Dictionary

colosseum en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌkɒ.ləˈsiː.əm/

Etymology

From Latin colossēum, from neuter of colosseus (“gigantic”), from Ancient Greek κολοσσιαῖος (kolossiaîos), from κολοσσός (kolossós, “giant statue”). By surface analysis, colossus + -eum.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative spelling of coliseum.
   alt of coliseum
   • The temples and banking halls of Rome were turned into churches, and the deserted shells of the great monuments, the baths, the stadia and colossea, were used as quarries for buildings to come. 1971, The Canadian Banker, page 6:
   • This design was also adopted for their amphitheatres, such as the colossea of Rome and Capua, the plan of which resembles the cavea of two theatres set together so as to enclose an oval space. 1888, The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 9th edition, volume XXIII, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 224, column 1:
   • The colossea, games and temples declined. 1997, David Nicholas, The Growth of the Medieval City: From Late Antiquity to the Early Fourteenth Century, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, →ISBN, page 45:

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