from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pentathlon \Pen*tath"lon\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?; ? five + ? a
contest.] (Gr. Antiq.)
1. A fivefold athletic performance peculiar to the great
national games of the Greeks, including leaping, foot
racing, wrestling, throwing the discus, and throwing the
spear.
[1913 Webster]
2. In the modern Olympic Games, a composite contest made up
of a running broad jump, throwing the javelin, a 200-meter
run, throwing the discus, and a 1500-meter run.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]