Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A group of modern international athletic contests held as separate winter and summer competitions every four years in a different city. In 1994 the winter games were moved ahead two years so that the winter and summer games would alternate every two years.
- noun The set of contests that occur in one season.
- noun A Pan-Hellenic festival in ancient Greece consisting of athletic games and contests of choral poetry and dance, first celebrated in 776 BC and held periodically until AD 393 on the plain of Olympia in honor of the Olympian Zeus.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- (Greek Antiq.) The greatest of the national festivals of the ancient Greeks, consisting of athletic games and races, dedicated to Olympian Zeus, celebrated once in four years at Olympia, and continuing five days.
- A modified revival of the ancient Olympian games, consisting of international athletic games, races, etc., now held once in four years, the first having been at Athens in 1896.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the ancient Panhellenic celebration at Olympia in honor of Zeus; held every 4 years beginning in 776 BC
- noun the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Olympic + games, after Middle French ieux olympiques.
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Examples
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gregbuckle commented on the word Olympic Games
A quadrennial sporting festival involving multiple sports and almost all recognised countries of the world. Summer and Winter versions are held.
June 9, 2009