colossusn.

Brit.

/kəˈlɒsəs/, U.S.

/kəˈlɑsəs/

Inflections: Plural colossi, colossuses.

Forms:

α. Old English–1500s colosus, 1500s– colossus, 1600s colossie (plural).

β. 1500s collossy, 1500s colossie.

γ. 1700s– colossos (rare).

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin colossus.

Etymology: < classical Latin colossus enormous statue of the sun-god at Rhodes, any large statue, especially one of a Roman emperor, made to rival the original Colossus < ancient Greek κολοσσός (κολοττός ) statue in human form, figure of wood or clay used in religious ritual, gigantic statue, applied by Herodotus to those of Egypt, in Hellenistic Greek also denoting other colossal statues, especially that at Rhodes; a Mediterranean loanword. Compare Middle French, French colosse (see coloss n.), Spanish colosso (1499), Portuguese colosso (1548), Italian colosso (see colosso n.), also Dutch kolos (1597 as collos), German Koloss (16th cent.).In the 16th cent., the Italian and French words were also separately borrowed into English (see coloss n., colosso n.). The plural form colossi reflects the classical Latin plural. The β. forms are perhaps due to confusion with the plural form colossi , although compare also the (uncommon) β. forms at Colisee n.

1. A statue, esp. of a person or god, that is much bigger than life size; spec. (now usually with capital initial) the huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios at Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (more fully the Colossus of Rhodes).The Colossus of Rhodes was reputed to have stood astride the harbour entrance, and although this has been proved to be impossible, the exact location of the statue is not known. It was built c292–280 b.c., stood over 30 metres (107 feet) tall, and was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 b.c.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > statuary > [noun] > statue > very large statue

colossuseOE

coloss1549

colosso1596

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. vii. 98 Wearð swa micel eorþbeofung þæt on Caria & on Roþum þæm iglondum wurdon micle hryras, ond Colosus gehreas.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxxix. 802 [In þis citee] was oneliche a colosus of bras seuenty cubites hiȝe. In þis same ile were an hundred lesse colosus.

1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde Pref. sig. aj^v Horryble great Images cauled Colossi.

1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. i. iv. f. 4^v/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The ymage..appeared rather an huge collossy [1587 colossie] then the true representation of the carcasse of a man.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 137 He doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus .

1631 T. Dekker Match mee in London iv. v. 9 On Kings shoulders stand The heads of the Colossie of the Goddes (Aboue the reach of Traitors).

1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 39 There were above 88 Colossus's in Rome of Marble and Metal.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. li. 208 The colossus of Rhodes was overthrown by an earthquake.

1849 W. Smith Dict. Greek & Rom. Biogr. & Mythol. III. 250/1 The colossus..was an acrolith, the body being of wood gilt, and the face, hands, and feet, of Pentelic marble.

1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile x. 282 The syenite Colossus of the Ramesseum..was the largest detached statue in the world.

1955 L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman (1959) 56 Jeremy stood with straddled legs, like the Colossus.

1991 R. Silverberg Thebes of Hundred Gates 14 The obelisks and colossi were the doing of Rameses II.

2009 M. Woods & M. B. Woods Seven Wonders Anc. World ii. 24/2 Both the Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty had bodies about the same height.

a. An extremely large person. Also: a person of great importance, prominence, or influence (in a particular specified field or manner).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important

persona1425

personagec1460

colossus1605

satrapon1650

bigwig1772

big man1789

butt-cut1806

tallboy1820

buzz-wig1854

great or high shot1861

celestial1874

pot1880

big stuff1883

importance1886

big wheel1893

mandarin1907

the (also a) big noise1909

hotty1910

big boy1918

biggie1926

hotshot1933

wheel1933

eminence1935

top hat1936

big or great white chief1937

Mr Big1940

big kahuna1966

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who has leading position or is most important

firstc1275

coba1420

principalsa1425

cock1542

chief1569

colossus1605

primore1625

cape1650

sachem1684

leading light1707

high priest1737

king bee1792

gentleman, man of lead1793

queen bee1823

primo basso1826

spokesman1828

protagonist1837

kingpin1861

key man1895

headliner1896

big boy1921

numero uno1944

godfather1963

the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [noun] > and broadness > person

giant1559

Hercules1567

Gogmagogc1580

cob1582

Gargantuist1593

hulk1600

rhinoceros1602

colossus1605

pompiona1616

lump1630

strapper1675

man-mountain1726

Brobdingnagian1728

grenadier1805

butt-cut1806

gorilla1884

King Kong1933

hunk1941

1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. C4^v Sei. Why then give way. Dru. Give way, Colossus ?

1610 Histrio-mastix iv. i. sig. E 4 These huge Colossi that rowle vp and downe, And fill vp all the seate of man with froth Of outward semblance.

1612 J. Webster White Divel sig. I 2 So some men i'th Court seeme Colossusses in a chamber, who if they came into the feild would appeare pittifull Pigmies.

1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie 212 To behold these great Colossuses overthrown in an instant.

1768 Adventures Oxymel Classic II. xxxiv. 117 They complimented themselves on their amazing knowledge, and pronounced each other to be the colossus of literature.

1793 J. Gifford Narr. Trans. relating to Unfortunate King Lewis XVI 49 Without troubling ourselves with enumerating his crimes, let us break this Colossus of despotism to pieces.

1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 186 Richter has been called an intellectual Colossus.

1896 A. Conan Doyle Uncle Bernac iv. 36 He was a colossus; bulky rather than tall, but misshapen from his excess of muscle.

1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four 297 He looked up again at the portrait of Big Brother. The colossus that bestrode the world!

1995 Time 27 Nov. 100/3 He's a cantankerous colossus—a self-made cotton mogul whose vast fortune has drawn around him a circle of toadies and fools.

b. Anything impressively large in size, extent, or scope; a vast amount of something. Also: something of great power, influence, or importance.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > hugeness > that which is

Typhon?1592

coloss1597

Titan1611

colossus1646

Patagonian1767

mammoth1824

enormity1825

mastodon1850

prodigiosity1895

tyrannosaurus1957

1646 J. Vicars Magnalia Dei Anglicana sig. **1 (heading) A Colossus of Eternall bounden Gratitude: or, a Panegyricall Pyramides of perpetuall Praise.

a1734 R. North Examen (1740) i. i. §8 18 This he lays down for a Foundation, whereon to superstruct a wonderful Colossus of Reproach.

1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature II. 166 A huge colossus..of an inferior kind of porphyry.

1831 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. Apr. 509 The Colossus of the North [sc. Russia] put its legions in movement.

1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. v. 250 Intellect and knowledge were the weapons with which the blind colossus [sc. Roman Catholicism] was to be attacked.

1906 Westm. Gaz. 18 Dec. 2/2 Big as are the novels of the Chinese, the real colossi of their literature are their dictionaries.

1955 Times 23 Aug. 10/2 London's great sprawl will inevitably engulf us sooner or later, no matter how many ‘green belts’ are interposed in the meantime between the colossus and ourselves.

2002 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Dec. 120/2 ‘L.O.T.R.’ [sc. Lord of the Rings] has proved a merchandising colossus: action figures, video games, even gold rings.

Compounds

attributive with the sense ‘characteristic of a colossus; colossal’, esp. in Colossus head.

ΚΠ

1609 S. Rowlands Famous Hist. Guy Earle of Warwick sig. M2 Standing with huge Colossus spatious stride.

1675 T. Turner Case Bankers & Creditors (ed. 3) 42 All these grand and Colossus objections.

1705 W. Elstob in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 107 Grac't on it's Top with a Colossus Head.

1881 V. Greville Zoe II. ii. xii. 205 The plan of a party had developed into a..difficulty, obstructions flinging themselves upwards and rearing colossus heads at every turn.

1974 G. Leite Circle 127 Live despite oneself under the shelter of adolescence with colossus-feet and forehead of clay.

1998 Chicago Rev. 44 No. 2. 131 There He was!—Him with all the working of the world in His Colossus head.

Derivatives

ˈcolossus-wise adv. rare in the manner of the Colossus of Rhodes; spec. (with reference to the statue's reputed position) astride.

ΚΠ

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. v. 9 Hath Doreus prisoner. And stands Colossus wise wauing his beame.

1897 F. T. Clark Mistress of Ranch ii. 14 He solemnly spit on his hands, rubbed them together, then, spreading his legs Colossus-wise, seized the trunk by the middle.

