humongous
very large, huge
TRANSLATION
humongous = enorm, gigantisch --- GOOGLE INDEX humongous: approximately 7,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Tired of tiny tablets? Lenovo introduces HUMONGOUS IdeaCentre tablet
(Alaska Dispatch article headline)
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Although it needs to be acknowledged that Oracle has spent a HUMONGOUS amount of cash in recent years to expand its product portfolio, that can be easily offset by its sheer financial muscle and rapid topline growth.
(The Motley Fool)
(Alaska Dispatch article headline)
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Although it needs to be acknowledged that Oracle has spent a HUMONGOUS amount of cash in recent years to expand its product portfolio, that can be easily offset by its sheer financial muscle and rapid topline growth.
(The Motley Fool)
Did you
know?
humongous
adjective
- extremely large, enormous
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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Humongous is a chiefly American expression that surfaced in the 1960s. While there is no official etymology for this expression, we can obtain a few clues by dissecting it:
- hu = huge
- mon = monster, monstrous
- ous = enormous
Thus the most likely explanation is that humongous is simply a blend of parts of several other words. In this case, they all have the same meaning. This has been a common practice in English over the centuries that has resulted in a wide range of new words.
Such constructions were frequently called portmanteaus, but today they are usually referred to as "blends," which should not be confused with compound words, which are formed by
fusing two whole words. Examples of common compound words are website, moonlight, earthquake, skateboard or basketball.
Blends have become humongously popular over the past decades and for some people, creating them is an art form. Well-established blends include brunch (breakfast and lunch), motel (motorway, hotel) and smog (smoke, fog).
Examples of relatively new blends include:
- alcopop (alcohol, soda pop) = a sweet fizzy alcoholic drink
- emoticon (emotion, icon) = a sideways image of a face formed by keyboard symbols, which is used in emails or chats to express a particular emotion
- infotainment (information, entertainment) = A television program with a mixture of news and entertainment features, such as interviews, commentaries, and reviews. In the automotive industry, infotainment refers to the entertainment system that includes the radio, CD/MP3 player, video player, etc.
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SYNONYMS
huge, colossal, elephantine, gargantuan, gigantic, immense, jumbo, mammoth, monstrous, prodigious, titanic
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Our company's 150 year anniversary celebration will be humongous."
adjective
- extremely large, enormous
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
Humongous is a chiefly American expression that surfaced in the 1960s. While there is no official etymology for this expression, we can obtain a few clues by dissecting it:
- hu = huge
- mon = monster, monstrous
- ous = enormous
Thus the most likely explanation is that humongous is simply a blend of parts of several other words. In this case, they all have the same meaning. This has been a common practice in English over the centuries that has resulted in a wide range of new words.
Such constructions were frequently called portmanteaus, but today they are usually referred to as "blends," which should not be confused with compound words, which are formed by
fusing two whole words. Examples of common compound words are website, moonlight, earthquake, skateboard or basketball.
Blends have become humongously popular over the past decades and for some people, creating them is an art form. Well-established blends include brunch (breakfast and lunch), motel (motorway, hotel) and smog (smoke, fog).
Examples of relatively new blends include:
- alcopop (alcohol, soda pop) = a sweet fizzy alcoholic drink
- emoticon (emotion, icon) = a sideways image of a face formed by keyboard symbols, which is used in emails or chats to express a particular emotion
- infotainment (information, entertainment) = A television program with a mixture of news and entertainment features, such as interviews, commentaries, and reviews. In the automotive industry, infotainment refers to the entertainment system that includes the radio, CD/MP3 player, video player, etc.
---
SYNONYMS
huge, colossal, elephantine, gargantuan, gigantic, immense, jumbo, mammoth, monstrous, prodigious, titanic
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Our company's 150 year anniversary celebration will be humongous."
