sportn.1
/spɔːt/, U.S. /spɔrt/ I. Senses relating to play, pleasure, or entertainment. Cf. older disport n.
1. † c. Lovemaking, amorous play; (also) sexual intercourse; an instance of this, an amorous exploit. Obsolete.In later use frequently punning on sense 1b.
a. Diversion, entertainment, fun. Frequently with modifying adjective (as good, great, etc.). Now somewhat archaic.In quots. 1590 and 1645 personified.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [noun]
gleea700
playeOE
gameeOE
lakec1175
skentingc1175
wil-gomenc1275
solacec1290
deduit1297
envesurec1300
playingc1300
disport1303
spilea1325
laking1340
solacingc1384
bourdc1390
mazec1390
welfarea1400
recreationc1400
solancec1400
sporta1425
sportancea1450
sportingc1475
deport1477
recreancea1500
shurting15..
ebate?1518
recreating1538
abatementc1550
pleasuring1556
comfortmenta1558
disporting1561
pastiming1574
riec1576
joyance1595
spleen1598
merriment1600
amusement1603
amusing1603
entertainment1612
spleena1616
divertisement1651
diversion1653
disportment1660
sporting of nature1666
fun1726
délassement1804
gammock1841
pleasurement1843
dallying1889
rec1922
good, clean fun1923
cracka1966
looning1966
shoppertainment1993
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 37 Lecta, sporte of redynge.
a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) l. 601 (MED) Whan they had take hyr sporte in halle, The kynge to counselle gan hyr calle.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.ij To searche theyr bodyes fayre and clere Therof they had good sporte.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxix The Ladies had good sporte to se these auncient persones Maskers.
1590 E. Spenser Muiopotmos 290 Before the Bull she pictur'd winged Loue, with his yong brother Sport.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. i. 115 But to the sport abrode are you bound thither? View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton L'Allegro in Poems 31 Sport that wrincled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 193 The good Master thought it bad sport to see Swords at his breast.
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim (1687) xxii. 232 Let them see that you can rest from your labours, and yet not spend your whole time in sport and play.
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 850 Aside, sequester'd from the vast resort, Antinous sate spectator of the sport.
1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xliii. 121 This has been the sport and sometimes the labour of my solitude.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas II. v. i. 284 If I come across them to-morrow..they shall see such sport as will be no sport to them.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. lxxix. 42 Great sport to them was jumping in a sack.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xv. 131 ‘I'm glad you think it good sport, brother,’ she continued.
1904 T. Hardy Dynasts: Pt. 1st 18 I saw good sport therein, and pâean'd the Will That It restrained so stultifying a move!
1984 N. Guild Berlin Warning (1985) ii. 24 Chasing Jerry fighters back across the Channel had been great sport.
b. Success, pleasure, or recreation derived from or afforded by an activity, originally and esp. hunting, shooting, or fishing. Frequently with adjectives expressing the level of success.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > [noun] > sport derived from
game?a1300
sport?a1450
?a1450 Percy Poem on Falconry (Yale) l. 644 in Studier i Modern Språkvetenskap (1968) 3 30 A hoby is gode to the larke..Redely she wille gare hem darke... In hem gode sport þu shalt fynde.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xl. 111 In such sorte as the houndes should not be able to sent it so well, but should ouershoote the chase, and that would marre the sporte.
1592 B. Rich Aduentures Brusanus ii. viii. 73 I can most fitly compare louers to hunters, that likes better of the sporte, then they doe of the game it selfe when they haue it.
1612 J. Webster White Divel sig. H Yong Leuerets stand not long; and womens anger Should, like their flight, procure a little sport.
1629 L. Carlell Deserving Favourite iv. i. sig. I4 v These old fat Deere make no sport at all.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii I am..glad to have so fair an entrance to this day's sport . View more context for this quotation
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 141 A chosen few Alone the Sport enjoy, nor droop beneath Their pleasing Toils.
1773 J. Cook Jrnl. 2 Apr. (1969) II. 115 Some [wild fowl] we killed and returned on board at 10 o'Clock in the evening when I learnt that the other party had but indiffert sport.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 130 The higher an angler goes up the Thames,..the more sport, and the greater variety of fish he will meet with.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth viii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 218 I was thinking to see my hawks fly, and your company will make the sport more pleasant.
1838 G. P. R. James Robber I. ii. 21 Sir Walter desired me to compliment you, sir,..and to wish you good sport.
1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iii. 114 The Scots lords were grieved..that these should return without having any sport..which the Border wars afforded.
1881 E. D. Brickwood in Encycl. Brit. XII. 202/2 When well-known winners entered for a race, other competitors withdrew, and sport was spoiled.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iv. 62 Pressing Glynn to come down..for the twelfth of August, promising him good sport.
1915 J. Buchan Thirty-nine Steps vii. 178 We discussed sport..for he had hunted a bit in his day.
1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 27 May 17/3 The gun who took my place fared even worse than I did with regard to the amount of sport which he obtained.
1998 Falconers & Raptor Conservation Mag. Spring 7/2 The dog group had particularly good sport in the low ground rushes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > action of caressing > [noun] > instance of caressing > act or instance of amorous caressing
playOE
gamec1225
playingc1300
sportc1450
slap and tickle1928
lumber1966
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 2087 (MED) xxxti maydens, lo..The fayrest of hem ye chese; Take your sporte.
c1475 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Caius) l. 3176 (MED) In-to the Chambre lete vs goo, Amonges the maydens some sportes to doo.
?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) l. 459 Prynt yow in sportes whych best doth yow plese.
