Gigantomachy
/ˌdʒaɪ.ɡænˈtɒm.ə.ki/noun
A battle or conflict of gigantic scale; originally, the mythic war between the Giants and the gods.
Did you know?In Greek myth, the Gigantomachy was the divine war that helped establish cosmic order, so the word carries the ancient idea of chaos being violently defeated by the heavens.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Γιγαντομαχία (Gigantomakhía)
“Battle of the Giants against the gods”
Classical Greek
Greek
γίγας (gígas) + μάχη (máchē)
“giant + battle, fight”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰem- / *ǵiǵ- (uncertain)
“Traditional root proposals for 'earthborn' giant imagery are debated; the exact origin of Greek γίγας is not securely settled”
Late Latin
Latin
gigantomachia
“the war of the Giants”
Middle English
English
gigantomachie
“a battle of giants; a huge conflict”
Modern English
English
gigantomachy
“a colossal struggle or the mythic war between Giants and gods”