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Olympiad|əʊˈlɪmpɪæd|
Also 5–7 Olympias.
[a. F. Olympiade (1553 in Hatz.–Darm., but prob. earlier), ad. L. Olympias, acc. Olympiad-em, a. Gr. Ὀλυµπιάς, -άδ-, f. Ὀλύµπιος Olympian: see -ad.]
1. a. A period of four years reckoned from one celebration of the Olympic games to the next, by which the ancient Greeks computed time, the year 776 b.c. being taken as the first year of the first Olympiad. Also attrib., as Olympiad era.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. iv. (MS. Bodl.) lf. 92/1 Þe grees..cleped þe firste fyue ȝeres þe furst Olimpias. c1532G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1079 The Greeks were wont to reken by Olympiades whiche ben four yere. 1601Holland Pliny I. 6 This nature of hers, Pythagoras of Samos first found out, about the 42 olympias. Ibid. II. 564 The originall and beginning of the Olympiades. 1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. i. §21 Let Ephemerides not Olympiads give thee account of His mercies. 1819Byron Proph. Dante iii. 158 Not Hellas can unroll Through her olympiads two such names. 1876Smith Dict. Gr. & Rom. Antiq. 835/1 A new Olympiad aera..came into use under the Roman emperors. 1882Liddell & Scott Greek Lex. (ed. 7) s.v. Ὀλυµπιάς, The 1st Olympiad began 776 b.c.; the 293rd and last in 393 a.d.
b. A quadrennial celebration of the ancient Olympic Games.
a1490J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus' Bibliotheca Historica (1956) I. 382 Whiche maner of fayttis, thus ordeyned by his former instytucion, were callyd Olympiades. 1614Ralegh Hist. World i. ii. xxiii. 576 These Olympiads... To tell the great solemnitie of them, and with what exceeding great concourse of all Greece they were celebrated, I hold it a superfluous labour. 1728I. Newton Chronol. Anc. Kingdoms Amended i. 47 This Breviary seems to have contained nothing more than a short account of the Victors in every Olympiad. 1852G. Grote Hist. Greece X. 439 They revenged themselves by pronouncing the 104th Olympiad to be no Olympiad at all. 1913F. A. M. Webster Olympian Field Events i. i. 7 We have certain proof that it [sc. javelin throwing] was a part of the Pentathlon in the Ancient Olympiads. 1960A. R. Burn Lyric Age Greece ix. 177 He [sc. Pheidon of Argos] was said to have marched west to Olympia and presided over the Games of the eighth Olympiad (748). 1977Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. XCVII. 16 This no doubt partly accounts for the well-known string of Spartan victories in running events at the early Olympiads.
2. A (quadrennial) celebration of the modern Olympic Games revived in 1896. Hence, an occurrence of other competitions held on a regular basis. Also fig.
1907Westm. Gaz. 1 Aug. 10/3 When the last Olympiad was held at St. Louis, U.S.A., in 1904, it was decided to hold the next in Rome. 1923Glasgow Herald 26 Mar. 11/4 But the Oxford supporters were clamant in their championing, and by the time the final preparations were made the element of discord, like the seed of the apple of the Olympiads, had entered into the multitudes. 1935Encycl. Sports 440/2 The next Olympiad, as the games came to be called, was held at Stockholm [in 1912]. 1957W. Perelman tr. Flohr's Twelfth Chess Tournament of Nations 5 The first Olympiad was held in London in 1927,..when 16 countries took part. 1959Listener 22 Oct. 706/3 There was no reason why a British team [of Bridge players] should not be successful in the first World Olympiad next spring. 1964― 29 Oct. 695/1 Next week the chess olympiad begins in Tel Aviv, Israel... Unlike the Olympic Games, this is a team event, held every two years. 1967― 17 Aug. 213/2 Sixth-form specialisation is indeed producing diminishing returns: is the flight from maths and science compensated for by the winning of a mathematical Olympiad? 1972Daily Tel. 21 June 14/5 Britain scored 42 victory points out of 60 during Monday's play in the World Bridge Olympiad. Ibid. 30 Aug. 9/3 Miss Pauline Dukelow, 16, paralysed from the age of three, is to receive the Andrew and Booth Courage award for the 21st Olympiad of the Paralysed at Heidelberg this month. 1976Radio Times 15 May 37/1 In the following six Olympiads the Soviet Union have won over 500 medals. 1977Daily Times (Lagos) 25 Feb. 17/4 This great cultural Olympiad was a gigantic step towards pan-Africanism and the unity of the black man.
Hence Olympiˈadic, † Olympiˈadical adjs., of or pertaining to an Olympiad or Olympiads.
1638Mede Wks. (1672) 698 In this third year of the King, and at the end of this Olympiadical year,..came forth the Edict of Darius. 1890Cent. Dict., Olympiadic era. |