Triathlon

How to spell triathlon

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce triathlon

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does triathlon mean?

1. nounAn endurance race combining three consecutive disciplines, typically swimming, cycling, and running.

Triathlon in a sentence

• She trained for six months before entering her first triathlon.

• The triathlon began with an open-water swim across the lake.

Where does triathlon come from?

Language of origin: Greek

Triathlon is a modern coinage built from two ancient Greek elements: tri-, meaning 'three', and athlon, meaning 'a contest' or 'the prize awarded for it'. The same athlon root sits inside athlete and athletics, all going back to a Greek world in which competitors fought for tangible rewards. The word was deliberately modelled on the much older athletic terms decathlon (ten events) and pentathlon (five events), which English took from Greek through Latin. Triathlon itself only appeared in the early to mid twentieth century, and the now-familiar swim, cycle, and run format was popularised in the 1970s. Because the word is a stitched-together compound rather than an inherited one, its spelling stays loyal to the Greek pieces, which is why the awkward 'athl' cluster, with the 'h' tucked between two consonants, is the part that trips writers up.

How the word is built

• tri- (three)
• athl- (from Greek athlon: contest, prize)
• -on (noun ending, by analogy with decathlon and pentathlon)