What does epic mean?
Word: Epic
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Epic means a long poem or story about heroes and their great deeds. As an adjective, it describes something very great, long or impressive.
Synonyms: saga, legend
How do you spell epic?
Syllables: ep - ic
Tricky part: It ends in a plain c, like music and comic; there is no k at the end.
Watch out for: epik, epick
Memory tip: Big stories need no extra letters: epic finishes with a single c, the way magic does.
Epic in a sentence
Example 1: Our class put on a play based on a scene from an old Tamil epic.
Example 2: The trek to the base camp turned into an epic adventure.
Example 3: The film is an epic about a family of weavers over a hundred years.
Fun Fact
The word epic comes from the Greek epos, meaning 'word' or 'song'.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word epic as used in the sentence:
The team's epic win in the final will be talked about for years.
a) historic
b) heroic
c) ordinary
d) memorable
Show answer
c) ordinary. An ordinary win is soon forgotten, while an epic one is remembered as grand.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. proverb 2. eppic 3. ballad 4. fable
a) a long poem or story about heroes and great deeds
b) a short story that teaches a lesson, often with animals
c) a poem or song that tells a story in short verses
d) a short, well-known saying that gives advice
Show answer
a) a long poem or story about heroes and great deeds. Eppic doubles the p, but epic has just one; ballad, proverb and fable need no change.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
_p_c
a) a, i
b) i, i
c) e, i
d) e, e
Show answer
c) e, i. The word opens with a short e and has a short i in its second half.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The Ramayana is an epic that tells of Rama's long years in the forest and of his return to Ayodhya, where people lit rows of lamps to welcom him home.
a) forest
b) welcom
c) return
d) epic
Show answer
b) welcom. Welcome ends in a silent e, just like come.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which Indian work below is an epic?
a) the Mahabharata
b) the Panchatantra
c) the Gitanjali
d) the Arthashastra
Show answer
a) the Mahabharata
2. In everyday talk, an epic queue at the ticket counter is one that is ____.
a) just outside the station
b) moving very fast
c) full of children
d) extremely long
Show answer
d) extremely long
