufanti]], are borrowings from Old French.^(DEI|1806)^(REW 1935) Körting already noted that the word was popular only in Gaul.^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'', a Roman text of 1252–1258, for a legendary being of great height and strength who lived in ancient times.^(TLIO) DELI's first record is the plural ''gigante'' in Jacomo de' Tolomei, in the 13th century, for the sons of Earth who fought Jupiter.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used the word for the giants of classical myth, of the Bible and of the Arthurian romances, and Dante uses the plural ''giganti'' in 1300–1313.^(TLIO)^(DELI 1999) Before 1311 Giordano da Pisa used it figuratively for a person who excels in strength or virtue, and Francesco da Buti, before 1406, notes that common people call very tall men ''giganti''.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ As an adjective, “of great size”, it is recorded before 1348 in Giovanni Villani, and the use was taken up again in the 19th century.^(DELI 1999) Its spread in the 20th century for products of large size (''formato gigante'') recalls the American use of [[m|en|giant]], according to Klajn.^(DELI 1999) Modern Italian also uses it in sport for the giant slalom and in astronomy for giant stars.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1252–1258 – The ''Storie de Troia e de Roma'' use ''gigante''.^(TLIO)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the plural ''giganti''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses it of a person who excels.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it as an adjective, “huge”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1406 – Francesco da Buti uses it of very tall people.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1874 – ''Gigantismo'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1963 – The adjective is used of large-size commercial products.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|giant]], a being of huge size and strength in myth, the Bible and fairy tales; in Greek myth, one of the sons of Earth who fought the gods.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A very tall, big person: ''Suo fratello è un gigante, supera i due metri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A person who excels in a field, and also a very powerful nation or company: ''un gigante della fisica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(sports)'' Short for ''slalom gigante'', the [[m|en|giant slalom]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very large, bigger than normal, always after the noun: ''una zucca gigante''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' ''Stella gigante'', a giant star, ''gigante rossa'', a red giant.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gigantesco]]

+ * [[gigantessa]]

+ * [[giganteggiare]]

+ * [[gigantismo]]

+ * [[gigantografia]]

+ * [[gigantomachia]]

+ * [[ingigantire]]

+ * [[giganteo]]

+ * [[supergigante]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|gigās]]

+ * [[fr|géant]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Fare passi da gigante'' means “to make great strides, progress very quickly”.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) The feminine is ''gigantessa'', often jocular.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}