Titan
[tahyt-n]
- Classical Mythology.
- any of the sons of Uranus and Gaea, including Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus.
- Also Ti·tan·ess.any of the sisters of these, including Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Themis, and Thia.
- any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaea.
- the Titan, Helios.
- Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.
- (usually lowercase) a person or thing of enormous size, strength, power, influence, etc.: a titan of industry.
- Military. a two-stage, liquid-fueled U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile in service since the late 1950s and designed for launch from underground silos.
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- (lowercase) titanic2(def 2).
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Origin of Titan
1400–50; late Middle English: the sun, Helios < Latin Tītān < Greek Tītā́n
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
behemothmountainwhoppermonstercolossushulkbulkmammothelephantwhaleGoliathogreleviathanHerculescyclopsjumboExamples from the Web for titan
Contemporary Examples
Lakes on Titan are full of methane, and the chemical is a major component of the giant planets Jupiter, Neptune, and so forth.
Titan and GE officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Exclusive: Did This Manhattan Firm Help Shield a Russian Fund From Sanctions?Bill Conroy
November 10, 2014
But Attack on Titan deserves to be respected as more than just another beautiful, easy Netflix binge.
Seasons on Earth and Titan are both due to the tilt of their axis—the way the North Pole faces—relative to their orbit.
Like Earth, Titan has weather, with evaporation, clouds, rain, and wind.
Historical Examples
By this means he gave to man an extended, a Titan personality.
De ProfundisOscar Wilde
The overhauling of Titan batteries should be done as described on pages 328 to 374.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
Ten minutes to go, and Professor Maniel still labored like a Titan.
And then he noticed a fourth occupant of the cavern, a young lad of Titan.
Creatures of VibrationHarl Vincent
At the hands of the Titan brothers, birds, beasts, and fishes had fared handsomely.
A Book of MythsJean Lang
titan
- a person of great strength or size
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Word Origin
C17: from Titan 1
Titan1
feminine Titaness
- any of a family of primordial gods, the sons and daughters of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth)
- any of the offspring of the children of Uranus and Gaea
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Titan2
- the largest satellite of the planet Saturn, having a thick atmosphere consisting mainly of nitrogen. Diameter: 5150 km
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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
Word Origin and History for titan
n.
early 15c., from Latin Titan, from Greek Titan, member of a mythological race of giants who attempted to scale heaven by piling Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa but were overthrown by Zeus and the gods. They descended from Titan, elder brother of Kronos. Perhaps from tito "sun, day," which is probably a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor. Sense of "person or thing of enormous size" first recorded 1828. Applied to planet Saturn's largest satellite in 1868; it was discovered 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who named it Saturni Luna "moon of Saturn."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper