"music hall," c. 1710, Modern Latin variant of Latin colosseum, the name of the amphitheater of Vespasian at Rome (see Colosseum).
Entries linking to coliseum
Colosseum n.
1560s, also formerly Coliseum, Medieval Latin name for the classical Amphitheatrum Flavium (begun c. 70 C.E.), noun use of neuter of adjective colosseus "gigantic;" perhaps a reference to the colossal statue of Nero that long stood nearby (see colossus).