Brobdingnagian

WOTD – 2 March 2006    

English

Etymology

From Brobdingnag +‎ -ian.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /bɹɒbdɪŋˈnaɡɪən/

Adjective

Brobdingnagian (comparative more Brobdingnagian, superlative most Brobdingnagian)

1. Of or pertaining to Brobdingnag.
2. (figuratively) Enormous, huge, far larger than is customary for such a thing.
   • 1907, Booth Tarkington, "Glamour" in His Own People,

     The two men followed Madame de Vaurigard into a square hall, hung with tapestries and lit by two candles of a Brobdingnagian species Mellin had heretofore seen only in cathedrals.

   • 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic 2011, p. 52:

     Again I stress the matter of sheer scale: the teachers were enormous compared to us and this lent a Brobdingnagian aspect to the scene.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:gigantic

Antonyms

• lilliputian

Noun

Brobdingnagian (plural Brobdingnagians)

1. A creature from Brobdingnag.
2. (figuratively) A giant.