Gymnos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient Greek term often used to describe nakedness, particularly in the context of physical culture and athletic training
2. A word signifying the practice of exercising or competing unclothed, associated with ancient Greek athletic competitions
3. A term relating to the concept of being nude, particularly in relation to physical fitness and sports in ancient Greek traditions

Etymology: Strictly speaking, "gymnos" is an adjective in Greek, meaning "naked," "bare," or "unclad," and it could describe anything stripped of covering. Its best-known descendant is "gymnasion," the Greek word for a place of exercise, built from it, because men trained there without clothes. Greek athletes competed naked, and the tradition that the Olympic runner Orsippus of Megara first dropped his loincloth around 720 BC is recorded by ancient writers but cannot be verified. The root is shared with Latin "nudus," the source of English "nude." Greek "gymnos" and Latin "nudus" come from a common ancestor, so the two languages reached the same idea of bareness independently in their own vocabularies.

Synonyms: gymnosperms, conifers, pine trees

Antonyms: angiosperms, flowering plants