This week's theme
Toponyms

This week's words
stellenbosch
campanology
perse
iliad
damask

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(IL-ee-uhd)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A long narrative, especially an epic poem describing martial exploits.
2. A long series of miseries or disasters.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the Iliad, a Greek epic poem traditionally attributed to Homer. From Ilion, ancient Greek name of the city of Troy, an area now in modern Turkey. Earliest documented use: 1579.

USAGE:

"She knew ... stories which form part of an Iliad of obscure hatreds, quarrels, adulteries, marriages."
Storm Jameson; Journey from the North, Volume 2; Collins; 1970.

"Professional football players are our gladiators. The only difference is that we, the fans, don't, as they did at the Colosseum in Rome, put our thumbs up or down to decide a player's fate. But then we don't have to; they all but kill themselves. In each of his interviews, Mr. Cohen asks former players: 'How're you holding up physically?' Everyone answers with an Iliad of injuries and woes."
Joseph Epstein; When Defense Ruled the Game; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Oct 26, 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: