Link Centre Dictionary

Olympian

olym·pian

UK/əˈlɪm.pɪ.ən/ US/əˈlɪm.pi.ən/ rare
adjective (4) noun (2)

adjective

1.

of the region of Olympia in Greece or its inhabitants

  • “Olympian plain”
Synonyms
2.

of or pertaining to the greater gods of ancient Greece whose abode was Mount Olympus

  • “Olympian deities”
3.

majestic in manner or bearing; superior to mundane matters

  • “his majestic presence”
  • “olympian detachment”
  • “olympian beauty and serene composure”
Synonyms
Similar
4.

far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree

  • “a night of exceeding darkness”
  • “an exceptional memory”
  • “olympian efforts to save the city from bankruptcy”
  • “the young Mozart”
Synonyms
Similar

noun

1.

an athlete who participates in the Olympic games

2.

a classical Greek god after the overthrow of the Titans

Synonyms

Origin

From Late Latin Olympianus (“Olympic”) + English -an (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, or forming agent nouns). Olympianus is derived from Latin Olympia (“town in Elis, Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held”) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’); and Olympia is from Ancient Greek Ὀλυμπῐ́ᾱ (Olumpĭ́ā, “Olympia”), from Ὀλῠ́μπῐος (Olŭ́mpĭos, “of or pertaining to Mount Olympus; living on Mount Olympus, Olympian; (specifically) Zeus”) or Ὄλῠμπος (Ólŭmpos, “Mount Olympus”) (see further at etymology 1) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). As regards noun sense 1 (“inhabitant of the city of Olympia, Washington, United States”), the city was named after the Olympic Mountains which are visible to the northwest, which in turn were named after Mount Olympus in Greece.

Phrases

  • Olympic Games
  • Special Olympian

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.