Where does “marathon” come from?
Marathon comes from French marathon, from Ancient Greek Μαραθών, a place name, ultimately from Ancient Greek μάραθον meaning fennel.
marathon (English): A 42.195 kilometre road race; Any extended or...
Definitions
- A 42.195 kilometre road race; Any extended or...
Ancestry of “marathon”, step by step
marathon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French marathon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | marathon | marathon |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | Μαραθών | Marathon, a town northeast of Athens |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -ών | forms words for places |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -ónts | Derives nouns denoting body parts |
| 5 | Hungarian | önt | to pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön |
| 6 | Hungarian | ön | you |
| 7 | Hungarian | ön- | self- |
| 8 | Turkish | ön | front |
| 9 | Ottoman Turkish | اوك | voice (of human or animal); sound |
| 10 | Proto-Turkic | ǖn | sound, voice |
via Ancient Greek Μᾰρᾰθών
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | Μᾰρᾰθών | Marathon, Attica, Greece |