Etymologically
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athlete

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæθ.ə.liːt/; /ˈæθ.liːt/ (UK); /ˈæθ.lit/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin āthlēta (“wrestler, athlete”), perhaps at first directly from Greek,[2][3] from Greek ἀθλητής (athlētḗs, “prizefighter, contestant in the games”),[3][2] from athleîn, to compete for a prize,[3][2][4] from âthlos, a contest, and âthlon, a prize,[3][2] a word of unknown origin.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A competitor in athletic games: probably before 1425, in Chauliac;[2][3] athelete 1528.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Word Origins notes that it first referred to competitors in the running, leaping, boxing and wrestling of the public games of Greece and Rome.[4] Until the mid-18th century it was usually in the Latin form athleta,[3] and Hoad records it once in the 15th century and in English use from the 18th.[6] Old English had plegmann, play-man.[3] Figurative use is from 1759,[5] and one trained to great strength and agility from 1827.[3][5] Athlete's foot is recorded by 1928.[3][5] In British use an athlete is especially a competitor in track and field events.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – athletez.[2]
  • 1528 – athelete.[2]
  • 1759 – figurative use.[5]
  • 1827 – a trained strongman.[3]
  • 1928 – athlete's foot.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person trained or skilled in sports or exercises needing strength, speed or endurance.
  2. (chiefly British) A competitor in track and field events.

Word family

  • biathlete
  • decathlete
  • heptathlete
  • nonathlete
  • pentathlete
  • superathlete
  • triathlete
  • athlete's foot

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins