agon

[ ag-ohn, -on, ah-gohn ]

noun,plural a·go·nes [uh-goh-neez]. /əˈgoʊ niz/.
  1. (in ancient Greece) a contest in which prizes were awarded in any of a number of events, as athletics, drama, music, poetry, and painting.

  2. (italics)Greek. (in ancient Greek drama) a formalized debate or argumentation, especially in comedy: usually following the proagon and preceding the parabasis.

  1. Literature. conflict, especially between the protagonist and the antagonist.

Origin of agon

1
First recorded in 1650–60, agon is from the Greek word agṓn struggle, contest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use agon in a sentence

  • All the three more recent Agones included crowns for exercises of music and poetry, along with gymnastics, chariots, and horses.

  • The name is said to be derived from the agones (corrupted to Navone, Navona), or contests which took place in the circus.

    The Browning Cyclopdia | Edward Berdoe

British Dictionary definitions for agon

agon

/ (ˈæɡəʊn, -ɡɒn) /


nounplural agones (əˈɡəʊniːz)
  1. (in ancient Greece) a festival at which competitors contended for prizes. Among the best known were the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games

Origin of agon

1
C17: Greek: contest, from agein to lead

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012