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.

"Giants 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.

-- Webster's unabridged 1913