n., pl., -di·ums, or -di·a (-dē-ə).
- A large, usually open structure for sports events with tiered seating for spectators.
- A course on which foot races were held in ancient Greece, usually semicircular and having tiers of seats for spectators.
- An ancient Greek measure of distance, based on the length of such a course and equal to about 185 meters (607 feet).
- Medicine. A stage or period in the course of a disease.
- Biology. A stage in the development or life history of an organism.
[Middle English, unit of length, from Latin, from Greek stadion, perhaps alteration (influenced by stadios, firm) of spadion, racetrack, from spān, to pull.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
