Gi"ant (?), n. [OE. giant,
geant, geaunt, OF. jaiant, geant, F.
géant, L. gigas, fr. Gr. ?, ?, from the root
of E. gender, genesis. See Gender, and cf.
Gigantic.]
1. A man of extraordinari bulk and
stature.
Giants of mighty bone and bold
emprise.
Milton.
2. A person of extraordinary strength or
powers, bodily or intellectual.
3. Any animal, plant, or thing, of
extraordinary size or power.
Giant's Causeway, a vast collection of
basaltic pillars, in the county of Antrim on the northern coast of
Ireland.
Gi"ant, a. Like a giant;
extraordinary in size, strength, or power; as, giant brothers;
a giant son.
Giant cell. (Anat.) See
Myeloplax. -- Giant clam
(Zoöl.), a bivalve shell of the genus
Tridacna, esp. T. gigas, which sometimes weighs 500
pounds. The shells are sometimes used in churches to contain holy
water. -- Giant heron (Zoöl.),
a very large African heron (Ardeomega goliath). It is the
largest heron known. -- Giant kettle, a
pothole of very large dimensions, as found in Norway in connection
with glaciers. See Pothole. -- Giant
powder. See Nitroglycerin. -- Giant
puffball (Bot.), a fungus (Lycoperdon
giganteum), edible when young, and when dried used for stanching
wounds. -- Giant salamander
(Zoöl.), a very large aquatic salamander
(Megalobatrachus maximus), found in Japan. It is the largest
of living Amphibia, becoming a yard long. -- Giant
squid (Zoöl.), one of several species of
very large squids, belonging to Architeuthis and allied
genera. Some are over forty feet long.