1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 170 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 266 Than in hett luve thay talkit vderis till Thus at þair sport now will I leif þame still.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. i. 227 When the blood is made dull with the act of sport . View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 48 Italians love a fearefull wench, that often flies from Venus sport.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 102 When now the Nuptial time Approaches for the stately Steed to climb;..Distend his Chine, and pamper him for sport . View more context for this quotation
1772 T. Bridges Burlesque Transl. Homer (rev. ed.) i. 4 In England, if you trust report, Whether in country, town, or court, The parsons daughters make best sport.
1787 C. Morris Compl. Coll. Songs (ed. 5) ii. sig. *B As he knew in our state that the women had weight, He chose one well hung for good sport, Sir.
2. † b. A theatrical performance; a show, play, or interlude. Obsolete.In quot. 1763 echoing Shakespeare's use.
a. An activity providing diversion, entertainment, or fun; a pastime.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > [noun]
playeOE
gameeOE
disportc1380
sportc1443
museryc1450
pastime?1473
gaud1587
playgame1596
exercise1622
amusement1632
evagation1638
retirement1641
divertisement1642
diversiona1684
ploya1689
lounge1788
divertissement1804
happening1959
letterboxing1977
timepass1982
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 242 (MED) If a man wone him silf bi summe þouȝtis or spechis..forto gendre into him desijr to heuenly placis, myrþis, sportis, dignitees and officis to be had in heuene, [etc.].
c1475 tr. Secreta Secret. (Tripolitanus abbrev.) (1977) 362 (MED) Theise thinges folowinge ben counfortable to nature..good spoortes, to see richesse, to haue grete reuerence, [etc.].
1511 H. Watson tr. St. Bernardino Chirche of Euyll Men & Women sig. Bvv Some cursed blynde folkes say that it is none yll for to playe, & that it is but a sporte.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. EEiii Myrthe and sportes maketh the soule remyse, slacke, and neglygent.
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xxii. 63 Your present kindenes makes my past miseries sports . View more context for this quotation
1678 Young Man's Calling 71 They are too commonly seeming sports, real vexations.
1780 S. Johnson Let. 10 June (1992) III. 271 The high sport was to burn the Jayls. This was a good rabble trick.
1790 W. Cowper Let. 2 May (1982) III. 374 I am still at the old sport; Homer all the morning and Homer all the Evening.
1831 W. Scott Count Robert ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. I. 66 But I will settle this sport presently.
1899 Q. Rev. Apr. 456 The crowd..cheerfully joined the sport of priest-baiting.
1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings Proem 7 It shall be a duty and a pleasing sport to wander with Momus beneath the tropic stars.
1998 Time 2 Mar. 68/3 Not even a rich child-queen can reign safely in this sport of revolving crowns.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun]
playeOE
joyc1440
sportc1475
historya1509
drama?1521
stage playa1535
gameplay1560
show1565
device1598
piece1616
auto1670
action1679
natak1826
speakie1921
c1475 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Harl. 642) (1790) 17 (MED) For which [feast] he slewe 40,000 kyne and oxen..and other wilde bestes of the woode..with much other purveyaunce of stuffe of vytayle, with many disguisinges, playis, minstralsye, and sportes.
1571 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 129 In sundry Tragedies, Playes, Maskes and Sportes.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. ii. 14 The shallowest thickskinne, of that barraine sort, Who Pyramus presented, in their sport, Forsooke his Scene. View more context for this quotation
1608 W. Shakespeare Richard II iv. i. 280 Marke..the morall of this sport.
1645 L. Gatford Λόγος Ἀλεξιϕάρμακος 19 Any unecessary [sic] publique meetings or concourse of the people such as Wakes, Feasts, Theatricall sports, Campings, or Football-playes, Dauncings, or the like pastimes.
1763 G. Colman Fairy Tale i. i. 7 Most noble Duke, to us be kind; Be you and all your courtiers blind, That you may not our errors find, But smile upon our sport.
c. A piece of intellectual or literary playfulness; a jeu d'esprit; (also) a piece of writing characterized by this. With of and distinguishing word, as a sport of terms, a sport of wit, a sport of words, etc. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1569 J. Sanford tr. H. C. Agrippa Of Vanitie Artes & Sci. xlvii. f. 61 v Al this is nothinge els, but a certaine sporte of Allegories, the whiche idle men busied in letters, pointes, and numbers, which this tongue and manner of writtinge dothe easily suffer, accordinge to theire pleasure doo forge and reforge.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. ii. sig. P My words being so passionate; and shooting so quite contrarie from the markes of Mopsaes worthinesse, she perceiued well enough, whither they were directed: and therefore being so masked, she was contented, as a sporte of witte to attend them.
1633 T. Heywood Eng. Traveller iv. i. sig. I4 What he did, Was but for his Young Master, I allow it Rather as sports of Wit, then iniuries.
1685 E. Stillingfleet Origines Britannicæ iv. 208 I cannot think Learned Men write these things any otherwise, than as Sports of Wit which are intended for the diversion..of the Reader.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. Observ. 329 An Author who should introduce such a sport of words upon the stage, even in the Comedy of our days, would meet with small applause.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. II. 282 Clemens speaks of this Ogdoas, as the νοητος κοσμος: which is certainly a sport of terms.
1830 J. Mackintosh Life T. More in Wks. (1846) I. 423 Enabling the writer to call the whole a mere sport of wit.
1917 Amer. Church Monthly Dec. 256 That is, there inheres in the terms of the proposition itself something which is a negation of success; and to propose it at all is only a sport of words.
