EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

odyssey

a long, eventful journey or experience

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "odyssey" come from? It comes from Greek Odysseia, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "odyssey" come from? It comes from Greek Odysseia, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Odyssey’s story begins in Greek: Odysseia meant “the epic tale of Odysseus's journey.” Homer's epic poem about the hero Odysseus's long journey home. It reached English by 1800s as odyssey. Generalized to mean any long, eventful journey. Today, odyssey means a long, eventful journey or experience.

  1. Stage 1 · Greek · c. 700 BC Odysseia "the epic tale of Odysseus's journey", Homer's epic poem about the hero Odysseus's long journey home.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s odyssey "a long, eventful journey", generalized to mean any long, eventful journey.

Browse by origin