Behemothic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of enormous size or power, resembling something gigantic and overwhelming in scale or impact
2. Of immense proportions or overwhelming magnitude that inspires awe through its vastness and dominance
3. Characterized by enormous bulk or power that dwarfs ordinary things in scope and capacity

Etymology: "Behemothic" is a plain derivation: the noun "behemoth" with the adjective-forming suffix "-ic" added to it. The suffix came into English from Latin "-icus" through Old French "-ique" and Middle English "-ik," and it attaches to nouns to mean "having the character of" or "of the nature of" the base word, so "behemothic" describes something with the qualities of a behemoth. The base noun has a more unusual history. "Behemoth" is a Hebrew word, "behemoth," used in the Book of Job for a great creature, and English adopted it for any enormous beast or thing. Because of that biblical origin, the word carries a sense of something so vast it seems almost beyond ordinary scale, which is why the adjective built from it sounds weighty.

Synonyms: gigantic, colossal, huge

Antonyms: tiny, small