3. † b. Jesting, joking; merriment, mirth. Obsolete.
a. A matter or incident providing entertainment, diversion, or amusement; a joke, a jest. Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke
gameOE
jape1377
bourda1387
mirthc1390
mowa1393
chapec1400
skauncec1440
sport?1449
popc1540
flirt1549
jest1551
merriment1576
shifta1577
facetiae1577
gig1590
pleasantry1594
lepidity1647
rallery1653
drollery1654
wit-crack1662
joco1663
pleasance1668
joke1670
jocunditya1734
quizzification1801
funniment1826
side-splitter1834
funniness1838
quizzery1841
jocularity1846
rib-tickler1855
jocosity1859
humorism1860
gag1863
gas1914
nifty1918
mirthquaker1921
rib1929
boffo1934
giggle1936
?1449 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 235 If þer myt ben purveyd any mene þat it myt ben dasched..it were a good sport, for þan he wold ben wode.
c1453 (c1437) Brut (Harl. 53) 574 Sir Iohn Radclif did it for a sport, because it was Saint George day.
c1530 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. Fiij v Lo here is a sport, our bottell is contrary To a Cowes vtter [etc.].
1548 T. Cranmer Catechismus sig. Di The name of God is taken in vayne, when..men make a trifle or a lawghynge sporte of the wordes of holy scripture.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxixv It is a sporte and a pleasaunt syght to see, howe the Rauens wyll stryue amonges them selues for the carion.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 144 In a merrie sport..let the forfaite be nominated for an equall pound of your faire flesh. View more context for this quotation
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 64 Especially, it is a Sport to see, when a Bold Fellow is out of Countenance.
1671 A. Marvell Let. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 323 On this they voted it a Libel, and to be burned by the Hangman. Which was done; but the Sport was, the Hangman burned the Lords, Order with it.
1701 M. Pix Czar of Muscovy ii. 21 Murders and Rapes are but a Sport to thee.
1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives VI. cxv. 225 To deceive in countries where deception is a pastime, authorised, practised, and applauded, is I find something very opposite to what would seem the same thing, in this gloomy land of apathy and phlegm. There it is a sport and a pleasure.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 40 I was the same David Deans of whom there was a sport at the Revolution.
1993 P. Sangar Growth Eng. Trade under Mughals ix. 229 It was a sport to the travellers to see these ladies to fall out among themselves about ‘a chipp or a piece of pott’, scolding or railing for 5 or 6 hours at a stretch.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [noun]
dreamOE
man-dreamOE
gleea1200
galec1200
bauderyc1386
oliprancec1390
cheera1393
gaynessc1400
disportc1405
joyousitiea1450
festivitya1500
lakea1500
gaiety1573
merriment1574
jucundity1575
galliardise?1577
jouissance1579
merrymake1579
jolliment1590
mirth1591
jollyhead1596
spleen1598
jocantry16..
geniality1609
jovialty1621
jocundry1637
gaietry1650
sport1671
fun1726
galliardism1745
gig1777
merrymaking1779
hilarity1834
rollick1852
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry
playOE
gameOE
ragec1330
ribaldyc1330
triflinga1382
bourda1387
japeryc1386
jesting1526
jest1551
jollity1591
pleasantry1602
lepidity1647
drollery1653
droll1670
sport1671
pleasancy1684
funniment1822
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 141 He knew sho was bod a symple thyng & ansswerd halfe in sporte & said; ‘Thai sall nevur be savid bod if þai crepe into a hate oven’.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 175 (MED) Deth kan no sporte; wher I smyte, þer is no grace.
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlix. f. 295v The women vnderstanding those wordes, made as though they knewe nothing, and after a little sporte and laughter betweene them: they went to bed.
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon sig. A3 I cease to expose to your sport the picture of those Pamphleters, and Poets, that make a patrimonie of In speech.
1632 F. Quarles Divine Fancies 130 The Persian Court Gave welcome to delights, and youthly sport.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 396 Thrice I deluded her, and turn'd to sport Her importunity. View more context for this quotation
1778 F. Burney Let. 27 Aug. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 105 Dr. Johnson..in the evening..was as lively & full of wit & sport as I have ever seen him.
1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 187 He thinks as a humourist, he feels, imagines, acts as a humourist; Sport is the element in which his nature lives and works.
1888 in G. Meyer River & People (1965) 168 The men and women are always full of sport; so different from the sombre character of the Argentine or Oriental.
4.
a. An activity involving physical exertion and skill, esp. (particularly in modern use) one regulated by set rules or customs in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Frequently in plural.In early use the sense of ‘sport’ as a diversion or amusement is paramount; by the 18th and 19th centuries the term was often used with reference to hunting, shooting, and fishing (see blood, field sports at the first element). The consolidation of organized sport (particularly football, rugby, cricket, and athletics) in the 19th cent. reinforced the notion of sport as physical competition (for contact, motor-, racket, spectator, team, water sport, etc., see the first element).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [noun]
playeOE
gameOE
dalliancec1385
sport1491
1491 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 226/2 In na place of the realme be vsit fut bawis gouff or vthir sic vnproffitable sportis.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. liiii But and thei played small game..than might it be called a good game, a good play, a good sporte, and a good pastyme.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. xii. sig. L8 The fry of children yong Their wanton sportes and childish mirth did play.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies vi. xxviii. 492 The Prelates have laboured to take from them these dances;..but yet they suffer them, for that part of them are but sportes of recreation.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 19 Sept. (1970) I. 248 Some of us fell to Handycapp, a sport that I never knew before.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 47 I..bend the Parthian Bow: As if with Sports my Sufferings I could ease.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace Art of Poetry 546 Monarchs were courted in Pierian Strain, And comic Sports reliev'd the wearied Swain.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 9 The sports of children satisfy the child.
