from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Colossus \Co*los"sus\, n.; pl. L. {Colossi}, E. {Colossuses}.
[L., fr. Gr. ?.]
1. A statue of gigantic size. The name was especially applied
to certain famous statues in antiquity, as the Colossus of
Nero in Rome, the Colossus of Apollo at Rhodes.
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He doth bestride the narrow world
Like a colossus. --Shak.
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Note: There is no authority for the statement that the legs
of the Colossus at Rhodes extended over the mouth of
the harbor. --Dr. Wm. Smith.
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2. Any man or beast of gigantic size.
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