athlete

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person who is good at sports and competes in them.

   She is the first athlete in her sport to win a corporate sponsor.

Simplified etymology

Athlete comes from Greek athlētēs, literally “someone who competes for a prize,” derived from athlon, “prize.” It originally denoted a competitor in the running, jumping, boxing, wrestling, and other physical contests of ancient Greek and Roman public games.

From Middle English athlete, from Latin āthlēta (and probably also partly from Middle French athlete), from Ancient Greek ἀθλητής (athlētḗs), from ἀθλέω (athléō, “compete for a prize”), from ἆθλον (âthlon, “prize”) or ἆθλος (âthlos, “competition”).

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary