A Monster Was Originally an Omen
A monster is a frightening imaginary creature. The Latin word meant a divine portent, which is a far stranger idea than a beast.
A monster is a large frightening creature, real or imagined. The Roman sense was religious rather than zoological: a *monstrum* was a sign from the gods, an unnatural event that warned of something. The word comes from *monere*, to warn, which also gives *monitor* and *admonish*.
- A frightening imaginary creature. *Monsters under the bed.*
- A cruel person. *The papers called him a monster.*
- Something huge. *A monster of a wave.*
- Monster as a modifier. *A monster hit.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | monster | A sea monster. |
| Plural | monsters | Film monsters. |
| Adjective | monstrous | A monstrous claim. |
| Adverb | monstrously | Monstrously unfair. |
| Noun | monstrosity | An architectural monstrosity. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Children invent monsters and then fear them.The classic sense.
- The bill was a monster of complexity.Meaning huge and unwieldy.
- It would be monstrous to charge them again.Monstrous means outrageous.
Famous monsters
- Minotaur — bull-headed, in the Cretan labyrinth
- Grendel — the creature in Beowulf
- Kraken — a giant sea creature of Nordic legend
- Frankenstein's creature — the scientist is Frankenstein, not the monster
- Loch Ness monster — first widely reported in 1933
From Old French *monstre*, from Latin *monstrum*, a divine omen or portent, from *monere*, to warn. The sense of a frightening creature grew from the idea of something unnatural.
Is Frankenstein the monster?
No. Victor Frankenstein is the scientist. Mary Shelley's novel calls his creation the creature, and it has no name.
Why does *monstrous* mean outrageous?
Because a monster was a violation of the natural order, so anything monstrous was against nature and therefore shocking.