Olympic

[uh-lim-pik, oh-lim-]

adjective

of or relating to the Olympic Games: an Olympic contender.
of or relating to Olympia, in Greece.
pertaining to Mount Olympus, in Greece.

Olympian(def 3).

noun

an Olympian deity.
Olympics. Olympic Games(def 2).

Origin of Olympic

1590–1600; < Latin Olympicus of Olympus, of Olympia < Greek Olympikós. See Olympus, -ic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for olympic

Contemporary Examples of olympic

After Olympic boxer Guillermo Rigondeux defected, his family suffered a form of domestic exile.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind
Brin-Jonathan Butler
December 19, 2014
Available at Olympic Provisions Mexico: The Cookbook, $33 Is there anything better than genuine Mexican food?
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Anthony Bourdain in Your Life
Allison McNearney
November 29, 2014
The 41-year-old claims she met the Olympic champion on Tinder, and they fell in love.
Exclusive: Michael Phelps’s Intersex Self-Proclaimed Girlfriend, Taylor Lianne Chandler, Tells All
Aurora Snow
November 26, 2014
We did a lot in our seven years for the kids, brought the Olympic Games to the country.
Putin’s Hockey Pal Tells All: Slava Fetisov on ‘Red Army,’ Soviet Nostalgia, and What Drives Putin
Marlow Stern
October 9, 2014
Andy Johns engineered the sessions and we recorded it at Olympic Studios.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More
Gary Wright
September 29, 2014

Historical Examples of olympic

The victors at the Olympic Games had their statues placed in the groves.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Here were written names, and among them, "Creon, son of the Olympic winner Menon."
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall
It was twined of Olympic olive leaves and Apollo's own laurel.
Buried Cities, Part 2
Jennie Hall
You ought to see some of the Cunard boats, the Olympic or the Baltic.
Pipefuls
Christopher Morley
Among the Olympic deities represented, Zeus takes a prominent part.
Museum of Antiquity
L. W. Yaggy

British Dictionary definitions for olympic

Olympic

adjective

of or relating to the Olympic Games
of or relating to ancient Olympia

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

Word Origin and History for olympic

Olympic

adj.

c.1600, "of or in reference to Mount Olympos, also to Olympia (khora), town or district in Elis in ancient Greece, where athletic contests in honor of Olympian Zeus were held 776 B.C.E. and every four years thereafter; from Greek Olympikos, from Olympos, of unknown origin. The modern Olympic Games are a revival, begun in 1896. Not the same place as Mount Olympus, abode of the gods, which was in Thessaly.