1800 W. Windham Speeches Parl. (1812) I. 338 If we, who have every source of amusement open to us, and yet follow these cruel sports, become rigid censors of the sports of the poor.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) vii. 66 I..am delighted to view any sports which may be safely indulged in.
1873 Harper's Mag. Apr. 664/1 In Belgium, indeed, pigeon-racing is a national sport, like horse-racing in England.
1904 St. Nicholas May 667/1 The sports are mostly skating, and skeeing, which is very amusing.
1935 Amer. Girl July 36/3 M. Ducros makes us feel that waterskiing may have airy charms that the older sport, aquaplaning, lacks.
1961 Radio Times 14 Sept. 30/4 Behind the scenes at an international motor race to hear more about this exciting sport from top racing drivers.
1972 Daily Tel. 13 Oct. (Colour Suppl.) 10/3 In America the sport of ‘hang gliding’..is becoming extremely popular.
2007 Ultra Fit 17 v. 105 Modern Pentathlon is one of the world's most demanding sports.
b. In plural. An occasion on which people compete in various athletic or other sporting activities. Cf. game n. 9b.In early use frequently referring to the ancient Olympic Games.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > series of, as public spectacle
gamea1387
sports1535
Olympic Games1636
gymkhana1861
meet1893
sportfest1919
summer games1928
sportsfest1953
Commonwealth Games1954
motorkhana1954
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Macc. iv. 4 What tyme as the Olympiades sportes were played at Tyrus (the kynge him selfe beinge presente).
1594 T. Kyd tr. R. Garnier Cornelia iv. i. 134 Like them that (stryuing at th' Olympian sports To grace themselues with honor of the game) Annoynt theyr sinewes fit for wrestling.
1655 Duchess of Newcastle Worlds Olio iii. iii. 207 Their Sports like the old Olympick Games.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 330 That Day with solemn Sports I mean to grace.
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred iv. 120 None made more bold Efforts To gain the Prize at old Olympick Sports.
1736 T. Gray Let. 8 May in Corr. T. Gray & W. Mason (1853) 3 Oft in Pisa's sports, his native land Admired that arm.
1860 Chambers's Encycl. I. 519 Athletic sports were first witnessed at Rome 186 b.c.
1892 Isis 27 Apr. 3/1 The Oxford and Cambridge Sports, which were kept at Kensington.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 5 May 12/4 The green committee did not consider that golf was a game likely to be benefited by inclusion in any programme of the Olympic Sports.
1929 Times 4 Feb. 10/2 The crowd..pours into the dale in August to see the fell runners and wrestlers at the Grasmere sports.
1968 G. M. Williams From Scenes like These iii. 54 The first time he'd really noticed her was at the school sports.
1997 A. Smith Like (2001) 183 The field where the shows came in June and where they held the inter-school sports.
c. Participation in activities involving physical exertion and skill, (now) esp. competitive activities regulated by set rules or customs; such activities collectively.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [noun] > collectively
sport1793
body play1881
1793 C. Smith Old Manor House I. ii. 48 Her room was in a turret over a sort of lumber-room, where the game-keeper kept his nets and his rods, and where Orlando used to deposit his bow, his cricket-bats, and other instruments of sport.
1863 Meliora Oct. 195 If recreation is found, or pastime is sought in activity or change,..it is called diversion; and if we set ourselves to take part in the amusement,..it constitutes sport.
1884 Longman's Mag. Mar. 492 All other branches of athletic sport..have their ruling bodies, and so has cycling.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iii. 46 I..found he was well up in sporting, or rather turf, matters. There is very little sport in them.
1913 Sat. Evening Post 16 Sept. 16/1 Another indication of the Internationalization of sport may be read in the track games held for Chinese undergraduates of American schools and universities.
1941 Faugh-a-Ballagh 34 84/1 The Company still lives up to its laurels, and in sport is still outstanding. Its cross-country team has won nearly every Inter-Company event, while the soccer team is undefeated.
1989 M. Coren Gilbert iii. 43 Gilbert attempted the game of golf, and was confirmed in his view that sport was not his particular vocation.
2000 Big Issue 20 Mar. 40/2 (advt.) Down-to-earth SBF..slim and attractive, enjoys sport, interior design, reading, music and adventure.
5. With of, †to.
a. Something tossed about by natural forces, esp. the wind or waves, as if a plaything.
ΚΠ
1594 W. Jones tr. J. Lipsius Sixe Bks. Politickes iii. vi. 49 I Haue shewed you the plaine, and easie wayes, wherein our Counsellers may safely set sailes; but..they may easily become a sport, and pastime to the winde.
1625 T. Adams Three Serm. i. 22 Dust, the sport of the winde, the very slaue of the beesome.
?1644 J. Howe Psal. 4, Vers. 7 2 Those ships..were notwithstanding torne by common Tempests, and made the sport of an ordinary wave.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 181 While we..Caught in a fierie Tempest shall be hurl'd Each on his rock transfixt, the sport and prey Of racking whirlwinds. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 365 But, oh! commit not thy prophetick Mind To flitting Leaves, the sport of ev'ry Wind.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 7 When the Winds in Southern Quarters rise, Ships, from their Anchors torn, become their sport.
1788 Massachusetts Spy 2 Oct. 3/3 For 24 hours she was the sport of the waves.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. viii. 155 Blown, like a kindled rag, the sport of winds.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid i, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 92 Long tossed on the waves, and a sport by the hurricanes made.
