Adjacent Words

Epic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EP'IC, a. [L. epicus; Gr. a song, or to speak.] Narrative; containing narration; rehearsing. An epic poem, otherwise called heroic, is a poem which narrates a story, real or fictitious or both, representing, in an elevated style, some signal action or series of actions and events, usually the achievements of some distinguished hero, and intended to form the morals and affect the mind with the love of virtue. The matter of the poem includes the action of the fable, the incidents, episodes, characters, morals and machinery. The form includes the manner of narration, the discourses introduced, descriptions, sentiments, style, versification, figures and other ornaments. The end is to improve the morals, and inspire a love of virtue, bravery and illustrious actions.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); "an epic voyage"; "of heroic proportions"; "heroic sculpture" [syn: epic, heroic, larger-than-life]
2: constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic; "epic tradition" [syn: epic, epical] n
1: a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds [syn: epic poem, heroic poem, epic, epos]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos word, speech, poem — more at voice Date: 1589 1. of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic <an epic poem> 2. a. extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope <his genius was epic — Times Literary Supplement> b. heroic • epical adjective • epically adverb II. noun Date: 1706 1. a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero <the Iliad and the Odyssey are epics> 2. a work of art (as a novel or drama) that resembles or suggests an epic 3. a series of events or body of legend or tradition thought to form the proper subject of an epic <the winning of the West was a great American epic>

Britannica Concise

Long narrative poem in an elevated style that celebrates heroic achievement and treats themes of historical, national, religious, or legendary significance. Primary (or traditional) epics are shaped from the legends and traditions of a heroic age and are part of oral tradition; secondary (or literary) epics are written down from the beginning, and their poets adapt aspects of traditional epics. The poems of Homer are usually regarded as the first important epics and the main source of epic conventions in Western Europe. These conventions include the centrality of a hero, sometimes semidivine; an extensive, perhaps cosmic, setting; heroic battle; extended journeying; and the involvement of supernatural beings.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a long poem narrating the adventures or deeds of one or more heroic or legendary figures, e.g. the Iliad, Paradise Lost. 2 an imaginative work of any form, embodying a nation's conception of its past history. 3 a book or film based on an epic narrative or heroic in type or scale. 4 a subject fit for recital in an epic. --adj. 1 of or like an epic. 2 grand, heroic. Derivatives: epical adj. epically adv. Etymology: L epicus f. Gk epikos f. epos word, song

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Epic Ep"ic, n. An epic or heroic poem. See Epic, a.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Epic Ep"ic, a. [L. epicus, Gr. ?, from ? a word, speech, tale, song; akin to L. vox voice: cf. F. ['e]pique. See Voice.] Narrated in a grand style; pertaining to or designating a kind of narrative poem, usually called an heroic poem, in which real or fictitious events, usually the achievements of some hero, are narrated in an elevated style. The epic poem treats of one great, complex action, in a grand style and with fullness of detail. --T. Arnold.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(epics) 1. An epic is a long book, poem, or film, whose story extends over a long period of time or tells of great events. ...the Middle High German epic, 'Nibelungenlied', written about 1200... At three hours and 21 minutes, it is an over-long, standard Hollywood epic. N-COUNT: usu supp N • Epic is also an adjective. ...epic narrative poems... Like 'Gone With The Wind' it's an unashamed epic romance. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. Something that is epic is very large and impressive. ...Columbus's epic voyage of discovery. ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Narrative, heroic. II. n. Narrative, poem, epic poem, heroic poem.

Moby Thesaurus

English sonnet, Horatian ode, Italian sonnet, Petrarchan sonnet, Pindaric ode, Sapphic ode, Shakespearean sonnet, account, alba, anacreontic, anecdotage, anecdote, balada, ballad, ballade, bucolic, canso, chanson, chronicle, clerihew, dirge, dithyramb, eclogue, elegy, epigram, epithalamium, epode, epopee, epopoeia, epos, georgic, ghazel, haiku, idyll, jingle, limerick, lyric, madrigal, monody, narration, narrative, narrative poem, nursery rhyme, ode, palinode, pastoral, pastoral elegy, pastorela, pastourelle, poem, prothalamium, rhyme, rondeau, rondel, roundel, roundelay, saga, satire, sestina, sloka, song, sonnet, sonnet sequence, story, tale, tanka, tenso, tenzone, threnody, triolet, troubadour poem, verse, verselet, versicle, villanelle, virelay, yarn