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colossus

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colossus

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Colossus  \Co*los"sus\,  n.;  pl  L.  {Colossi},  E.  {Colossuses}. 
  [L.,  fr  Gr  ?.] 
  1.  A  statue  of  gigantic  size.  The  name  was  especially  applied 
  to  certain  famous  statues  in  antiquity,  as  the  Colossus  of 
  Nero  in  Rome,  the  Colossus  of  Apollo  at  Rhodes. 
 
  He  doth  bestride  the  narrow  world  Like  a  colossus. 
  --Shak. 
 
  Note:  There  is  no  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  legs 
  of  the  Colossus  at  Rhodes  extended  over  the  mouth  of 
  the  harbor.  --Dr.  Wm  Smith. 
 
  2.  Any  man  or  beast  of  gigantic  size. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  colossus 
  n  1:  someone  who  is  abnormally  large  [syn:  {giant},  {goliath},  {behemoth}, 
  {monster}] 
  2:  a  person  of  exceptional  importance  and  reputation  [syn:  {behemoth}, 
  {giant},  {heavyweight},  {titan}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  Colossus 
 
  (A  huge  and  ancient  statue  on  the  Greek  island  of  Rhodes). 
 
  1.    The  Colossus  and  Colussus  Mark  II  computers  used 
  by  {Alan  Turing}  at  {Bletchley  Park},  UK  during  the  Second 
  World  War  to  crack  the  Tunny"  cipher  produced  by  the  Lorenz 
  SZ  40  and  SZ  42  machines.  Colossus  was  a  semi-fixed-program 
  {vacuum  tube}  calculator. 
 
  ["Breaking  the  enemy's  code",  Glenn  Zorpette  IEEE  Spectrum, 
  September  1987,  pp  47-51.] 
 
  2.  The  computer  in  the  film  "Colossus:  The  Forbin  Project". 
  Forbin  is  the  designer  of  an  incredibly  sophisticated  computer 
  that  will  run  all  of  America's  nuclear  defences.  Shortly 
  after  being  turned  on  it  detects  the  existence  of  Goliath, 
  the  Soviet  counterpart,  previously  unknown  to  US  Planners. 
  Both  computers  insist  that  they  be  linked,  and  after  taking 
  safeguards  to  preserve  confidential  material,  each  side  agrees 
  to  allow  it  As  soon  as  the  link  is  established  the  two 
  become  a  new  super  computer  and  threaten  the  world  with  the 
  immediate  launch  of  nuclear  weapons  if  they  are  detached. 
  Colossus  begins  to  give  its  plans  for  the  management  of  the 
  world  under  its  guidance.  Forbin  and  the  other  scientists 
  form  a  technological  resistance  to  Colossus  which  must  operate 
  underground. 
 
  {The  Internet  Movie  Database 
  (http://www.msstate.edu/M/title-exact?Colossus:%20The%20Forbin%20Project)}. 
 
  [Date?] 
 
  (1996-03-24)




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