1961 H. E. Bates in Best (1971) 388 A giant water-tank, like a Martian ghoul on stilts, strode colossus-wise across the sky.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	colossus
释义	colossusn. Brit. /kəˈlɒsəs/, U.S. /kəˈlɑsəs/ Inflections: Plural colossi, colossuses. Forms: α. Old English–1500s colosus, 1500s– colossus, 1600s colossie (plural). β. 1500s collossy, 1500s colossie. γ. 1700s– colossos (rare). Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin colossus. Etymology: < classical Latin colossus enormous statue of the sun-god at Rhodes, any large statue, especially one of a Roman emperor, made to rival the original Colossus < ancient Greek κολοσσός (κολοττός ) statue in human form, figure of wood or clay used in religious ritual, gigantic statue, applied by Herodotus to those of Egypt, in Hellenistic Greek also denoting other colossal statues, especially that at Rhodes; a Mediterranean loanword. Compare Middle French, French colosse (see coloss n.), Spanish colosso (1499), Portuguese colosso (1548), Italian colosso (see colosso n.), also Dutch kolos (1597 as collos), German Koloss (16th cent.).In the 16th cent., the Italian and French words were also separately borrowed into English (see coloss n., colosso n.). The plural form colossi reflects the classical Latin plural. The β. forms are perhaps due to confusion with the plural form colossi , although compare also the (uncommon) β. forms at Colisee n. 1. A statue, esp. of a person or god, that is much bigger than life size; spec. (now usually with capital initial) the huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios at Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (more fully the Colossus of Rhodes).The Colossus of Rhodes was reputed to have stood astride the harbour entrance, and although this has been proved to be impossible, the exact location of the statue is not known. It was built c292–280 b.c., stood over 30 metres (107 feet) tall, and was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 b.c. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > statuary > [noun] > statue > very large statue colossuseOE coloss1549 colosso1596 eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. vii. 98 Wearð swa micel eorþbeofung þæt on Caria & on Roþum þæm iglondum wurdon micle hryras, ond Colosus gehreas. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxxix. 802 [In þis citee] was oneliche a colosus of bras seuenty cubites hiȝe. In þis same ile were an hundred lesse colosus. 1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde Pref. sig. aj^v Horryble great Images cauled Colossi. 1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. i. iv. f. 4^v/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I The ymage..appeared rather an huge collossy [1587 colossie] then the true representation of the carcasse of a man. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 137 He doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus . View more context for this quotation 1631 T. Dekker Match mee in London iv. v. 9 On Kings shoulders stand The heads of the Colossie of the Goddes (Aboue the reach of Traitors). 1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 39 There were above 88 Colossus's in Rome of Marble and Metal. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. li. 208 The colossus of Rhodes was overthrown by an earthquake. 1849 W. Smith Dict. Greek & Rom. Biogr. & Mythol. III. 250/1 The colossus..was an acrolith, the body being of wood gilt, and the face, hands, and feet, of Pentelic marble. 1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile x. 282 The syenite Colossus of the Ramesseum..was the largest detached statue in the world. 1955 L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman (1959) 56 Jeremy stood with straddled legs, like the Colossus. 1991 R. Silverberg Thebes of Hundred Gates 14 The obelisks and colossi were the doing of Rameses II. 2009 M. Woods & M. B. Woods Seven Wonders Anc. World ii. 24/2 Both the Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty had bodies about the same height. 2. a. An extremely large person. Also: a person of great importance, prominence, or influence (in a particular specified field or manner). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important persona1425 personagec1460 colossus1605 satrapon1650 bigwig1772 big man1789 butt-cut1806 tallboy1820 buzz-wig1854 great or high shot1861 celestial1874 pot1880 big stuff1883 importance1886 big wheel1893 mandarin1907 the (also a) big noise1909 hotty1910 big boy1918 biggie1926 hotshot1933 wheel1933 eminence1935 top hat1936 big or great white chief1937 Mr Big1940 big kahuna1966 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who has leading position or is most important firstc1275 coba1420 principalsa1425 cock1542 chief1569 colossus1605 primore1625 cape1650 sachem1684 leading light1707 high priest1737 king bee1792 gentleman, man of lead1793 queen bee1823 primo basso1826 spokesman1828 protagonist1837 kingpin1861 key man1895 headliner1896 big boy1921 numero uno1944 godfather1963 the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [noun] > and broadness > person giant1559 Hercules1567 Gogmagogc1580 cob1582 Gargantuist1593 hulk1600 rhinoceros1602 colossus1605 pompiona1616 lump1630 strapper1675 man-mountain1726 Brobdingnagian1728 grenadier1805 butt-cut1806 gorilla1884 King Kong1933 hunk1941 1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. C4^v Sei. Why then give way. Dru. Give way, Colossus ? View more context for this quotation 1610 Histrio-mastix iv. i. sig. E 4 These huge Colossi that rowle vp and downe, And fill vp all the seate of man with froth Of outward semblance. 