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Olympiad

[ uh-lim-pee-ad, oh-lim- ]

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.


Olympiad

/ əˈlɪmpɪˌæd /

noun

  1. a staging of the modern Olympic Games
  2. the four-year period between consecutive celebrations of the Olympic Games; a unit of ancient Greek chronology dating back to 776 bc
  3. an international contest in chess, bridge, etc


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Other Words From

  • O·lympi·adic adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Olympiad1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin Olympiad-, stem of Olympias < Greek Olympiás noun use of the adj.: of Olympus. See Olympia, -ad 1

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Example Sentences

The Moscow Olympiad in 1980 was boycotted partially, not revoked.

Mustering a coalition of disapproval for the World Cup should be much easier than it would be for an Olympiad.

Monday, July 15, 1912, was the last day of the Fifth Olympiad in Stockholm.

In her final Olympiad, Khorkina was once again a favorite, but lost to Patterson by .176.

The estival solstice of Meton, the Athenian, corresponds with this day, in the 87th Olympiad.

The death of this philosopher happened in the first year of the 114th Olympiad, on the same day that Alexander died at Babylon.

And so I say of the Olympiad—'777 years, be the same more or less.'

Thus in the fourth year of the 101st Olympiad, the Greeks were startled by a celestial portent.

The interval between the celebrations was called an Olympiad, and the Greeks usually counted time in this manner.

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