Special Olympics
- proper noun
- /ˈspɛʃəl ˈɑlɪmpɪks/
- While 10,000 athletes and thousands of volunteers gathered in North Carolina for the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games, state government employees and volunteers were busy turning their food residuals into compost.
- compete in the Special Olympics
- benefit the Special Olympics
- Special Olympics volunteers
I'm asking people, you know, have you seen the Special Olympics?
- I'm asking people, you know, have you seen the Special Olympics?
Examples
-
The convoy raised more than $20,000 to support the athletes of Special Olympics Virginia.
Blog text (7) -
The Truck Convoy is a celebration of the trucking industry and its support of Special Olympics.
Blog text (7) -
I can tell you this: I have gotten more from the Special Olympics than I have given.
Blog text (30) -
By this time, I was attending some Special Olympics events and meeting athletes.
Blog text (30) -
In 2007, I was honored to be asked to serve on the Special Olympics Missouri Board of Directors.
Blog text (30) -
Special Olympics of Orange County recently selected two golfers to compete in a national tournament.
Blog text (5) -
In 1999, I had the opportunity to represent Missouri on the LETR Final Leg team at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina.
Blog text (30) -
"We met our collective goal of 50-plus participants and helped raise more than $20,000 for Special Olympics Virginia, which means athletes all over the state will be able to continue following their passion."
Blog text (7) -
The Special Olympics provide athletes with intellectual disabilities the chance to compete in various sports.
-
Each year, thousands of athletes participate in the Special Olympics, showcasing their skills and determination.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The headwords 'Olympics' (a sporting competition) and 'special' (set apart for a particular purpose) allow a learner to infer this refers to a version of the Olympic-style games for a specific group, so some general sense is accessible from the parts. However, 'special' does not uniquely indicate that the events are for people with intellectual disabilities and the term is a conventionalized proper name, so the precise meaning usually requires cultural or prior exposure.
Etymology
Special Olympics started as sports days made by people who wanted Olympic-style contests for people with intellectual disabilities. The word Special shows it is for a certain group and Olympics shows the style of games, so today Special Olympics means 'international sports competitions' for people with intellectual or physical disabilities.