Cyclopean

[ sahy-kluh-pee-uhn, sahy-klop-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or characteristic of the Cyclops.
2. (sometimes lowercase) gigantic; vast.
3. (usually lowercase) Architecture, Building Trades. formed with or containing large, undressed stones fitted closely together without the use of mortar:

   a cyclopean wall.

Cyclopean

/ ˌsaɪkləʊˈpiːən; saɪˈkləʊpɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling the Cyclops
2. denoting, relating to, or having the kind of masonry used in preclassical Greek architecture, characterized by large dry undressed blocks of stone

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cyclopean¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin Cyclōpē(us), from Greek Kyklṓpeios (equivalent to Kýklōp(s) + -eios adjective suffix) + -an; Cyclops, -eous, -an

Example Sentences

At the extremity of the cavern, which was oblong, rose a Cyclopean archivolte, singularly exact in form.

From Project Gutenberg

The Cyclopean doors that we hung, with sliding bolts fit to be “the mast of some great admiral”!

From Project Gutenberg

Most of the Mycenaean walls, on the other hand, are of "Cyclopean" style, in large irregular blocks.

From Project Gutenberg

His speeches were Cyclopean cries, at the sight of the truth breaking, like the sun, on his mind.

From Project Gutenberg

The masonry is of different character from that cyclopean piling of boulders which was all the earlier men had known of building.

From Project Gutenberg