Bigfoot

See also: bigfoot

English

A costume of Bigfoot

Alternative forms

• Big Foot, bigfoot

Etymology

August/September 1958, originally Big Foot, big +‎ foot, relating to the large size of its supposed footprints relative to human footprints.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪɡˌfʊt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Big‧foot

Proper noun

Bigfoot

1. (cryptozoology, folklore) A very large, hairy, humanoid creature, similar to the yeti, said to live in the wilderness areas of the United States and Canada, especially the Pacific Northwest.
   • [1958 October 6, Andrew Genzoli, “Huge Foot Prints Hold Mystery Of Friendly Bluff Creek Giant”, in Humboldt Times‎^[1], →OCLC, archived from the original on June 11, 2010:

     This imprint was made either Wednesday night or early Thursday morning by "Big Foot".]

   • 1961 July 1, “Big deal”, in Boot and Shoe Recorder‎^[2], volume 160, number 3, Philadelphia, Pa.: Chilton Company, →OCLC, The Last Word, page 68, column 3:

     Stories of “Bigfoot,” an eight-foot denizen of the forest in Northern California’s wild Trinity County, are among the main topics of conversation in that area. He is supposedly an Indian or half-breed who has reverted to an animal existence. A footprint believed to be his was measured by a Redding shoe store owner and found to be size 24!

   • 1994, Sun Bear, Wabun Wind, Shawnodese, “A Dream Language of the Earth”, in Dreaming with the Wheel: How to Interpret and Work with your Dreams Using the Medicine Wheel, Fireside, →ISBN, page 145:

     Some Earth people believe Bigfoot lives in underground caves; others believe Bigfoot is connected with extraterrestrials; still others believe Bigfoot is a spirit that can sometimes manifest in form.

   • 2016, Bryan Sykes, “The Guru”, in Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Last Neanderthal: A Geneticist’s Search for Modern Apemen, Disinformation Books, →ISBN, part II, page 173:

     Then there are the sharp divisions of opinion about whether Bigfoot is a Gigantopithecus or a Neanderthal or some other hominid.

   • 2019, Christopher D. Bader, Joseph O. Baker, “Bigfoot: Undiscovered Primate or Interdimensional Spirit?”, in Deviance Management: Insiders, Outsiders, Hiders, and Drifters, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 77:

     Many enthusiasts believe that Bigfoot is not some sort of undiscovered hominid, but rather a mystical being that moves between dimensions.

Synonyms

• Sasquatch
• North American Wood Ape

Derived terms

• Bigfootologist
• Bigfootology

Translations

unidentified yeti-like animal (individual creature)

• Arabic: بيغ فوت (bīg fut)
• Basque: Oin Handi
• Catalan: Peus grans m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大脚野人 (dàjiǎo yěrén)

• Danish: Bigfoot c
• Dutch: Bigfoot m
• Finnish: Isojalka
• French: Bigfoot (fr)
• German: Bigfoot (de) m
• Hungarian: Nagylábú
• Italian: Bigfoot
• Japanese: ビッグフット (Biggufutto), ヒバゴン
• Korean: 빅풋 (bikput)
• Norwegian: Bigfoot
• Polish: Wielka Stopa f
• Portuguese: Pé-Grande m
• Spanish: Pie Grande m
• Swedish: Storfot c, Bigfoot c
• Thai: บิ๊กฟุต (bíkfút)
• Turkish: Kocaayak (calque)
• Welsh: Troedfawr m

Noun

Bigfoot (plural Bigfoot or Bigfeet or Bigfoots)

1. (cryptozoology, folklore) An individual creature of this type.
   • 2007, Matthew Scott Hansen, The Shadowkiller: A Novel, page 434:

     My answer to those who believe that all Bigfoot are just huge cuddly Ewoks is to remind them that there is plenty of evidence that every member of the great apes family […] has exhibited hostility […] .

   • 2010 October 15, “Bigfoot sighted on Taibai Mountain”, in 叶欣, editor, People's Daily‎^[3], archived from the original on 23 May 2015:

     The striking news on the appearance of a Bigfoot on Taibai Mountain in Xi'an, Shaanxi Provnice^{[sic – meaning Province]} recently spread among local residents of Mei County located near the foot of Taibai Mountain. Is Taibai Mountain really home to a Bigfoot?
     Who encountered the Bigfoot on Taibai Mountain?
     Reporters interviewed many residents of Mei County, and their accounts varied.

Translations

unidentified yeti-like animal (species)

• Esperanto: saskvaĉo
• Irish: gruagach m
• Macedonian: би́гфут m (bígfut)
• Portuguese: pé-grande m
• Russian: бигфу́т (ru) m (bigfút)
• Turkish: yeti (tr), karakoncolos (tr), germakoçi (literally 'mountainman' in laz language)

See also

• abominable snowman
• menk
• skunk ape
• swamp ape
• yeti
• yowie

 

Verb

Bigfoot (third-person singular simple present Bigfoots, present participle Bigfooting, simple past and past participle Bigfooted)

1. Alternative spelling of bigfoot

Further reading

• “Bigfoot”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Bigfoot, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Bigfoot”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Bigfoot” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.