WORD FOR THE DAY

Your word for today is: Olympic, adj.2 and n.

Olympic, adj.2 and n.

Pronunciation: Brit. /əˈlɪmpɪk/,  U.S. /əˈlɪmpɪk/, /oʊˈlɪmpɪk/

Forms:   15–16 Olimpike,   15–17 Olimpick,   15–18 Olympick,   16 Olimpic,   16 Olimpicke,   16 Olympicke,   16 Olympique,   16– Olympic.   Also occas with lower-case initial.

Etymology: <  classical Latin Olympicus of or relating to the Olympic Games, or its etymon ancient Greek Ὀλυμπικός of or relating to the plain of Olympia or the Olympic Games <  Ὀλυμπία (see Olympian adj.2) + -ικός -ic suffix. Compare earlier Olympian adj.2, Olympical adj.1 Compare also Olympic Games n.

A. adj.2
 (attrib.).

 a.  Of or relating to the plain of Olympia in Elis, southern Greece, or (esp.) the Olympic Games which were held there in classical times; = Olympian adj.2 1. Also fig. and in figurative contexts.
Recorded earliest in Olympic Games n.

1597  G. Markham tr.  G. Pétau de Maulette Deuoreux xci. 15 That Prince, mee thought, was finely shapt, vpright, Such as was Marops at th'Olympick games.

1617  T. Middleton  & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell ii. i, When Hercules and thou wert on the Olimpicke mount together, then was wrastling in request.

1637  T. Heywood Pleasant Dialogues 88 He was so good a Patriot, besides strong, And from th'Olympicke wrestling brought along Great honors by his swiftnesse.

1695  R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ix. 258 Never Epirean or Arabian Steed, Flew o'er the Olimpic Plains with greater Speed.

1719  Visct. Bolingbroke in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 4 What hackney gladiator can you find, by whom the Olympic crown would be declin'd?

1767  W. Dodd tr.  Pindar Odes in Poems i, The choral hymns, whose varied lays, Sing the olympic victor's praise.

1805  J. Foster Ess. II. ii. 132 The ligatures which the olympic pugilists bound on their hands and wrists.

1839  C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VI. l. 193 Dionysodorus, who had gained an Olympic prize.

1875  B. Jowett tr.  Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 348 Their life will be blessed as the life of Olympic victors.

1957 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 773/2 The wild olive spray of the Olympic victor.

1991 Hesperia 60 229 Damokrates was [an] Olympic victor in wrestling.

 b.  Of or relating to the modern Olympic Games. Also in extended use and fig.

1905 Olympic Games Athens 3 Pentathlum, consisting of the five following events: 1) Flat race one Olympic stade..2) Broad Jump [etc.].

1914  R. Brooke Let. 5 Dec. (1968) 638 A New Zealand youth..walked 300 miles to the coast, got a boat, and turned up here He is also an Olympic Swimmer.

1962 Listener 1 Feb. 234/1 A [bridge] match between Italy and the U.S.A. in the Olympic event two years ago.

1968  Mrs. L. B. Johnson Diary 10 Mar in White House Diary (1970) 637 Lyndon..can break an Olympic record for getting dressed.

2002 Independent 27 Feb. i. 2/7 Britain's all conquering female curlers arrived home yesterday, proudly wearing the Olympic gold medals they won at Salt Lake City.

 B. n.
 1.  In pl.

 a.  = Olympic Games n. 1a.

1621  R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (1850) iii. i. 426 In the Olympics, with those Æliensian wrestlers in Philostratus.

1626  G. Sandys tr.  Ovid Metamorphosis xiv. 290 Nor yet could hee Foure Græcian wrastlings in th'Olympicks see.

1637  W. Alexander Domesday in Recreations with Muses 105 What thousands did to Ioves Olympicks throng.

1732  T. Brett Gen. Hist. World vi. 277 At these Games, called Olympicks, all the Youth of Greece met in the plains of Elis,..where they had Chariot-Races..and other robust Exercises.

1813  T. Morton Education ii. ii. 22 Instead of the Olympics of the ancient Greeks, you must study the mystic games of the moderns.

1969  V. Bartlett Past of Pastimes v. 69 In the earliest Olympics, the only event was a race over a distance of some two hundred yards—one lap of the stadium.

1987  E. Sanders Hymn to Archilochus in Sel. Poems 231 Archilochus..wrote the victory song at the Olympics

 b.  = Olympic Games n. 1b.

1925 Ecology 6 202 It will be interesting to watch future Olympics in order to see whether..temperature is really a controlling factor in physical strength and athletic prowess.

1936 Times 27 Jan. 5/1 The Lake Placid bob-run..provided some of the most exciting spectacles at the 1932 Winter Olympics.

1948 Official Rep. Olympic Games (Brit. Olympic Assoc.) 41/1 No boxing competition of comparable size had been attempted anywhere in the world since the Berlin Olympics of 1936.

1969  F. Norman Banana Boy 108 He could have wanked for Britain in the Olympics and won a gold medal with ease.

1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia II. 274/1 The development of the modern Olympics into the pre-eminent athletic events in the world.

2002 N.Y. Times 7 Sept. d2/2 The cause of the Aborigines will be made visible during the Olympics in both celebration and protest.

