Gym - Definition and Overview

Modern indoor gymnasium with pull-down basketball hoops

Gym is a shortened form of gymnasium and refers to facilities intended for indoor sports or exercise.

Gym can also refer to a physical education course or a metal frame support used in outdoor play equipment, as in "jungle gym".

Etymology of gym

Gym is short for the Greek word gymnos which means naked.

Gym is also a short form for the word gymnasium which, in Greek, means place to be naked.

The word gymnasium was used in ancient Greece, meaning a locality for the education of young men, including physical education (exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing, and studies (most gymnasia had libraries that were often used after relaxing in the baths).

Physical education was considered at least as important as learning.

Gyms today

Today the term gymnasium in the sense of a sports facility is still used in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.