What does "olympiad" mean?
Alternative letter-case form of Olympiad.
Olympiad
/əˈlɪmpiæd/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Alternative letter-case form of Olympiad.
- Grammar: olympiad is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: academic contest, carousel, coaching, competition.
- Useful contrasts: noncompetition, nonedition, unpreparedness.
- Usage evidence: There is Philoctetes, the Spartan, a grim, black-bearded man in the prime of life, who won the dolichos at the last Olympiad.
How to use "olympiad"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "olympiad" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "olympiad" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "olympiad" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Olympiad. alt-of
"The reckoning by olympiads, or any other fixed æra, was not yet in uſe among the Greeks. The Arundelian marbles were compoſed ſixty years after the death of Alexander the Great, and yet mention not the olympiads, nor any ſtanding æra, but reckon backward from the time then preſent. In the next olympiad, Timæus Siculus wrote a hiſtory down to his own times, according to the olympiads."
- 2 A four-year period, particularly (historical) those based on Hippias's computations of the ancient Olympic Games which placed Coroebus's footrace victory in 776 BCE and (sports) those based on the modern Summer Olympic Games first held in 1896.
"Ancient sources variously dated the founding of Rome to the 38th year before the first Olympiad, the third or fourth year of the sixth Olympiad, the first year of the seventh or eighth Olympiad, or the fourth year of the 12th Olympiad."
- 3 the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country wordnet
- 4 Synonym of Olympic Games: an instance of the ancient or modern Olympic Games. proscribed, sometimes
"Victors at the ancient Olympiads only won an olive wreath but were usually freed from paying taxes for the remainder of their life, but modern Olympians have frequently needed to pay taxes on the market value of their gold, silver, or bronze medals."
- 5 one of the four-year intervals between Olympic Games; used to reckon time in ancient Greece for twelve centuries beginning in 776 BC wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A competition aspiring to the importance of the Olympic Games or considered similar to them, especially one occurring at 4-year intervals, representing a national or international range of amateur student rather than professional adult competition, and/or requiring the highest level of ability in the field for success. broadly
"the International Mathematical Olympiad... the Science Olympiad... the International Science Olympiads... the Women's Chess Olympiad..."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"There is Philoctetes, the Spartan, a grim, black-bearded man in the prime of life, who won the dolichos at the last Olympiad."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "olympiad"?
Common synonyms include: academic contest, carousel, coaching, competition, contest, edition.
How do you use "olympiad" in a sentence?
There is Philoctetes, the Spartan, a grim, black-bearded man in the prime of life, who won the dolichos at the last Olympiad.
How do you pronounce "olympiad"?
Pronounced /əˈlɪmpiæd/.
Etymology
From the plural forms Olimpiades, Olympiades, and Olympiadiz of Middle English Olimpias and Olympias (“ancient Olympic Games, 4-year period between these games, intense battle or competition”) from Middle French Olympiade and Old French Olympiade (“ancient Olympic games, 4-year period between these games”), from Latin Olympias (“4-year period between Olympic Games”) whose genitive form was Olympiados or Olympiadis), from Ancient Greek Ὀλυμπῐᾰ́ς (Olumpĭắs, “ancient Olympic Games, 4-year period between these games”) whose plural form was Ὀλυμπῐᾰ́δες (Olumpĭắdes), from Ὀλυμπῐ́ᾱ (Olumpĭ́ā, “Olympia”), the town in ancient Greece where the games were held, + -ᾰ́ς (-ắs, a suffix forming feminine adjectives or nouns), from either Ὀλῠ́μπῐος (Olŭ́mpĭos, “of or related to Mount Olympus, Olympian, the Olympian Zeus”) or Ὄλῠμπος (Ólŭmpos, “Mount Olympus”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). The use of olympiad for academic competitions aspiring to the level of the Olympic Games was first popularized by the International Mathematical Olympiad, a calque of its Romanian name Olimpiada Internațională de Matematică.