 2.  = Olympiad n. 2c. Usu. with modifying word. Usu. in pl

1652  R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. D3v, Vin. Will you up to the hill top of sports..Dovors Olimpicks or the Cotswold Games. Mer. No, that will be too publique for our Recreation.

1864  Mrs. M. Hall Lives Queens of Eng. 198 The poets and minstrels contended for prizes of skill: at these Eisteddfods, or British Olympics, judges were appointed to decide on their respective merits.

1874 Ladies' Repository Aug. 481/1 The games are the Olympics of the region—wrestling, running, pitching quoits, and rocks, and such like classic reproductions.

1944 Amer. Math. Monthly 51 583 Noteworthy activities of the year were the U.S. War Stamp Drive and the Mathematical Olympics.

1976 New Scientist 28 Oct. 203/2 Any competitor in the gravitational Olympics must be able to pass the three classical tests of relativity that Einstein proposed in 1916.

2001 Xinhua News (Electronic ed.) 31 Dec., The Cultural Olympics, initially envisioned as similar to the ancient Greek poetry and arts contests that were held..in ancient Olympia, were one of Greece's strong points in winning the bid for the 2004 Games.

 3.  In pl. (sometimes with sing. concord). Any activity engaged in competitively, at an advanced level, or to an excessive degree. Chiefly humorous.

1657  E. Benlowes Sacred Friendship vi, In these Olympicks 't is the maine Contest, Who shall ore-come by loving Most and, Best.

1985  J. Fuller Mass ii. 46 Espionage..had become an end in itself, a strange and ritualized game, an Olympics of deceit.

1993  H. Stern Private Parts vi. 170 My engineer..challenged me to a race to see who could take the fastest whiz. We got a wireless mike and our first Bathroom Olympics were born.

2000 Independent 27 Nov. ii. 5/3 A sleazy account of bedroom Olympics.
 
Special uses

 Olympic-level adj. (a) Sport of a standard high enough to participate in the modern Olympics; (b) humorously of the highest level of importance or prestige.
1991 Washington Flyer Sept.–Oct. (Insert) 4/2 The uniqueness of the event attracts quality entertainment with Olympic-level competition and world-class teams.

1996 Minx Nov. 8/3 He'll need Olympic-level stamina—not to mention Richard Branson's salary—if he's going to coddle your mollies to perfection.

2000 Time 9 Oct. 37/2 That's Olympic-level manicurist gossip.

Olympic lift n. Weightlifting each of three types of lift performed as a competitive event in the modern Olympics.

1928 Health & Strength Ann. 77 Lifters are urged to maintain themselves in a state of readiness on the three Olympic lifts, viz: ‘Two Hands Clean and Military Press with Barbell’, ‘Two Hands Snatch’, and the ‘Two Hands Clean and Jerk with Barbell’.

2001 Men's Health (Electronic ed.) 1 July, Smith uses the snatch, an Olympic lift that develops flexibility and coordination.

Olympic-size adj. (esp. of a swimming pool) of the dimensions prescribed for modern Olympic competitions.

1948 Billboard 10 Apr. 31/3 Paul supervised the construction of the four pools, known as the unit system, which included one large bathing and play pool, a long Olympic size pool and two kiddie pools.

1984  A. Maupin Babycakes x. 42 She flung open the doors to reveal an Olympic-size bedroom lined with lighted Lucite boxes.

1991 Skiing Mar. 21/3 This teaser of your imagination has the power to counter the debilitating force of..painful doubts, and Olympic-size crash-and-burn memories.

Olympic-sized adj. = Olympic-size adj.; (in extended use, freq. humorously) of exceptionally large size.

1965 Science 8 Jan. 116/3 The detection system..requires an amount of cleaning fluid that would fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

1993 Hockey News(Toronto) 5 Feb. 35/4 UAF had met CCHA teams only on its Olympic-sized rink.

2001 Navy News Sept. 33/1 Sharks..are so sensitive they can detect the equivalent of a drop of blood in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Olympic-style adj. (a) in a manner suited to a modern Olympic event; (b) humorously challenging almost to the point of impossibility.

1966 Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. xiv/5 Canada's 1967 Pan-American Games, which includes
Olympic-style amateur wrestling.

1992 Time 17 Feb. 76/2 Finding rhymes for ‘Latvia’ and ‘Cypriot’ must surely qualify as an Olympic-style suicide-mission.

1994 Globe & Mail(Toronto) 5 Feb. a19/1 When it comes to the Paralympics, the Olympic-style event for disabled athletes, things are separate and not exactly equal.

Olympic village n. a self-contained district within a city hosting the Olympics, providing accommodation and amenities for competitors and other people who have an official connection with the Games.

1931 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 42/2 A group of several hundred houses, a 1200-foot-long dining hall, and a large administration building will be laid out in streets like a city and known as ‘Olympic Village’.

1943  L. P. Lochner What about Germany? xiii. 122 The former Olympic Village, now [a] sports school for army officers.

1972 Guardian 19 Aug. 1/4 It is very important that he doesn't bring any infection that could affect other athletes in the Olympic Village.

2000 Canberra Sunday Times 11 June 35/1 Those..coming from outside of Sydney for the Olympic Games as part of an athlete's family..can't all be accommodated in the Olympic Village.

Derivatives
†Olympicly adv. Obs. rare = Olympianly adv.

1599  T Nashe Lenten Stuffe 33 Some oken squadron or other to waft him along Cleopatraean Olimplickly.

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