1908 W. Campbell Morning v. i, in Poet. Trag. 246 Why am I The spite and sport of ice and wind and snow, A palsied spectre?
1994 P. Riley tr. F. Fénelon Telemachus vi. 86 May you perish in the midst of the sea, while you are beholding it at a distance; and may your body, after being the sport of the waves, be cast upon the shore of this island.
b. An object of amusement, mockery, ridicule, etc.; a plaything, a laughing stock; the butt of a joke.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment
mirtha1250
solacec1290
recreationc1400
esbatement1477
pastime1490
pastancea1500
passe-temps1542
entertainment1561
relief?1578
fancy1590
sport1598
abridgement1600
entertain1601
recreative1615
amusatory1618
nutsa1625
diverter1628
recreator1629
passatempo1632
amuser1724
fun1726
dissipation1733
resource1752
distraction1859
enlivening1859
good, clean fun1867
enlivenment1883
light relief1885
laugh1921
not one's scene1962
violon d'Ingres1963
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > fact or condition of being mocked or ridiculed > [noun] > object of ridicule
hethinga1340
japing-stickc1380
laughing stock?1518
mocking-stock1526
laughing game1530
jesting-stock1535
mockage1535
derision1539
sporting stocka1556
game1562
May game1569
scoffing-stock1571
playing stock1579
make-play1592
flouting-stock1593
sport1598
bauchle1600
jest1606
butt1607
make-sport1611
mocking1611
mirtha1616
laughing stakea1630
scoff1640
gaud1650
blota1657
make-mirth1656
ridicule1678
flout1708
sturgeon1708
laugh1710
ludibry1722
jestee1760
make-game1762
joke1791
laughee1808
laughing post1810
target1842
jest-word1843
Aunt Sally1859
monument1866
punchline1978
1598 N. Ling Politeuphuia (new ed.) f. 201 Man is the example of imbecillity, pray of time, sport of fortune and enuy, the image of vnconstancy, and the very seate of fleame, choller, and rewmes.
1615 A. Stafford Heavenly Dogge 4 Man,..the son of Calamity, the example of Imbecility, the spoyle of Time, the sport of fortune, the image of Change.
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town 80 They cannot see how they are the Sport and Laughter of ev'ry Company they come into.
1694 T. Southerne Fatal Marriage ii Am I then the sport, The Game of Fortune, and her laughing Fools?
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 30 And while Self-Love each jealous Writer rules, Contending Wits become the Sport of Fools.
a1766 F. Sheridan Hist. Nourjahad (1767) 147 Live thyself a prey to remorse and disappointment, the slave of passions never to be gratified, and a sport to the vicissitudes of fortune.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 330 Rhode Island was doomed to be the sport of a blind and singular policy.
1853 F. D. Maurice Prophets & Kings Old Test. xii. 205 Those who treated the divine covenant as a fantasy and a fiction, became themselves the sports of every fantasy and fiction.
1898 T. Watts-Dunton Aylwin xi. iii You, whom Destiny..has taken in hand as a special sport.
1944 Times 12 May 3/2 They were allowed on the hatchways once a day, when they became the sport of the Japanese soldiers, who inflicted indescribable indignities on them from the decks above.
1990 A. Stevens On Jung vi. 146 He no longer saw himself as a sport of cruel nature.
6.
a. A plant (or part of a plant), animal, etc., which exhibits abnormal or striking variation from the parent type, esp. in form or colour; a spontaneous mutation; a new variety produced in this way. Cf. sport v. 8, sport of nature at Phrases 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > variety or species > [noun] > mutation
sporter1723
sport1834
break1921
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [noun] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation > mutant
sport of nature1601
lusus naturaea1661
sportling1723
sport1834
bud-sport1900
mutant1901
break1921
mutation1941
1834 Paxton's Mag. Bot. 1 190 This and the three preceding [varieties of chrysanthemum] doubtless sport mutually into each other, and are perpetuated by cuttings of their respective sports.
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 282 The common variety [of peafowl] and the white, which latter is, I presume, an albino ‘sport’ from the former.
1884 Harper's Mag. Aug. 465/1 Dinsmore, born of bony..New England, was yet like a ‘sport’ of some far-descending Visigoth strain.
1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 32 The nectarine, which is usually regarded as only a sport from the peach.
1957 M. Hadfield Brit. Trees 151 The Lombardy poplar was once generally held to be a sport from the southern European black poplar. It is now said to be a true species.
1980 K. Thear in K. Thear & A. Fraser Small Farmer's Guide to Raising Livestock & Poultry (U.S. ed.) ii. 48/2 Buff geese originally appeared as sports from the common grey goose.
1996 Pract. Gardening June 18/2 [Lavatera] ‘Barnsley’ is a sport of ‘Rosea’ and is apt to revert in time.
b. figurative.
ΚΠ
1889 Daily News 14 Feb. 4/8 That grotesque ‘sport’ of scientific development, Professor Tyndall.
1893 Nation 56 66/1 They belong with Emily Dickinson's verses—the ‘sports’ of literary decadence.
1954 N. R. Ker in Ancrene Riwle p. xii If the whole method of writing and the orthography of the Caius manuscript were typically English the aberrant r could be explained..as a ‘sport’ by an English scribe in a period of experiment and change.
1971 Lancet 9 Oct. 811/1 I found myself immersed in a tangle of phys- words... Except for a few sports like ‘physbuttock’ (from fizz) they all come from two roots.
