epic

epic [ep′ik]

n.

[L epicus < Gr epikos, (adj.) epic < epos, a word, speech, song, epic < IE * wekwos-, word < base * wekw-, to speak > L vox, OE woma, noise]

1. a long narrative poem in a dignified style about the deeds of a traditional or historical hero or heroes; typically,

a) a poem like the Iliad or the Odyssey, with certain formal characteristics (beginning in medias res, catalog passages, invocations of the muse, etc.): called classical epic

b) a poem like Milton's Paradise Lost, in which such characteristics are applied to later or different materials: called art epic or literary epic

c) a poem like Beowulf, considered as expressing the early ideals and traditions of a people or nation: called folk epic or national epic

2. any long narrative poem regarded as having the style, structure, and importance of an epic, as Dante's Divine Comedy

3. a prose narrative, play, film, etc. regarded as having the qualities of an epic

4. a series of events regarded as a proper subject for an epic

adj.

1. of an epic

2. having the nature of an epic; specif.,

a) heroic; grand; majestic; imposing

b) dealing with or characterized by events of historical or legendary importance: also epical

epically

adv.