WORD FOR THE DAY(4/2/18) agon noun AH-gahn • • • Definition : conflict; especially : the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work Did You Know? Agon comes from the Greek word agÅn, which is translated with a number of meanings, among them "contest," "competition at games," and "gathering." In ancient Greece, agons (the word is also pluralized in English as agones) were contests held during public festivals. The contests—among them the ancient Olympics, on which our modern Olympics is modeled—involved everything from athletics to chariot and horse racing to music and literature. Agon in the...