Titan

[ tahyt-n ]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.
   1. any of the sons of Uranus and Gaia, including Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus.
   2. Also Ti·tan·ess [] any of the sisters of these, including Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Themis, and Thia.
   3. any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaia.
2. the Titan, Helios.
3. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.
4. (usually lowercase) a person or thing of enormous size, strength, power, influence, etc.:

   a titan of industry.

5. Military. a two-stage, liquid-fueled U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile in service since the late 1950s and designed for launch from underground silos.

adjective

1. (lowercase) titanic ²( def 2 ).

Titan

¹

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. any of a family of primordial gods, the sons and daughters of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth)
2. any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaea

titan

²

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. a person of great strength or size

Titan

³

/ ˈtaɪtən /

noun

1. the largest satellite of the planet Saturn, having a thick atmosphere consisting mainly of nitrogen. Diameter: 5150 km

Word History and Origins

Origin of Titan¹

Late Middle English: “the sun, Helios,” from Latin Tītān, from Greek Tītā́n; Titan defs 1 and Titan none 2 were first recorded in 1400–50; Titan def 3 was first recorded in 1865–70;

Word History and Origins

Origin of Titan¹

C17: from Titan ¹

Example Sentences

Titan is extremely rich in organic materials, so it’s already rich in the raw materials needed for life.

From MIT Technology Review

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is another world that sets itself apart from the rest of the solar system.

From MIT Technology Review

That mission launches in 2027 and will arrive at Titan in 2034.

From MIT Technology Review

The strongest evidence suggests there are subsurface oceans on Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moons Enceladus and Titan.

From Singularity Hub 

It does rain on Titan, but not frequently enough to explain the reflections, and Titan’s dune fields are in the wrong spots.

From Science News

Lakes on Titan are full of methane, and the chemical is a major component of the giant planets Jupiter, Neptune, and so forth.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps the greatest irony remains that civil rights titan Caesar Chavez was a lifelong opponent of illegal immigration.

From The Daily Beast

Titan and GE officials did not respond to requests for comment.

From The Daily Beast

But Attack on Titan deserves to be respected as more than just another beautiful, easy Netflix binge.

From The Daily Beast

The proposed Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), for example, would place a boat on either Ligeia Mare or Kraken Mare.

From The Daily Beast

And then another titan effort, and suddenly—incredibly—there burst upon Thyrsis' sight an apparition.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a narrow rift here between the titan cliffs of darkness and he—the ship he was in—was fleeing across that rift.

From Project Gutenberg

He tells her a ghastly story of a titan soul who starved in a garret and shot himself, crushed by the mockery of the world.

From Project Gutenberg

He spoke of Dante and Angelo, who were two of his heroes; he told of great experiences among the latter's titan frescos.

From Project Gutenberg

Who was there to make that titan agony real to them, to point them to the high destinies of the Republic?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• behemoth