epic

[ ep-ik ]
See synonyms for: epicepics on Thesaurus.com

adjectiveAlso ep·i·cal [ep-i-kuhl] /ˈɛp ɪ kəl/ .
  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.

  1. heroic; majestic; impressively great: the epic events of the war.

  2. of unusually great size or extent: a crime wave of epic proportions.

  3. Slang. very impressive; spectacular; awesome: Their burgers and fries are epic!

adverb
  1. Slang. very; extremely: That's an epic cool video!

noun
  1. an epic poem.

  2. epic poetry.

  1. any composition resembling an epic.

  2. something worthy to form the subject of an epic: The defense of the Alamo is an American epic.

  3. Epic. Also called Old Ionic . the Greek dialect represented in the Iliad and the Odyssey, apparently Aeolic modified by Ionic.

Origin of epic

1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin epicus, from Greek epikós; see epos, -ic

Other words from epic

  • ep·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • ep·ic·like, adjective
  • non·ep·ic, adjective, noun
  • non·ep·i·cal, adjective
  • sem·i·ep·ic, adjective, noun
  • sem·i·ep·i·cal, adjective
  • su·per·ep·ic, adjective, noun
  • un·ep·ic, adjective

Words that may be confused with epic

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

How to use epic in a sentence

  • An epic poem in sixteen cantos, Coln , is no more successful than modern epics usually are.

  • They performed mighty epics of work down there in the darkness amid the rumbling, falling roof.

    The Underworld | James C. Welsh
  • We must first ask to what manner of audiences did the poets sing, in the alleged four centuries of the evolution of the Epics.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
  • The whole situation, we shall show, recurs again and again in the epics of feudal France, the later epics of feudal discontent.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
  • In the mediaeval epics, as in Homer, there is no idea of recourse to a duel between the Over-Lord and his peer.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for epic

epic

/ (ˈɛpɪk) /


noun
  1. a long narrative poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero, esp one originating in oral folk tradition

  2. the genre of epic poetry

  1. any work of literature, film, etc, having heroic deeds for its subject matter or having other qualities associated with the epic: a Hollywood epic

  2. an episode in the lives of men in which heroic deeds are performed or attempted: the epic of Scott's expedition to the South Pole

adjective
  1. denoting, relating to, or characteristic of an epic or epics

  2. of heroic or impressive proportions: an epic voyage

Origin of epic

1
C16: from Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos speech, word, song

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

Cultural definitions for epic

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.

Notes for epic

Figuratively, any task of great magnitude may be called “epic,” as in an “epic feat” or an “epic undertaking.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.