marathon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A long running race of about 42 kilometres (26 miles).

   She trained for months to run her first marathon.

2. 2
   noun

   Any long, tiring activity that takes great effort.

   Finishing the report was a real marathon of late nights.

3. 3
   verb

   To watch or do many parts of something in one long sitting.

   We marathoned the whole TV series over the weekend.

From French marathon, coined in 1894 by linguist Michel Bréal for the first modern time Olympic Games after Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn), a town northeast of Athens. Phidippides the Greek ran the distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message regarding the Battle of Marathon. The modern sport of marathon running is based on a run approximately the same distance. The toponym itself comes from μάραθον (márathon, “fennel”) and refers to the prevalence of the plant in the area.

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