Etymology

From Gargantua, which was first used in the sixteenth century French novels of François Rabelais as the name of a huge giant (Gargantua and Pantagruel). Cognate with gargantuen, both translated as gargantuan in English language. This is an analogy to the incredible magnitude of Gargantua's appetite (for example as a baby he drank daily the milk produced by 17900 cows).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaʁ.ɡɑ̃.tɥɛsk/