/ath"leet/ , n.
a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.
[ 1520-30; athleta athletés, equiv. to athle- (var. s. of athleîn to contend for a prize, deriv. of âthlos a contest) + -tes suffix of agency ]
Pronunciation . ATHLETE, ATHLETIC, and ATHLETICS, normally pronounced /ath"leet/ , /ath let"ik/ , and /ath let"iks/ , are heard frequently with an epenthetic schwa, an intrusive unstressed vowel inserted between the first and second syllables: /ath"euh leet'/ , /ath'euh let"ik/ , and /ath'euh let"iks/ . The pronunciations containing the extra syllable are usually considered nonstandard, in spite of their widespread use on radio and television. Pronunciations with similarly intrusive vowels are also heard, though with less currency, for other words, as /fil"euhm/ for film, /el"euhm/ for elm, and /ahr'theuh ruy"tis/ for arthritis, rather than the standard /film/ , /elm/ , and /ahr thruy"tis/ .