Lycos is an early internet search engine and web portal that was launched in 1994. It was one of the first search engines to allow users to search for information on the World Wide Web. Over the years, Lycos expanded its services to include email, web hosting, and social networking features. At its peak in the late 1990s, Lycos was one of the most popular search engines, competing with others like Yahoo! and AltaVista. However, as newer search engines like Google emerged, Lycos's popularity declined. Today, it still exists as a web portal, offering various online services.