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triathlon

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Etymology and origin of the English word triathlon

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1973 Daily Telegraph
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ἄθλον

Pronunciation

  • UK: /tɹaɪˈæθlɒn/[1]
  • US: /tɹaɪˈæθˌlɑn/, /tɹaɪˈæθəˌlɑn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English tri- (“three”) + -athlon, on the model of decathlon and biathlon,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] with the ending from Ancient Greek ἄθλον (áthlon, “contest”).[2][3][4][9] The OED treats it as formed from τρι- (tri-) and the Greek noun.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An athletic contest made up of three different events: 1973, in the Daily Telegraph of 21 July.[3] Merriam-Webster also gives 1973,[5] while Etymonline dates the word to 1970[2] and Dictionary.com to 1970–75.[8]

Semantic evolution

At first the name was used for various combinations of three events: Etymonline mentions one of clay-pigeon shooting, fly-fishing and show jumping, one of cross-country skiing, target shooting and a giant slalom, and a United States Army contest of shooting, swimming and running.[2] By 1981 it was applied to the combination of a long swim, a cycle race and a marathon,[2] and this endurance race of three consecutive stages, usually swimming, cycling and long-distance running, became its main sense.[4][5][9] A competitor is a triathlete.[9][4]

Timeline

  • 1970 – first use, of various three-event contests, in Etymonline's dating.[2] The OED's first record is from 1973.[3][5]
  • 1981 – a race of swimming, cycling and running.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An endurance race in three consecutive stages, usually swimming, cycling and long-distance running: He trained for a year before his first triathlon.[5][9][4]
  2. Any sporting contest made up of three different events.[3][4]

Word family

  • triathlete
  • decathlon
  • biathlon

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Triathlon.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/triathlon. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·