Olympiad - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

O·lym·pi·ad

Audio Help [uh-lim-pee-ad, oh-lim-] Pronunciation Key

–noun (often lowercase

)

1.	a period of four years reckoned from one celebration of the Olympic Games to the next, by which the Greeks computed time from 776 b.c.

2.	a celebration of the modern Olympic Games.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L Olympiad-, s. of Olympias < Gk Olympiás n. use of the adj.: of Olympus. See Olympia, -ad¹

]

—Related forms

O·lym·pi·ad·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Olympiad

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

O·lym·pi·ad Audio Help (ō-lĭm'pē-ād') Pronunciation Key
n.

An interval of four years between celebrations of the Olympic Games, by which the ancient Greeks reckoned dates.
Sports A celebration of the modern Olympic Games.

[Back-formation from Middle English Olympiades, Olympiads, from Latin Olympias, Olympiad-, Olympiad, from Greek Olumpias, Olumpiad-, from Olumpia, Olympia, Greece, site of the Olympic Games.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
olympiad

1398, "period of four years" (between Olympic games), from Gk. olympiados, gen. of Olympias (see Olympic). Used by ancient Greeks as a unit in computing time. Revived in modern usage with revival of the games, 1896.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

olympiad
noun
1.	one of the four-year intervals between Olympic Games; used to reckon time in ancient Greece for twelve centuries beginning in 776 BC
2.	the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country [syn: Olympic Games]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Olympiad

O*lym"pi*ad\, n. The quadrennial celebration of the modern Olympic games; as, the first Olympiad (1906).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Olympiad

O*lym"pi*ad\ ([-o]*l[i^]m"p[i^]*[a^]d), n. [L. olympias, -adis, Gr. 'olympia`s, -a`dos, fr. 'O`lympos Olympus, a mountain in Macedonia: cf. F. olympiade.] (Greek Antiq.) A period of four years, by which the ancient Greeks reckoned time, being the interval from one celebration of the Olympic games to another, beginning with the victory of Cor[oe]bus in the foot race, which took place in the year 776 b.c.; as, the era of the olympiads.

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