gigantism
Americannoun
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Pathology. abnormally great development in size or stature of the whole body or of parts of the body, most often due to dysfunction of the pituitary gland.
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Biology. the nonpathological development of an animal or plant to an unusually large size.
noun
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Also called: giantism. excessive growth of the entire body, caused by over-production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland during childhood or adolescence Compare acromegaly
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the state or quality of being gigantic
Etymology
Origin of gigantism
First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin gigant-, stem of gigās; see origin at giant, -ism
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These animals are a famous example of "polar gigantism," a phenomenon where certain organisms in polar regions, such as the Arctic and Antarctic, grow to much larger sizes than their relatives in warmer climates.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2024
The ability to continue growing throughout the year may have been a key innovation, sustained by great migrations, that facilitated the emergence of gigantism in early sauropods.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 15, 2023
Knowing that people with gigantism often died young, Hunter offered to buy his corpse.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 24, 2023
To examine how changes to whale DNA over time may have caused their gigantism, Mariana Nery, a biologist at the State University of Campinas in Brazil and colleagues used a targeted approach.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
I walk to Mom and Dad’s bedroom with the evidence of my gigantism still on my back.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
