n.
- a long poem narrating the deeds of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation.
▸a long film, book, or other work portraying heroic deeds or covering an extended period of time.
- informal an extremely long and demanding task or activity.
adj.
relating to or characteristic of an epic or epics.
Derivative
- epical adj.
- epically adv.
Etymology
C16 (as adj.): via L. from Gk epikos, from epos ‘word, song’.
