Gargantuan: meaning, definitions and examples

🦕
Add to dictionary

gargantuan

 

[ ɡɑːrˈɡæn.tʃu.ən ]

Adjective
Context #1 | Adjective

size or scale

The term 'gargantuan' refers to something of immense size or volume. It is often used to emphasize the enormousness of an object, entity, or concept. Gargantuan can describe anything from a physical object to abstract notions, such as challenges or appetites. The word evokes a sense of grandeur and often suggests that the subject in question is overwhelmingly large, often beyond normal proportions.

Synonyms

colossal, enormous, gigantic, huge, massive

Examples of usage

  • The gargantuan mountain towered over the valley.
  • She had a gargantuan appetite for adventure.
  • The company faced a gargantuan challenge in meeting the new regulations.

Translations

Translations of the word "gargantuan" in other languages:

🇵🇹 gigantesco

🇮🇳 विशाल

🇩🇪 gigantisch

🇮🇩 raksasa

🇺🇦 грандіозний

🇵🇱 gigantyczny

🇯🇵 巨大な

🇫🇷 gigantesque

🇪🇸 gigantesco

🇹🇷 devasa

🇰🇷 거대한

🇸🇦 عملاق

🇨🇿 obrovský

🇸🇰 obrovský

🇨🇳 巨大的

🇸🇮 gigantski

🇮🇸 risastór

🇰🇿 алып

🇬🇪 გიგანტური

🇦🇿 nəhəng

🇲🇽 gigantesco

Word origin

The word 'gargantuan' is derived from the name of a giant character in the 16th-century novel 'Gargantua and Pantagruel' by French writer François Rabelais. The protagonist, Gargantua, was depicted as a giant with a voracious appetite and immense size. The novel, which blends comedy and satire, introduces themes of humanism and the absurdity of societal norms. The name itself is thought to be related to the Latin word 'gargantua,' which could be linked to 'gurgulio,' meaning 'gullet' or 'throat,' highlighting the character's insatiable hunger. Over time, 'gargantuan' entered the English language, maintaining its connotation of something extraordinarily large, transcending its initial literary context to describe a range of things from physical objects to ideas.