-athon

-athon
\\əˌthän\ noun combining form (-s)
Etymology: marathon
1. : event or activity lasting a long time often for the purpose of raising funds

jog-athon

2. : an excess of something

practical joke-athon

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-athon UK [əθɒn] US [əθɑn] suffix
used with some nouns and verbs to make nouns meaning an event or activity that lasts for a long time. These events are often organized in order to make money to help people

a walkathon

Thesaurus: suffixeshyponym

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-athon,
combining form. an activity involving endurance; marathon: »

Walkathon = a walking marathon. A weekend telethon…his competitors derisively rechristened begathon (TV Guide).

[< (mar)athon]

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-athon 7 [əθən] [əθɑːn] suffix
(in nouns) an event in which a particular activity is done for a very long time, especially one organized to raise money for charity

a swimathon

 
Word Origin:
[-athon] on the pattern of (mar)athon.

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-athon
a combining form, barbarously extracted f. marathon, used occas. in the U.S. (talkathon, walkathon), rarely in Britain, to form words denoting something carried on for an abnormal length of time. (Amer. Speech (1934) IX. 76, 317/2.)

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • -athon — [ə thän′] [< (MAR)ATHON] suffix an event marked by length or endurance: used freely to form nonce compounds [walkathon, drinkathon; sale a thon]: also a thon …   English World dictionary

  • Athon — Athon, s. Asplenium …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • athon — [ əθan ] suffix used with some nouns and verbs to make nouns meaning an event or activity that lasts for a long time. These events are often organized in order to make money to help people: walkathon …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • -athon — also thon, suffix denoting prolonged activity and usually some measure of endurance, abstracted from MARATHON (Cf. marathon). E.g. walkathon (1931), skatathon (1933); talkathon (1948); TELETHON (Cf. telethon) (1949) …   Etymology dictionary

  • -athon — suffix forming nouns denoting an action or activity which is carried on for a very long time or on a very large scale, typically to raise funds for charity: a talkathon. Origin on the pattern of (mar)athon …   English new terms dictionary

  • -athon — a suffix indicating an endurance test of a specified kind, as in walkathon, swimathon, often associated with a fundraising campaign as in radiothon, telethon. Also, (following a vowel), thon. {from (mar)athon} …  

  • -athon — noun combining form Etymology: marathon event or activity lasting a long time or involving a great deal of something < talkathon > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • -athon — a suffix extracted from marathon, occurring as the final element in compounds which have the general sense an event, as a sale or contest, drawn out to unusual length, often until a prearranged goal, as the contribution of a certain amount of… …   Universalium

  • athon — marathon …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • -athon — suffix (in nouns) informal an event in which a particular thing is done for a very long time, especially to collect money: a swimathon | a talkathon …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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