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Olympics question: Why is a "heat" called a heat?

Looking for the etymology of "heat".

2 Answers

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  • 9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    The "heat" is on. Pressure to perform. Elimination rounds.

    Originally comes from:

    In the 14th century, "heat" was also used to mean "a single intense effort or bout of action,"

  • 9 years ago

    Great question.

    Don't know.

    *****

    Nice find, GeoFan.

    "Thus the modern athletic sense of "heat" was born from the sweat of horses."

    Heh.

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