Word of the Day - colossus

colossus

/kəˈlɒsəs/
noun - colossi, colossuses
1 A statue that is much bigger than life size.
1.1 A person or thing of enormous size, importance, or ability.

Origin
Late Middle English via Latin from Greek kolossos (applied by Herodotus to the statues of Egyptian temples).

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The British Empire attempted to be the colonial colossus of the globe, exerting influence belying it's small island origins.