I did not receive the memo about "ginormous."
I have ascertained, from the usage that I have overheard, that this is combination of "gigantic" and "enormous." Over the last week or so I have heard the word used by at least a half dozen people, both men and women, young and older, in various places. Each time, the person who the speaker was speaking to did not stop and correct the speaker or question the speaker so I can only gather that this new term is being or has been accepted into our current lexicon.
I do not object to the creation of new words. I do not, even, have anything against "made up" words (or names, for that matter). Afterall, all words (and names) are made up at some point by some one.
It is just that I was not informed about nor invited to participate in the discussion around ginormous. Was enorgantic ever under consideration? Gimongous? As a social and behavioral scientist I am very interested in scaling: What is the metric for ginormous? Twice as much as gigantic and/or enormous? More than gigantic but not quite enormous?
Where did this term originate? I am somewhat out of touch these days, so perhaps I am just unaware of a movie or a television show or a song or a celebrity that has made the word popular. Maybe this is just a Minnesota thing?
Well, at any rate, have a Happy Monday. Hope your Thanksgiving is ensafable.