Where does “athletics” come from?
Athletics derives from English athletic, from Ancient Greek ἀθλητικός (athletikos), from ἀθλητής (athlētēs), from ἆθλον (áthlon) meaning contest or prize, from ἄϝεθλον (áwethlon), from Proto-Indo-European h₂weh₁-.
athletics (English): A group of sporting activities including track...
Definitions
- A group of sporting activities including track...
Ancestry of “athletics”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | athletic | Having to do with athletes; Physically active;... |
| 2 | French | athlétique | athletic |
| 3 | Middle French | athletique | athletic |
| 4 | Latin | āthlēticus | athletic |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἀθλητικός | of or for an athlete, athletic |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἀθλητής | a combatant, champion, especially a prizefighter;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἀθλέω | to contend for a prize, combat, wrestle; to be an... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |