colossal: [18] Colossal comes ultimately from Greek kolossós, a word of unknown origin which was first used by the historian Herodotus as a name for certain gigantic statues in Egypt. It became much better known, of course, when applied to the Colossus of Rhodes, a 36-metrehigh statue of Apollo that stood at the entrance to Rhodes harbour, built around 280 BC. Various adjectives meaning ‘huge’ have since been derived from it: Latin had colossēus and colossicus, and in the 17th century English tried colossean and colossic, but in the 18th century the choice fell on colossal, borrowed from French.
The amphitheatre built in Rome by Vespasian and Titus around 80–75 BC was named Colossēum after its great size.
1712 (colossic in the same sense is recorded from c. 1600), from French colossal, from colosse, from Latin colossus, from Greek kolossos (see colossus).
双语例句
1. The singer earns a colossal amount of money.
那歌手现在可赚大钱了。
来自《权威词典》
2. Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.
那座城市里的高层建筑很庞大.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. Even by modern standards, the 46, 000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.
即使按照现代的标准看, 那46, 000吨的泰坦斯尼克号也是一艘巨轮.
来自《用法词典》
4. But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2400 pounds.
但是竞赛赐要结束, 一辆卡车来到了工厂,带来一块真正巨大的饼干,它的重量是2400磅.
来自《用法词典》
5. Plagues aside, many critics see xenotransplantation as a colossal waste of resources.
