epic

The word “epic” means a long narrative poem or story celebrating the heroic deeds of a legendary figure. In plain terms, a grand, heroic story — or, informally, anything impressively big or memorable.

“Epic” is pronounced EHP-ihk (/ˈɛp.ɪk/ in IPA).

Here is “epic” used in a sentence: “Homer's "Odyssey" is one of the most famous epics in Western literature.”

Depending on how it is used, “epic” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “epic” comes from Latin. From Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, related to epos, "word, story.".

“Epic” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Epic” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a long narrative poem or story celebrating the heroic deeds of a legendary figure.

An epic is a long narrative poem celebrating the heroic deeds of a legendary figure. A saga is a long prose story, originally from Norse and Icelandic tradition, often following a family or hero across generations.

As a noun, an epic is a long heroic poem or story on a grand scale. As an adjective, epic means impressively large, heroic, or grand, as in 'an epic journey.'

Using epic to mean 'excellent' or 'amazing,' as in 'that was epic,' is common informal slang and perfectly acceptable in casual conversation. In formal writing, it is better to keep epic for its senses of grand scale or heroic narrative.

Classic epics include the ancient Greek poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. These long narrative poems recount the heroic deeds and adventures of legendary figures, which is the defining feature of the epic form.