- titan (n.)
- early 15c., from Latin titan, from Greek titan, member of a mythological race of giants who attempted to scale heaven by piling Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa but were overthrown by Zeus and the other gods. They descended from Titan, elder brother (or grandson) of Kronos. The name is perhaps from tito "sun, day," which probably is a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor. Sense of "person or thing of enormous size or ability" first recorded 1828. Applied to planet Saturn's largest satellite in 1831; it was discovered 1655 by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who named it Saturni Luna "moon of Saturn." Related: Titaness; titanian.
