'Titan' comes from theGreek elder gods overthrown by Zeus — now any figure of extraordinary power.
Definition
A person of enormous strength, power, or importance in a particular field.
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Greek1580swell-attested
From Latin Titan, from Greek Titān, the collective name for the elder gods who ruled the cosmos before Zeus and the Olympians. The Greek root is of disputed but plausible PIE ancestry: most scholars connect it to PIE *teh₂- (to stretch, to lengthen) via Greek titainō (to stretch, to strain), making the Titans literally the Stretchers or Strainers — those who strain toward cosmic power. An alternative derivation traces it to PIE *dʰeubʰ- (deep
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Theelementtitanium (discovered 1791), Saturn's moon Titan, and the RMS Titanic are all named after the mythological Titans. The Titanic's name, meant to suggest unsinkable power, became instead the definitive example of hubris — much like the original Titans, who overreached and were cast into Tartarus.
Modern English (1580s). By the 19th century titan (lowercase) had become a common noun meaning a person of enormous strength or achievement. Modern usage extended to chemistry (titanium, 1795, named for the Titans) and astronomy (Saturn moon Titan, 1847). The PIE root *teh₂- also underlies Sanskrit tāyate (stretches) and is cognate with Latin tendere (to stretch), giving English tend, tension, and extend. Key roots: Titan (Greek: "possibly from 'titainō' (to stretch, to strain)").