Etymology
The word athletics is derived from the words ἄθλος ('athlos') meaning "contest" and ἄθλον ('athlon') meaning prize. Initially, the term was used to describe in general – i.e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century in Europe, the term athletics acquired a more narrow definition and came to describe sports involving competitive running, walking, jumping and throwing. This definition continues to be the most prominent one in the United Kingdom and most of the areas of the former . Furthermore, foreign words in many and which are related to the term athletics also have a similar meaning.
In contrast to this, in much of North America athletics is synonymous with sports in general, maintaining a more historic usage of the term. The word "athletics" is rarely used to refer to the sport of athletics in this region.
Read more about this topic: Athletics (sport)
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
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—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)