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Olympic

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek Ὀλυμπικός (Olumpikós), from Ὄλυμπος (Ólumpos, “Olympus”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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Olympic (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to the Olympic Games.
    Synonym: Olympian
    Olympic torch
    Olympic champion
    Olympic medal
    Olympic qualifiers
    1. Of a standard associated with the Olympic Games.
      Olympic swimming pool
      • 1971 10, New Hebrides. Advisory Council, Proceedings of the New Hebrides Advisory Council:
        I have heard it said that the young Chamber of Commerce have put on their future programme the project of building an Olympic swimming pool.
      • 2006, Anthony Rosen, An Unordinary Life, Roundtuit Publishing, →ISBN, page 42:
        A neighbouring training regiment built an Olympic running track in their camp because the already great runner National Serviceman 2nd Lieutenant (later the Honorable Sir) Christopher Chattaway had been posted there.
  2. (informal) Very large or powerful.
    • 2013 August 19, Graham Smith, Macbeth, Author House, →ISBN, page 91:
      Sid's stomach was practicing gagging motions for an eruption of absolutely Olympic proportions with his cheeks puffing quickly in and out to the beat.
    • 2025 March 11, Laura Newman, The Darling of Blackrock Desert: Three novellas set in the West: Three Novellas Set in the West, Delphinium Books, →ISBN:
      That bed was Olympic, and held some of Julia's best-worst memories.
  3. (rare) Of or pertaining to Olympus, a mountain of Thessaly, fabled as the seat of the gods.
    Synonym: Olympian
  4. (rare) Detached or liberated from petty concerns; godlike.
    • 1916, Biochemical Bulletin:
      According to the late Dr. Otis T. Mason, who was my informant on this subject, he left as a memory of his visit a reputation for mental detachment that was Olympic in its character.
    • 1919, Arnold Lunn, Loose Ends:
      The little paper contained none of the customary lampoons on Bloods and Masters. It was Olympic in its aloofness from school politics.
    • 1985, The Jerusalem Quarterly:
      This is the talk of an Olympic man, experiencing cosmic liberation. He enjoys life, first, as the very act of living, pure, immanent life as such-and thus enjoys his own self as a concrete and this-worldly being.
  5. (rare) Of or pertaining to the ancient city of Olympia.
    Synonym: Olympian

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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Olympic (plural Olympics)

  1. (cricket, slang) Five consecutive ducks.
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