athletic
/æθˈlɛt.ɪk/ adjective, noun
Forms athletics athletick
- adjective (not comparable) Having to do with athletes. “Are you a member of the American Athletic Association?”
- adjective Physically active. “Since you're such an athletic person, you may wish to consider joining.”
- adjective Having a muscular, well developed body, being in shape. “You have such an athletic build—you must work out regularly.”
- adjective An attribute of a motion or play which requires fine physical ability. “The center fielder made an athletic play to snatch the ball from over the fence.”
- adjective (video games) Of a level in a Super Mario game: with an emphasis on platforming challenge, often involving precise jumps between floating platforms above a bottomless pit, and having upbeat background music.
- noun A muscular, large–boned person, in the typology of Ernst Kretschmer.
- noun (baseball) A player on the team Oakland Athletics. “Smith became an Athletic as a result of a pre-season trade.”
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French athletique and Latin āthlēticus, from Ancient Greek ἀθλητικός (athlētikós, “relating to an athlete”), from ἀθλητής (athlētḗs, “athlete”): equivalent to athlete + -ic. For more, see athlete.
The Super Mario sense is effectively a reborrowing of Japanese アスレチック (asurechikku, “obstacle course”), originally borrowed from English athletic; this sense was itself originally a clipping of the genericized wasei eigo trademark フィールドアスレチック (fīrudo asurechikku, “Field Athletic”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to athletes or to the exercises practiced by them; as, athletic games or sports.
- adjective Befitting an athlete; strong; muscular; robust; vigorous; as, athletic Celts. "Athletic soundness." South.
Etymology [L. athleticus, Gr. Athlete.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “athletic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details