What does epical mean?
"Epical" is a formal adjective meaning characteristic of an epic — the long, grand narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds — or, more broadly, marked by grandeur and monumental scale. When critics describe a novel, film, or historical undertaking as epical, they signal sweeping scope, elevated style, and themes of heroism on a large canvas, much as Homer's Iliad or Tolstoy's War and Peace operate across whole societies rather than single lives. The word derives from the Greek "epos," meaning word, song, or story, the same root that gives us "epic" itself and, more distantly, "episode." Although fully established in English since at least the seventeenth century, epical has gradually ceded everyday ground to its shorter cousin "epic," which now dominates both formal and casual use. Today "epical" survives chiefly in scholarly writing and deliberate high style, lending a slightly archaic, bookish dignity wherever it appears.
adjectiveRelating to or characteristic of an epic or of epic poetry; by extension, grand, heroic, or monumental in scale or style. It functions largely as a fuller variant of the adjective 'epic.'
- Relating to or characteristic of epic poetry or an epic.
- Grand, heroic, or monumental in scale, ambition, or style (by extension from the literary sense).
"The novelist's epical treatment of the war spanned three generations of a single family."
"Critics admired the film's epical retelling of the nation's founding."
"Her epical ambitions for the trilogy required nearly a decade of research."
'Epical' is what happens when 'epic' puts on a dinner jacket — same Greek root as 'episode,' which literally meant 'the part that comes in between.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of epical
The word traces back to the ancient Greek noun "epos," meaning word, song, or verse, which gave rise to "epikos" (of epic poetry) and thence to Latin "epicus." English adopted the related form "epic" in the sixteenth century, and "epical" followed shortly afterward as a fuller adjectival variant built with the common English suffix "-al." Its closest relatives are "epic" and "episodic," both ultimately descended from the same Greek root.
Related word forms
How epical is actually used
Formal to literary in register. In ordinary modern usage, 'epic' has almost entirely displaced 'epical' as the default adjective, so 'epical' tends to appear in academic criticism about literature or in deliberately elevated prose. It should not be used for casual praise (as slang 'epic' often is).
Easily confused with epical
'Epic' serves as both a noun (a long heroic poem) and the standard everyday adjective, whereas 'epical' exists only as an adjective and is a rarer, more literary variant.