Titan

[tahyt-n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Titan ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

adjective

(lowercase) titanic²(def 2).

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. 2019

Related Words for titan

behemoth, mountain, whopper, monster, colossus, hulk, bulk, mammoth, elephant, whale, Goliath, ogre, leviathan, Hercules, cyclops, jumbo

Examples from the Web for titan

Contemporary Examples of titan

Lakes on Titan are full of methane, and the chemical is a major component of the giant planets Jupiter, Neptune, and so forth.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?
Matthew R. Francis
December 17, 2014
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.
This Author Kills More Darlings Than George R.R. Martin
David Levesley
September 24, 2014
Seasons on Earth and Titan are both due to the tilt of their axis—the way the North Pole faces—relative to their orbit.
A Cloud Forms Over Saturn’s Mysterious Moon
Matthew R. Francis
August 17, 2014
Like Earth, Titan has weather, with evaporation, clouds, rain, and wind.
A Cloud Forms Over Saturn’s Mysterious Moon
Matthew R. Francis
August 17, 2014

Historical Examples of titan

By this means he gave to man an extended, a Titan personality.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
The overhauling of Titan batteries should be done as described on pages 328 to 374.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
Ten minutes to go, and Professor Maniel still labored like a Titan.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930
Various
And then he noticed a fourth occupant of the cavern, a young lad of Titan.
Creatures of Vibration
Harl Vincent
At the hands of the Titan brothers, birds, beasts, and fishes had fared handsomely.
A Book of Myths
Jean Lang

British Dictionary definitions for titan

titan

noun

a person of great strength or size

Word Origin for titan

C17: from Titan 1

Titan

feminine Titaness

noun Greek myth

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

Titan

noun

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

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

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."