Paralympics

name

Etymology: Blend of para- (as in paraplegia or parallel (as preferred by the International Paralympic Committee itself, according to Snopes)) + Olympics, itself from Olympic + -s.

1. Synonym of Paralympic Games (“an international sports competition participated in by sportspeople with physical disabilities, which is held every four years as a counterpart of the Olympic Games and nowadays at the same venue”).

   “At present, however, the Long Beach resident has more than records on his mind, mainly getting a representative U.S. team to the 1964 "paralympics" to be held in Tokyo Nov. 8–12. [Frank] Vecera is on a fund-raising drive for the six California athletes selected to perform on this year's team. The tab for transporting the six to Tokyo is $3,900.”

   “The flames will then be joined together next week at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the home of the Paralympics, and the united flame will make its final journey to London for the opening of the 14th Paralympic Games next Wednesday. […] The lighting ceremonies mark the start of the biggest Paralympics in history, which will see 4,200 Paralympians from 165 nations compete in London in sports including wheelchair racing, athletics, blind football and wheelchair rugby, and pit their wills against the finest talents in the world.”