pentathlon means an ancient athletics discipline, featuring five events: stadion, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. It carries an Arena rating of 1488, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pentathlon ranks #114 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #645 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words, #1,041 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #1,928 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say.
Why “pentathlon” is a great word
An athletic contest of five distinct events, specifically the ancient Greek competition comprising the stadion footrace, wrestling, long jump, javelin throw, and discus throw. From Ancient Greek πένταθλον (péntathlon), from πέντε (pénte, "five") + ἆθλον (âthlon, "contest"), it was the crucible of the idealized athlete. Unlike the decathlon, a sprawling modern test of ten varied disciplines, or the triathlon, a sequential endurance trial of three continuous acts, the pentathlon was an anthology of separate, violent grace. It was the thud of the discus in sun-baked earth, the arc of the javelin against an Aegean sky, and the sudden, desperate silence of the wrestling pit—a measured argument for the supremacy of the complete man, whose excellence was not in one thing, but in the harmonious balance of many.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek πένταθλον (péntathlon), from πέντε (pénte, “five”) + ἆθλον (âthlon, “contest”). By surface analysis, penta- + -athlon.
noun
- An ancient athletics discipline, featuring five events: stadion, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- decathlon 87% match — An athletic contest consisting of ten events which includes sprinting, hurdling, jumping, and throwing over a span of two days. vs pentathlon →
- pankration 82% match — An Ancient Greek martial art combining aspects of boxing and wrestling, introduced in the Greek Olympic games in 648 BC. vs pentathlon →
- palaestra 81% match — A public area in ancient Greece and Rome dedicated to the teaching and practice of wrestling and other sports; a wrestling school, a gymnasium. vs pentathlon →
- hoplitodromos 81% match — An ancient footrace, part of the Olympic Games and the other Panhellenic Games, run while wearing a hoplite's heavy armour and shield. vs pentathlon →
- olympiad 80% match — A four-year period, particularly (historical) those based on Hippias's computations of the ancient Olympic Games which placed Coroebus's footrace victory in 776 BCE and (sports) those based on the modern Summer Olympic Games first held in 1896. vs pentathlon →
- discobolus 80% match — A discus thrower. vs pentathlon →
- agonothetes 78% match — An officer who presided over the great public games in Ancient Greece. vs pentathlon →
- luctation 78% match — Effort to overcome in contest; struggle; endeavour. vs pentathlon →