odyssey means an Ancient Greek epic poem, ascribed to Homer, which depicts the journey of Odysseus back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. It carries an Arena rating of 2087, earned across 93 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, odyssey ranks #5 of 42,749 for Qualifying, #11 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #16 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #77 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
odyssey is pronounced /ˈɒ.də.si/.
Why “odyssey” is a great word
An extended, adventurous journey or intellectual and spiritual quest, often marked by significant experiences and a search for home or understanding. From Ancient Greek Ὀδύσσεια (Odússeia, 'the story of Odysseus'), the title of Homer's epic poem; the first usage in the sense of a long, adventurous journey is attested in 1886. Unlike a 'journey'—a neutral movement from point A to point B, devoid of epic length or transformation—or a 'pilgrimage'—a devout trek to a hallowed site, bound by ritual—an odyssey is defined by its wandering perils, its unscripted hardship, and its profound personal change. It is the sailor becalmed for years in foreign seas, the refugee crossing continents with only memory for a map, the scholar pursuing a single question through decades of false starts—the long education of being lost, and the slow, hard-won shape of belonging.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Ὀδύσσεια (Odússeia, “the story of Odysseus”).
name
- An Ancient Greek epic poem, ascribed to Homer, which depicts the journey of Odysseus back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy.e.g.“Coordinate term: Iliad”
noun
- An extended adventurous voyage, usually in search of home.e.g.“Many have been sharing cartoons praying for a successful conclusion to the Wild Boar team's odyssey, hoping that it will end in their safe rescue.” — 2018 July 8, Euan McKirdy, Hilary Whiteman, “Thai cave rescue: Divers enter cave to free boys”, in edition.cnn.com, CNN, retrieved 08 Jul 2018:
- An intellectual or spiritual quest.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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