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colosseum

noun

Etymology

From Latin colossēum, from neuter of colosseus (“gigantic”), from Ancient Greek κολοσσιαῖος (kolossiaîos), from κολοσσός (kolossós, “giant statue”). By surface analysis, colossus + -eum.

  1. derived from colossēus

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of coliseum.

    • This design was also adopted for their amphitheatres, such as the colossea of Rome and Capua, the plan of which resembles the cavea of two theatres set together so as to enclose an oval space.
    • The temples and banking halls of Rome were turned into churches, and the deserted shells of the great monuments, the baths, the stadia and colossea, were used as quarries for buildings to come.
    • The colossea, games and temples declined.

  2. The largest stadium in the Roman empire, located near the center of Rome.

    • The Colosseum (known at the time as the Flavian Amphitheater) in Rome was the empire's greatest amphitheater. A marvel of Roman engineering, the Colosseum could hold up to 70,000 spectators.
    • The Colosseum’s elliptical shape is 617 feet long, 512 feet across, and 159 feet high.
    • Perhaps no classical Roman ruin evokes the excesses of the late Empire like the Colosseum.

The neighborhood

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA