athletic

• athletick (obsolete)

Borrowed from Middle French athletique and Latin āthlēticus, from Ancient Greek ἀθλητικός (athlētikós, “relating to an athlete”), from ἀθλητής (athlētḗs, “athlete”):^[1] equivalent to athlete +‎ -ic. For more, see athlete.

The Super Mario sense is effectively a reborrowing of Japanese アスレチック (asurechikku, “obstacle course”), originally borrowed from English athletic; this sense was itself originally a clipping of the genericized wasei eigo trademark フィールドアスレチック (fīrudo asurechikku, “Field Athletic”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /æθˈlɛt.ɪk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtɪk

athletic (comparative more athletic, superlative most athletic)

1. (not comparable) Having to do with athletes.

   Are you a member of the American Athletic Association?

2. Physically active.

   Since you're such an athletic person, you may wish to consider joining.

   • 2008 March 2, Bruce Barcott, “The Higher They Climb”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     An athletic kid from New Jersey, Fischer was known as a bold risk taker — they called him “the fallingest man in climbing” — until an old-school cragger taught him the Zen of controlled ascent.

3. Having a muscular, well developed body, being in shape.

   You have such an athletic build—you must work out regularly.

4. An attribute of a motion or play which requires fine physical ability.

   The center fielder made an athletic play to snatch the ball from over the fence.

5. (video games) Of a level in a Super Mario game: with an emphasis on platforming challenge, often involving precise jumps between floating platforms above a bottomless pit, and having upbeat background music.
   • 2018, Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia, Milwaukie: Dark Horse, →OCLC, page 65:

     An athletic course in which Mario must traverse rotating lifts and stretch blocks.

   • 2019, S. M. Lucas, V. Volz, “Tile pattern KL-divergence for analysing and evolving game levels”, in Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, page 171:

     Mario levels are usually indicated to belong to one of five types (overworld, underground, athletic, castle, underwater)². The type determines the aesthetic style of the level, but also affects the challenges that are posed. For example, athletic levels usually contain platforms that are spaced far apart, as well as moving platforms. They thus require precise and timed jumps to traverse.

• athlete

athletic (plural athletics)

1. A muscular, large–boned person, in the typology of Ernst Kretschmer.

• thetical