English
marathon
Marathon may come from French marathon.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English marathon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Mary Braid, ‘I was cross that my child had to beg the prime minister for: “In less than two years, they and their family…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmarathonWiktionary, English marathonuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2015marathonWiktionary, English marathon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Mary Braid, ‘I was cross that my child had to beg the prime minister for: “In less than two years, they and their family…”
The story
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.
Every English word from French marathon
Today it means
noun A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “marathon”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / French marathon / marathon