-athon

1. a suffix extracted from marathon, occurring as the final element in compounds which have the general sense “an event, as a sale or contest, drawn out to unusual length, often until a prearranged goal, as the contribution of a certain amount of money, is reached”: walkathon; readathon .

Example Sentences

Bobbie Athon, a spokeswoman for the Kansas State Historical Society, which owns the mission in Fairway, said the agency has not been contacted by federal officials but would be happy to work with the initiative if asked.

From Seattle Times

“But in the current parlance and spectrum of things, she seems like a liberal compared to how far things have gone to the right,” Athon said.

From Seattle Times

But Joe Athon, a 48-year-old Democrat from the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, said he saw Bollier as “a traditional Reagan-type Republican” during her time in the Legislature.

From Seattle Times

Other design mocks likely to attract enormous interest include Mr. Gandini’s models, an Alfa Romeo Carabo and the Lamborghini Athon.

From Wall Street Journal

The text also warns fans not to expect a “gravity defying, city-block destroying CG f–athon.”

From Washington Times

Words That Use -athon

What does -athon mean?

The combining form –athon is used like a suffix meaning “a long event, typically with a particular goal.” It is occasionally used to form informal or slang terms.

The form –athon is derived from the ending of the word marathon, meaning “a foot race over a course measuring 26.2 miles.” The name is an allusion to the ancient Greek legend of Pheidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to carry news of the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BCE.

What are variants of –athon?

When combined with words or word elements that end with a vowel, the form –athon becomes –thon, as in telethon. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on –thon.

Examples of -athon

One example of a term that features the form –athon is talkathon, “an unusually long speech or discussion, especially on a matter of public interest, as a Congressional filibuster or a televised question-and-answer session with a political candidate.”

The first part of the word talkathon, talk–, means “talk.” As we have seen, the form –athon means “a long event.” Talkathon literally means “a long talking event.”

What are some words that use the combining form –athon?

• bikeathon
• drunkathon
• hackathon
• shopathon
• walkathon

What are some other forms that –athon may be commonly confused with?

• -athlon
• -ation

Break it down!

Given the meaning of –athon, what kind of an event is a walkathon?