1989 N. Sherry Life Graham Greene I. v. 70 The pack drives out the ‘sport’; society finds its scapegoat.
7. A person concerned with or interested in sport; a sportsman or sportswoman.
a. U.S. slang. A gambler, a betting man. Cf. sportsman n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > player of games of chance
tavlereOE
playera1387
gamera1450
adventurer1474
gamester1549
come you seven1605
tableman1608
knight of the elbow1705
sitter1748
gambler1784
gamestress1828
playman1844
sport1856
spieler1859
punter1860
tiger-hunter1896
1856 Harper's Mag. Dec. 60/1 The very word [sic] ‘sport’ and ‘sportsman’ have been perverted from their old English significations to mean gaming and gamblers.
1861 W. H. Russell My Diary North & South (1863) I. 40 Some dozen of the most over-dressed men I ever saw were pointed out to me as ‘sports’; that is, men who lived by gambling-houses and betting on races.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 305 Sport, an American term for a gambler or turfite—more akin to our sporting man than to our sportsman.
1892 Welsh Rev. 1 689 ‘Unhappy Mr. Collings, the victim of a thousand sports,’ I murmured, americanising my language for the nonce.
1952 J. Lait & L. Mortimer U.S.A. Confidential iv. xxxi. 375 Now Coast Haoles—native slang for mainland whites—have taken over with aloha shirts, fat dames in mink coats and..gamblers and sports.
a1994 D. Barker Buddy Bolden & Last Days of Storyville (2000) ii. 61 There was a racket that was very embarrassing to the young pimps, hustlers, gamblers and sports.
b. A person who follows or participates in sport. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun]
playerOE
player1440
sporter1531
gamester1562
sporteer1654
sportsman1699
matchmakera1704
sporter1742
sporting parson1757
gamesman1812
sport1873
sportsman1886
sportswoman1900
hearty1915
jockstrap1956
jock1963
jockstrapper1967
1873 C. G. Leland Egyptian Sketch-bk. 69 Such hardened sinners as old pigeon-shooting sports.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 June 3/3 All modern sports will be delighted with the picture of the cosy parlour in which the ancient sports are enjoying themselves after the fatigues of the ‘First.’
1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life II. 93 There was a houseful of ‘sports’ of both sexes.
1914 E. A. Powell End of Trail xiii. 370 In Victoria almost any one can be a sport, if not a sportsman.
1953 S. Bellow Adventures of Augie March viii. 153 I..could talk firmly and knowingly to rich young girls, to country-club sports and university students.
c. A fair-minded, generous, or sportsmanlike person; a lively, sociable person. Also (with modifying adjective): a person who responds well (poorly, etc.) to teasing, defeat, or a similarly trying situation, esp. in a good sport.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > social intercourse or companionship > [noun] > quality of being a good fellow > good fellow or sport
sport1881
one of the boys1893
1881 Ld. Rhondda Let. 30 Oct. in D. A. Thomas Viscount Rhondda ii. 24 X—— didn't make herself particularly unpleasant to me, though no doubt she was annoyed about something. I think she is rather a sport because she is such a good type of a certain class of character.
1915 R. H. Davis With Allies viii. 159 All that was asked of the stranded Americans was to keep cool and, like true sports, suffer inconvenience.
1916 N.Y. Tribune 2 Mar. 11/1 Miss Eastman refuses to take alimony, which is to say that women are good sports, which they are.
1918 C. Mackenzie Early Life Sylvia Scarlett i. ii. 64 You're no sport, Maudie. You've got the chance of your life and you're turning it down.
1937 L. Bromfield Rains Came i. iii. 24 For a moment he came very near to doing what she had meant him to do—lose his temper and show himself a bad sport.
1942 A. Christie Body in Library ix. 85 I did like her. I thought she was a good sport.
1975 S. Bellow Humboldt's Gift 310 Don't be a bad sport.
1990 P. Ustinov Old Man & Mr Smith v. 51 Mr Smith took them. ‘Swiss francs. You are a sport’.
1997 R. Tremain Way I found Her (1998) i. 11 Lewis is a good sport, you know.
d. U.S. A young man; a fellow. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun]
churla800
werec900
rinkeOE
wapmanc950
heOE
wyeOE
gomeOE
ledeOE
seggeOE
shalkOE
manOE
carmanlOE
mother bairnc1225
hemea1250
mother sona1250
hind1297
buck1303
mister mana1325
piecec1325
groomc1330
man of mouldc1330
hathela1350
sire1362
malea1382
fellowa1393
guestc1394
sergeant?a1400
tailarda1400
tulka1400
harlotc1405
mother's sona1470
frekea1475
her1488
masculinea1500
gentlemana1513
horse?a1513
mutton?a1513
merchant1549
child1551
dick1553
sorrya1555
knavea1556
dandiprat1556
cove1567
rat1571
manling1573
bird1575
stone-horse1580
loona1586
shaver1592
slave1592
copemate1593
tit1594
dog1597
hima1599
prick1598
dingle-dangle1605
jade1608
dildoa1616
Roger1631
Johnny1648
boy1651
cod1653
cully1676
son of a bitch1697
cull1698
feller1699
chap1704
buff1708
son of a gun1708
buffer1749
codger1750
Mr1753
he-man1758
fella1778
gilla1790
gloak1795
joker1811
gory1819
covey1821
chappie1822
Charley1825
hombre1832
brother-man1839
rooster1840
blokie1841
hoss1843
Joe1846
guy1847
plug1848
chal1851
rye1851
omee1859
bloke1861
guffin1862
gadgie1865
mug1865
kerel1873
stiff1882
snoozer1884
geezer1885
josser1886
dude1895
gazabo1896
jasper1896
prairie dog1897
sport1897
crow-eater1899
papa1903
gink1906
stud1909
scout1912
head1913
beezer1914
jeff1917
pisser1918
bimbo1919
bozo1920
gee1921
mush1936
rye mush1936
basher1942
okie1943
mugger1945
cat1946
ou1949
tess1952
oke1970
bra1974
muzhik1993
1897 C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 215 ‘I don't suppose they're “cheap” sports,..not the way you mean.’ ‘Expensive sports, then?’