1612 J. Webster White Divel sig. I 2 So some men i'th Court seeme Colossusses in a chamber, who if they came into the feild would appeare pittifull Pigmies. 1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie 212 To behold these great Colossuses overthrown in an instant. 1768 Adventures Oxymel Classic II. xxxiv. 117 They complimented themselves on their amazing knowledge, and pronounced each other to be the colossus of literature. 1793 J. Gifford Narr. Trans. relating to Unfortunate King Lewis XVI 49 Without troubling ourselves with enumerating his crimes, let us break this Colossus of despotism to pieces. 1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 186 Richter has been called an intellectual Colossus. 1896 A. Conan Doyle Uncle Bernac iv. 36 He was a colossus; bulky rather than tall, but misshapen from his excess of muscle. 1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four 297 He looked up again at the portrait of Big Brother. The colossus that bestrode the world! 1995 Time 27 Nov. 100/3 He's a cantankerous colossus—a self-made cotton mogul whose vast fortune has drawn around him a circle of toadies and fools. b. Anything impressively large in size, extent, or scope; a vast amount of something. Also: something of great power, influence, or importance. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > hugeness > that which is Typhon?1592 coloss1597 Titan1611 colossus1646 Patagonian1767 mammoth1824 enormity1825 mastodon1850 prodigiosity1895 tyrannosaurus1957 1646 J. Vicars Magnalia Dei Anglicana sig. *1 (heading) A Colossus of Eternall bounden Gratitude: or, a Panegyricall Pyramides of perpetuall Praise. a1734 R. North Examen* (1740) i. i. §8 18 This he lays down for a Foundation, whereon to superstruct a wonderful Colossus of Reproach. 1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature II. 166 A huge colossus..of an inferior kind of porphyry. 1831 T. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. Apr. 509 The Colossus of the North [sc. Russia] put its legions in movement. 1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. v. 250 Intellect and knowledge were the weapons with which the blind colossus [sc. Roman Catholicism] was to be attacked. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 18 Dec. 2/2 Big as are the novels of the Chinese, the real colossi of their literature are their dictionaries. 1955 Times 23 Aug. 10/2 London's great sprawl will inevitably engulf us sooner or later, no matter how many ‘green belts’ are interposed in the meantime between the colossus and ourselves. 2002 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Dec. 120/2 ‘L.O.T.R.’ [sc. Lord of the Rings] has proved a merchandising colossus: action figures, video games, even gold rings. Compounds attributive with the sense ‘characteristic of a colossus; colossal’, esp. in Colossus head. ΚΠ 1609 S. Rowlands Famous Hist. Guy Earle of Warwick sig. M2 Standing with huge Colossus spatious stride. 1675 T. Turner Case Bankers & Creditors (ed. 3) 42 All these grand and Colossus objections. 1705 W. Elstob in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 107 Grac't on it's Top with a Colossus Head. 1881 V. Greville Zoe II. ii. xii. 205 The plan of a party had developed into a..difficulty, obstructions flinging themselves upwards and rearing colossus heads at every turn. 1974 G. Leite Circle 127 Live despite oneself under the shelter of adolescence with colossus-feet and forehead of clay. 1998 Chicago Rev. 44 No. 2. 131 There He was!—Him with all the working of the world in His Colossus head. Derivatives ˈcolossus-wise adv. rare in the manner of the Colossus of Rhodes; spec. (with reference to the statue's reputed position) astride. ΚΠ 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. v. 9 Hath Doreus prisoner. And stands Colossus wise wauing his beame. View more context for this quotation 1897 F. T. Clark Mistress of Ranch ii. 14 He solemnly spit on his hands, rubbed them together, then, spreading his legs Colossus-wise, seized the trunk by the middle. 1961 H. E. Bates in Best (1971) 388 A giant water-tank, like a Martian ghoul on stilts, strode colossus-wise across the sky. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.eOE
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