giant sequoia
giant sequoia Lexical Profile
• noun
A massive coniferous tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the cypress family, native exclusively to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, renowned for being the largest living organism on Earth by volume.
"Tourists flock to Yosemite National Park every year to marvel at the immense, ancient trunks of the giant sequoias."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often confused with the closely related coast redwood; while the coast redwood is the tallest tree species on Earth, the giant sequoia is the most massive by total trunk volume.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The word 'giant' derives from the Old French 'geant' (from Greek 'gigas'). The genus name 'Sequoia' was named by Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher in 1847, widely believed to honor Sequoyah (1770–1843), the Cherokee scholar who invented the Cherokee syllabary.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.