1901 D. B. Hall & A. Osborne Sunshine & Surf i. 4 A small club, called the University, which is chiefly kept up by the young men—the ‘sports’, as they are called in this part of the world.
1903 A. H. Lewis Boss 205 Just as a sport finds himself on easy street.
e. Chiefly Australian and New Zealand. Used as a friendly form of address, esp. between men who do not know each other. Also occasionally in plural. Cf. old sport n. at old adj. Compounds 5b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] > familiar form of address
mon amic1425
matec1500
boy1532
old lad1594
old boy1602
captaina1616
mon cher1673
old chap1823
old man1828
ou maat1838
boysie1846
old top1856
boetie1867
bra1869
cocker1888
mon vieux1888
face1891
yessir1892
George1903
old sport1905
old bean1917
segotia1917
babe1918
bro1918
tovarish1918
old egg1919
midear1921
old (tin of) fruit1923
sport1923
mush1936
cowboy1961
coz1961
wack1963
yaar1963
John1982
1923 G. S. Beeby Conc. Ordinary People 305 All right, sport. No offence meant.
1943 K. Tennant Ride on Stranger v. 48 The small boy rose and said rapidly: ‘Fair go, sports.’
1951 E. Lambert Twenty Thousand Thieves (1952) i. 29 ‘Have a swig, sport.’ He took the bottle..and helped himself to a mouthful. ‘Thanks, sport.’ He handed the bottle back and idly he noted that he had never called a man ‘sport’ before.
1959 G. Slatter Gun in my Hand 50 Ya looking for somebody, sport?
1975 R. Beilby Brown Land Crying 80 ‘Come on, sport,’ the doorman was saying patiently. ‘You can't stop here. You've had a skinful.’
2004 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 30 July 3 (headline) Us, like Yanks? Fair go, sport!
8. A cinematographic film about sport. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > broadcasting > [noun] > film
sport1913
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [noun] > other types
romantic comedy1748
epic1785
pre-release1871
foreign film1899
frivol1903
dramedy1905
film loop1906
first run1910
detective film1911
colour film1912
news film1912
topical1912
cinemicrograph1913
scenic1913
sport1913
newsreel1914
serial1914
sex comedy1915
war picture1915
telefilm1919
comic1920
true crime1923
art house1925
quickie1926
turkey1927
two-reeler1928
smellie1929
disaster film1930
musical1930
feelie1931
sticky1934
action comedy1936
quota quickie1936
re-release1936
screwball comedy1937
telemovie1937
pickup1939
video film1939
actioner1940
space opera1941
telepic1944
biopic1947
kinescope1949
TV movie1949
pièce noire1951
pièce rose1951
deepie1953
misterioso1953
film noir1956
policier1956
psychodrama1956
free film1958
prequel1958
co-production1959
glossy1960
sexploiter1960
sci-fier1961
tie-in1962
chanchada1963
romcom1963
wuxia1963
chick flick1964
showreel1964
mockumentary1965
sword-and-sandal1965
schlockbuster1966
mondo1967
peplum1968
thriller1968
whydunit1968
schlocker1969
buddy-buddy movie1972
buddy-buddy film1974
buddy film1974
science-fictioner1974
screwball1974
buddy movie1975
slasher movie1975
swashbuckler1975
filmi1976
triptych1976
autobiopic1977
Britcom1977
kidflick1977
noir1977
bodice-ripper1979
chopsocky1981
date movie1983
kaiju eiga1984
screener1986
neo-noir1987
indie1990
bromance2001
hack-and-slash2002
mumblecore2005
dark fantasy2007
hack-and-slay2007
gorefest2012
kidult-
1913 Techn. World 19 464 Sunday feature pictures, sports, and advertising are all made in this dark room.
9. colloquial. A sports car; a sports model of a motor car. Chiefly in plural with singular agreement.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > sports car
supercar1910
sport car1916
sportster1918
sport1919
sports car1919
pony car1968
1919 N.Y. Times 14 Sept. 58 (advt.) Stutz 1918 Speedster, 16 valve. Stutz 1918 Sport, 16 Valve. Stutz 1918 Coupe, 16 valve.
1952 A. R. D. Fairburn Strange Rendezvous 50 Epicene Sir Giles..plays at Walton Heath, and drives a sports.
2001 Daily Tel. 5 May 14 I now have a mint-green XJS Jaguar sports. It's my baby. I love it.
10. colloquial (originally U.S.). The sports pages or sports section of a newspaper.Chiefly plural in American use and singular in British.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > sports section
sport1923
toy department1952
1923 Nation (N.Y.) 17 Oct. 25/1 Crime and comic strips, sports and ‘columns’—the Leader provides them all.
1940 A. J. Jenkinson What do Boys & Girls Read? iv. 67 Two newspapers, in which he read the news and the sport.
1955 W. Tucker Wild Talent v. 65 He asked, ‘Can I have the sports?’ Conklin pulled the section from the paper.
2000 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) (Nexis) 16 July 1 i1 My husband leaves for work after one cup of coffee and reading the sports, obituaries and the police reports in the newspaper.
