ath-, athl- +

1. Rigorous self-denial and active self-restraint.
2. The act of denying oneself; controlling one's impulses.
3. Etymology: from Late Latin, which came from Greek askēsis; literally, "exercise", from Greek askein.

1. The practice of self denial as a spiritual discipline.
2. Pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline.
3. A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion.
4. Etymology: used since about 1646, from Greek asketikos, "rigorously self-disciplined", from asketes, "monk, hermit"; from askein, "to exercise, to train"; originally, "to train for athletic competition, to practice gymnastics, to exercise".

The noun meaning "one of the early Christians who retired to the desert to live solitary lives of meditation and prayer" is from 1673.

Ascetic actually goes back to Greek asketes, "an athlete in training". The Greek word for athletic training is askesis, and from it we get ascesis, which means "rigorous self-discipline" or "training".

Very much the same thing is denoted by asceticism, which was first used in English by Sir Thomas Browne in 1646.

1. The principles and practices of an ascetic or extreme self-denial and austerity.
2. The doctrine that the ascetic life (rigorous self-denial, abstinence) releases the soul from bondage to the body and permits union with the divine.

Originally, an ascetic was someone who practiced the mode of life of a hermit or a monk, characterized by solitude, meditation, prayer, toil, fasting, and celibacy.

Implicit in this lifestyle of self-discipline and self-denial is the idea that the pleasures of this world should be renounced in favor of a "higher" purpose; such as, intellectual discipline or spiritual insight.

1. A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contests.
2. Someone who is trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

1. Characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion; active: "She had an athletic lifestyle for most of her life."
2. Physically strong and well-developed; muscular; such as, an actor with an athletic physique.

1. Intense energy.
2. Skill in running, jumping, throwing, etc.

1. A contest in which cross-country skiers, carrying rifles, shoot at targets at four stops along a 12.5-mi. (20 km) course.
2. An athletic contest comprising any two consecutive events.

An athlete who takes part in or trains chiefly for a decathlon.

An athletic contest consisting of ten different track-and-field events and won by the contestant having the highest total score.

An athletic contest for women comprising seven different track-and-field events and won by the contestant accumulating the highest total score: "The heptahlon includes the following seven track and field events: 200-meter and 800-meter runs, 100-meter hurdles, a shot put, the javelin throw, a high jump, and the long jump."

An athlete who competes, or specializes in a pentathlon (contest consisting of five different events).

An athletic contest comprising five different track and field events and won by the contestant gaining the highest total score.

An athlete who competes in a triathlon.

1. An athletic or sporting contest composed of three different events.
2. An intense athletic-endurance competition in which all participants must complete an ocean swim, a bicycle ride, and a long-distance run.