colossus

[ kuh-los-uhs ]

/ kəˈlɒs əs /

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noun, plural co·los·si

[kuh-los-ahy], /kəˈlɒs aɪ/, co·los·sus·es.

(initial capital letter) the legendary bronze statue of Helios at Rhodes.Compare Seven Wonders of the World.

any statue of gigantic size.

anything colossal, gigantic, or very powerful.

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Origin of colossus

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin <Greek kolossós statue, image, presumably < a pre-Hellenic Mediterranean language

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use colossus in a sentence

Far off rise up from the plain two mighty seated statues, the Colossi, set up by Amenhetep iii.
Round the Wonderful World|G. E. Mitton
Already at Memphis it has buried innumerable statues and colossi and temples of the Sphinx.
Egypt (La Mort De Philae)|Pierre Loti
This was formerly the principal entrance, and the office of these colossi was to welcome the multitudes.
Egypt (La Mort De Philae)|Pierre Loti
But perhaps it may be said that these colossi were statues built-up of comparatively small stones.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot

The colossi had but to recede a pace or two so as to be incorporated in the substance of the pylon itself.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot

British Dictionary definitions for colossus

colossus

/ (kəˈlɒsəs) /

noun plural -si (-saɪ) or -suses

something very large, esp a statue

Word Origin for colossus

C14: from Latin, from Greek kolossos

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

colossus

Origin of colossus

Words related to colossus

How to use colossus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for colossus

Word Origin for colossus