-athon

American  

Also -a-thon,

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 .

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Usage

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.