a person of extraordinary stature. The word is derived from gigas, the Latinized form of the Greek γίγας, which is probably made up of γενέσθαι and γῆ = γηγενής, thus signifying "the earth-born," in allusion to classical fable.

In the Old Testament the appellation of giant is bestowed upon various races of men; but it is generally supposed to have reference to violence and strength rather than to actual stature. It nevertheless seems evident that the Anakim and some other tribes denominated giants were also remarkable for their comparative stature, in the same way probably that particular races at the present day are distinguished from others by their superior strength and proportions. Of the existence of individual giants of great size, the particulars related of Og and Goliath leave no room for doubt; but such instances may properly be regarded as extraordinary deviations from the standard proportions, of which there have occurred examples more or less remarkable in all ages, even down to our own times. It is a current opinion in ancient authors generally that the primitive races of men greatly surpassed others in stature; and at an early period, under favourable circumstances, individuals and even tribes may have attained an unusual stature. It would seem that the possibility of a race of giants, comparatively speaking, cannot well be denied, since there is a known tendency in the human frame to perpetuate peculiarities which have been once evolved. The inhabitants of Potsdam, for example, who are descended to a great extent from the famous regiment of tall grenadiers which Frederick of Prussia took so much pains to bring together, are still remarkable, it appears, for exceeding the average height. But apart from such considerations, many things concur to show that the average size of the human race never differed materially from what it is at present. We have evidence of this in the remains of human beings found in tombs; and the mummies of Egypt attest that the people of that country two or three thousand years ago were not superior in size to its present inhabitants. To the same effect may be adduced the size of ancient armour, architectural dimensions, and the measures of length derived from the human form which have been transmitted to us from antiquity. Such ancient writers as are free from the influence of fable are found to give a concurrent testimony.

That great diversity as to height and size prevails in the human family is well known. The inhabitants of northern latitudes are below the ordinary standard, many of them scarcely exceeding four feet; while in temperate climates the height of the human race ranges from four feet and a half to six feet; and instances are not wanting of individuals who have measured eight or even nine feet. (See Prichard's History of Mankind, and Lawrence's Lectures on Man.) Some writers, among whom is Maclaurin, have attempted to demonstrate mathematically the impossibility of the existence of giants exceeding certain dimensions, dependent on the limits of the strength of materials; but it is evident that arguments of this kind are not necessarily conclusive, because a great increase of stature might be attended with a proportional increase of strength in the constituent parts of the body. But again, the difference that does exist in this respect in the bones and other parts of animals, though considerable, is not found to be so great as to favour the supposition of the possibility of excessive deviation from the ordinary standard. Strabo makes mention of the skeleton of a giant sixty cubits in height, and Pliny tells us of another of forty-six cubits. The progress of comparative anatomy has done much to dispel the errors that have been propagated on the subject of giants; and there is now little danger of the bones of fossil elephants, whales, and other large animals being mistaken, as they so frequently have been, for those of human beings. It is a curious fact that Buffon, in his great work, has figured and described the bones of an elephant as human remains. In not a few instances have the dimensions of supposed giants been calculated from a single bone or a few teeth; and on such data the imagination would find little difficulty in rearing a superstructure sufficiently astounding. Kircher (de Mundo Subterraneo, viii. 4) exposes an instance of this kind with regard to the body of the giant so minutely described by Boccaccio as found in the fourteenth century in a cave near Trapani in Sicily. It was reported to be 200 cubits in length, and a single tooth was said to weigh 100 ounces; but when Kircher visited the place he was shown no other remains than the teeth, which probably were those of a mastodon. This author has given a comparative scale of five reputed giants, in which Goliath (whose height has been variously estimated from about 8 feet to 11) scarcely overtops the ankle of the giant of Trapani.