Iliad

[ il-ee-uhd ]

/ ˈɪl i əd /

Save This Word!

noun

(italics) a Greek epic poem describing the siege of Troy, ascribed to Homer.

(sometimes lowercase) any similar poem; a long narrative.

(often lowercase) a long series of woes, trials, etc.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Iliad

<Latin Iliad- (stem of Ilias) <Greek, equivalent to Ili(on) Troy + -ad--ad¹

OTHER WORDS FROM Iliad

Il·i·ad·ic

[il-ee-ad-ik], /ˌɪl iˈæd ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby Iliad

I.L.G.W.U., Ilhéus, ilia, iliac, iliac artery, Iliad, Iliamna, Iliamna Lake, Iliescu, Iligan, ilio-

How to use Iliad in a sentence

The scientists tracked the words in the "Iliad" the way they would track genes in a genome.
How Old is the Illiad?|Justin Green|March 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They looked for Swadesh words in the "Iliad" and found 173 of them.
How Old is the Illiad?|Justin Green|March 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the Iliad, a Chimera is a grotesque animal jumble, “lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle.”
Delegitimizing Israel Makes Peace Harder to Achieve|Gil Troy|February 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Waiting for the Barbarians By Daniel Mendelsohn A master classicist takes on subjects from the ‘Iliad’ to ‘Avatar.’
This Week’s Hot Reads: Oct. 7, 2012|Nicholas Mancusi|October 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Men have been punching each other in the head since the beginning of time, and you will find references to boxing in The Iliad.
Olympics Kickoff: Boris Johnson on London’s Sporty Side|Boris Johnson|July 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So Eric left the field, and wandered home, like Calchas in the Iliad, “sorrowful by the side of the sounding sea.”
Eric, or Little by Little|Frederic W. Farrar
A long passage in the Iliad gives an account of her toilet when arraying herself for a special occasion.
Greek Sculpture|Estelle M. Hurll
In the second room, human passion, power, and tyranny were illustrated in scenes of Greek heroic life from the Iliad.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4)|Richard Muther
Here, then, is another difficulty in the path of the theory that the Iliad is the work of four centuries.
Homer and His Age|Andrew Lang
Yet poets of the eighth to seventh centuries were, by the theory, busily adding to and altering the ancient lays of the Iliad.
Homer and His Age|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for Iliad

Iliad

/ (ˈɪlɪəd) /

noun

a Greek epic poem describing the siege of Troy, attributed to Homer and probably composed before 700 bc

Derived forms of Iliad

Iliadic (ˌɪlɪˈædɪk), adjective

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