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Glite Dictionary
Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan

4 7.2
A famous giant who cuts trees in stories from North America
  • proper noun
  • /pɔl ˈbʌnjən/
  • Literature
: Paul Bunyan
  • The story of Paul Bunyan is popular among children in the Midwest.
  • Paul Bunyan Trophy

Examples

  • In American folklore, Paul Bunyan is known as a giant lumberjack who created the Great Lakes.

  • At the festival, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan stood at the entrance.

  • Some say that Paul Bunyan and Babe created the Great Lakes with their footprints.

  • The story of Paul Bunyan is famous across North America.

  • Did you hear about Paul Bunyan and his blue ox?

  • The legend of Paul Bunyan tells of his incredible strength and his trusty blue ox, Babe.

  • Children enjoy listening to stories about Paul Bunyan, the famous giant lumberjack from North America.

Synonyms

Bunyan
vsPaul Bunyan
  • Literature
5 9.9

A giant lumberjack in North American stories who does impossible feats

is the full formal name for the same legendary giant lumberjack

Surface Forms

Paul Bunyan main

Morphology

Paul + Bunyan

This is a proper name referring to a specific legendary giant lumberjack; the components are a personal name and a surname, so knowing the words 'Paul' and 'Bunyan' does not let a B1 learner derive the folkloric meaning. The referent is culturally specific and requires prior cultural or lexical knowledge rather than compositional inference.

Etymology

Paul Bunyan comes from old logging camp stories in the United States and Canada. One popular story says these tales showed a giant lumberjack and his giant ox Babe, who did impossible things like making lakes with their footprints, so today Paul Bunyan means 'a famous giant lumberjack'.