ep|ic

ep|ic «EHP ihk», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. a long poem that tells of the adventures of one or more great heroes; epopee. An epic is written in a dignified, majestic style, and often gives expression to the characters and ideals of a nation or race. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Beowulf, Milton's Paradise Lost, Virgil's Aeneid, and the German Nibelungenlied are epics.

2. any writing, drama, motion picture, or artistic work resembling or suggesting an epic. Some very long novels are called epics. »

He would like to film an epic of ancient Egypt instead of one-reelers about cowboys, Indians, and pirates (New Yorker).

3. Figurative. a story or series of events worthy of being the subject of an epic: »

The heroic resistance of the French is a living epic.

–adj.

1. of or like an epic: »

an epic poem, epic poetry, epic sonority.

2. grand in style; heroic: »

epic deeds. Flying over the Atlantic for the first time was an epic achievement.

3. very great or large: »

an epic snowstorm. A stay-at-home protest would have to be of epic proportions to produce a victory (New York Times).

╂[< Latin epicus < Greek epikós < épos story, word]

–ep´i|cal|ly, adverb.