olympiad Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun one of the four-year intervals between Olympic Games; used to reckon time in ancient Greece for twelve centuries beginning in 776 BC
  2. noun the modern revival of the ancient games held once every 4 years in a selected country
    Olympics; Olympic Games.

WordNet

O*lym"pi*ad noun
Etymology
L. olympias, -adis, Gr. , , fr. Olympus, a mountain in Macedonia: cf. F. olympiade.
Definitions
  1. (Greek Antig.) A period of four years, by which the ancient Greeks reckoned time, being the interval from one celebration of the Olympic games to another, beginning with the victory of Cor&oe;bus in the foot race, which took place in the year 776 b.c.; as, the era of the olympiads.

Webster 1913