Olympic Games

The story

1. Middle French · derived fromieux olympiques
2. English todayOlympic Games

From Olympic + games, after Middle French ieux olympiques.

First known use, by meaning

• from 19th c. An international multi-sport event (inspired by the ancient festival) taking place every fourth year.
• from 16th c. A sporting festival held every four or five years on the Plain of Olympia in southern Greece, in honour of Zeus; these games were the inspiration for the modern version, which began in the 1890s as a revival of the Ancient Greek ones.