olympiad

noun (often lowercase)

1. a period of four years reckoned from one celebration of the Olympic Games to the next, by which the Greeks computed time from 776 b.c.
2. a celebration of the modern Olympic Games.

noun

1. a staging of the modern Olympic Games
2. the four-year period between consecutive celebrations of the Olympic Games; a unit of ancient Greek chronology dating back to 776 bc
3. an international contest in chess, bridge, etc

n.late 14c., “period of four years” (between Olympic games), from Old French olimpiade “period of four years,” from Latin Olympiadem, from Greek olympiados, genitive of Olympias (see Olympic). Used by ancient Greeks as a unit in computing time. Revived in modern usage with revival of the games, 1896.