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Epic

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ep⋅ic

  [ep-ik]
Use Epic in a Sentence
–adjective Also, ep⋅i⋅cal.
1. noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style: Homer's Iliad is an epic poem.
2. resembling or suggesting such poetry: an epic novel on the founding of the country.
3. heroic; majestic; impressively great: the epic events of the war.
4. of unusually great size or extent: a crime wave of epic proportions.
–noun
5. an epic poem.
6. epic poetry.
7. any composition resembling an epic.
8. something worthy to form the subject of an epic: The defense of the Alamo is an American epic.
9. (initial capital letter) Also called Old Ionic. the Greek dialect represented in the Iliad and the Odyssey, apparently Aeolic modified by Ionic.
Origin:
1580–90; < L epicus < Gk epikós. See epos, -ic

Related forms:
ep⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
ep⋅ic⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ep·ic   (ěp'ĭk)   
n.  

  1. An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.

  2. A literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats.

  3. A series of events considered appropriate to an epic: the epic of the Old West.

adj.  

  1. Of, constituting, having to do with, or suggestive of a literary epic: an epic poem.

  2. Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size: "A vast musical panorama . . . it requires an epic musical understanding to do it justice" (Tim Page).

  3. Heroic and impressive in quality: "Here in the courtroom . . . there was more of that epic atmosphere, the extra amperage of a special moment" (Scott Turow).


[From Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos, word, song; see wekw- in Indo-European roots.]
ep'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

epic

A long narrative poem written in elevated style, in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds. The setting is vast in scope, covering great nations, the world, or the universe, and the action is important to the history of a nation or people. The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid are some great epics from world literature, and two great epics in English are Beowulf and Paradise Lost.

Note: Figuratively, any task of great magnitude may be called “epic,” as in an “epic feat” or an “epic undertaking.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

epic 
1589, from L. epicus, from Gk. epikos, from epos "word, story, poem." Extended sense of "grand, heroic" first recorded in Eng. 1731. The noun meaning "an epic poem" is first recorded 1706.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
EPIC
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The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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