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Definition of paralympic

paralympic

/ˌpær.əˈlɪm.pɪk/
par · a · lym · pic
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paralympic Lexical Profile

paralympic Game Scores & Validity

• adjective

1

Relating to the Paralympic Games, an international multi-sport competition for athletes with physical, visual, or intellectual disabilities held in parallel with the Olympic Games.

Example

"The Paralympic swimming finals attracted a record-breaking television audience around the world."

• Nearby Words

parallelism
parallelly
parallelogram
paralympic
paralympics
paralysis
paralytic

Word Origin & Etymology

Coined in the mid-20th century, originally as a blend of 'paraplegic' and 'Olympic', and later officially reinterpreted as combining the Greek prefix 'para-' (meaning 'beside' or 'alongside') with 'Olympic' to signify that the games run in parallel with the Olympic Games.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Paralympic. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/paralympic
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