Athletic

How to spell athletic

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce athletic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does athletic mean?

1. adjectivePhysically strong, fit, and active, or relating to sport and physical exercise.

Athletic in a sentence

• Her athletic build came from years of competitive swimming.

• The university offers generous athletic scholarships to talented runners.

Where does athletic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word descends from the Greek athletes, meaning 'a competitor for a prize', which was built on athlon, a 'prize', and athlos, a 'contest' or 'feat'. The Greeks held physical competitions for valuable rewards, so the root literally carried the idea of striving for a prize rather than simply exercising. Latin took the term in as athleta, and it passed into English through Latin and French in the 1500s, first as the noun 'athlete' for a trained competitor. The adjective athletic, describing the build, vigour, or activity of such a competitor, followed soon after. A useful spelling reminder is that the 'h' sits right after the 't', mirroring the original Greek th sound, and the ending is '-etic' rather than the more common '-atic'.

How the word is built

• athl- (from Greek athlon: prize, contest)
• -etic (adjective suffix)