marathon

Meaning

Noun

1. A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
2. (broadly, figuratively) Any extended or sustained activity.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To run a marathon.
2. (informal, transitive) To watch or read a large number of instalments of (a film, book, TV series, etc.) in one sitting.

Synonyms

endurance contest

crash program

race

long-distance race

Translations

marathon

🎽

maratón

🎽

maratona

🎽

maratona

🎽

marató

🎽

μαραθώνιος

maraton

🎽

marathon

🎽

Marathon

🎽

Marathonlauf

Marathon

🎽

Marató

ماراثون

-e

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmæɹəθən/

Etymology

From French marathon, coined in 1894 by linguist Michel Bréal for the first modern time Olympic Games after Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn), a town northeast of Athens. Phidippides the Greek ran the distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message regarding the Battle of Marathon. The modern sport of marathon running is based on a run approximately the same distance. The toponym itself comes from μάραθον (márathon, “fennel”) and refers to the prevalence of the plant in the area.