colossi
USkuh-LAHS-y/kəˈlɑs.aɪ/UKkuh-LOS-y/kəˈlɒs.aɪ/
- 1Plural of colossus.
Ancient sculptors carved colossi of their rulers to awe anyone entering the city.
Both professors were colossi in their field, and students traveled across the country to hear them lecture.
Note
The plural follows Latin, trading -us for -i as cactus does in cacti. It reaches from the giant statues of antiquity, including those at Rhodes and in Nero's Rome, to anything of enormous size, and figuratively to people held in towering regard: two colossi of physics. That admiring use suits respectful, slightly grand prose rather than everyday chat.
colossi is a form of colossus
colossus, noun: Any creature or object that is gigantic in size. Full entry
- Forms
- colossuscolossi pluralcolossuses plural
- Spelling
- colossus → colossi: irregular plural (no -s)
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