11. Solace, consolation. Cf. sport v. 16. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun] > act, means, or source of consolation or relief
froverOE
comfortc1386
easec1440
sport1440
consolationc1460
recreatoryc1475
balm1540
balsamumc1540
solace1597
unction1604
balsama1616
demulceation1661
demulsion1661
alleviative1672
mitigation1726
salve1736
soother1794
consolement1797
heart-balm1828
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 470 Spoort [?a1475 Winch. Spoorte], or solas, Solacium.
a1450 Partonope of Blois (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1912) l. 6598 (MED) Of hym they had no Comfort, Ne none of them Cownde other sprot [a1500 BL Add. sporte].
a1500 (c1435) J. Lydgate Daunce Machabree (Lansd.) (1931) l. 300 (MED) All my richesse can make me now no sporte.
Phrases
P1.
a. in sport: in jest, jokingly; for fun or diversion, not seriously or in earnest. Now somewhat archaic.In quot. 1785 used predicatively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > lack of seriousness > [adverb]
agamec1300
bourdfullya1400
in sportc1450
aplay1459
bourdly1500
in jest1551
bourdingly1552
sportingly1561
jestingly1569
sportingwise1579
sportfullya1586
sportively1656
for fun1750
flippantly1758
pour rire1872
c1450 [see sense 3b].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. xxvi. C I dyd it but in sporte.
a1577 Ferrers in G. Gascoigne Princelie Pleasures Kenelworth sig. A.iij, in Whole Wks. (1587) And as my loue to Arthure dyd appeere, so shalt to you in earnest and in sport.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 26 Loue no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neyther, then [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1668 P. M. To Author of Ephesian Matron sig. H, in W. Charleton Ephesian & Cimmerian Matrons Having in sport thrown you into the river, and finding you unable to bear up against the impetuous torrent of Feminine prejudice,..I am resolved to leap in after.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. xc. 331 I should be sorry, if I could not say, that what you have warned me of in sport, makes me tremble in earnest.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 369 He doubtless is in sport, and does but droll.
1829 Chapters Physical Sci. 317 The inexhaustible variety of shades which nature, as in sport, has diffused over the surface of different bodies.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. v. xvi. 299 I have assumed that the name was given by Gentiles, and given more or less in sport.
1910 W. Boyle Mineral Workers iv. 99 You asked me if I knew anyone who hated Mr. O'Reilly hot enough to lend you money. I suggested her—in sport.
1951 R. Graves Poems & Satires (1997) 192 Let them not whisper, even in sport: ‘His Majesty's turned parsimonious And keeps no whore now but his Consort’.
1988 D. Smyth Guide Irish Mythol. 88 He said in sport, ‘Deirdre, the look of a ewe between two rams is that look thou givest me and Eogan.’
b. to make a sport of: to make a joke or mockery of. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > banter [verb (transitive)] > make fun of
to have (also i-do) (something) to gameeOE
to make (a) game of (also at, on)?c1250
overmirtha1400
sporta1533
to make a sport of1535
to make (up) a lip1546
to give one a (or the) gleek1567
to make a May game of1569
to play with a person's nose1579
to make merry over (also with)1621
game1699
to make fun of1732
hit1843
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > cause laughter [verb (transitive)] > utter a jest or joke > make jest of or joke about
to make a sport of1535
humorize1749
mess1946
to fuck with ——1968
to screw with ——1986
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Prov. x. C A foole doth wickedly & maketh but a sporte of it.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Esdras i. 51 Loke what God spake vnto them by his prophetes, they made but a sporte of it.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 151 He would make but a sport of it, and torment the poore Lady worse. View more context for this quotation
1678 A. Behn Sir Patient Fancy iv. ii. 58 You have Sir, you wou'd say, made a sport and May-game of the ingagement of your word.
1704 C. Darby Bk. Psalms lix. 89 But thou, O Lord shalt laugh at them, And make of them a sport.
1791 H. B. Dudley Woodman iii. 67 I have met with no one except a savage train of hunters, and they made but a sport of my distress!
1830 Times 14 Aug. 2/1 I have never made a sport of my word, and with me the obligation of an oath has always been sacred.
1865 B. Gray Matrimonial Infelicities 200 He did not come to Allen-Dale to be made a sport of.
1915 ‘W. Bamfylde’ Midsummer Magic xvii. 195 Fate was making a sport of him.
1992 H. H. Rudnick in A.-T. Tymieniecka Elemental Dialectic of Light & Darkness v. 309 Deconstruction is making a sport of received values that function as markers of orientation at least for those students who are trying to understand the basic tenets of the human condition.
P2. to make sport.
a. To provide entertainment or diversion for a person. Chiefly with person as indirect object, or with for, †to.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (intransitive)]
playeOE
glewc900
gameOE
lakec1300
solace1340
bourdc1440
dallyc1440
sporta1450
to make sportc1475
disport1480
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509
toy?1521
pastime1523
recreate1589
jest1597
feast1609
deliciate1633
divert1670
carpe diem1817
hobby-horse1819
popjoy1853
that'll be the day1916
to play around1929
loon1969
society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (intransitive)] > provide amusement
to make sportc1475
entertain1706
c1475 Mankind l. 268 Men haue lytyll deynte of yowr pley Because ȝe make no sporte.
1481 in H. E. Malden Cely Papers (1900) 74 Ȝe have a fayre hawke... I trwste to God sche schall make yow and me ryught grehyt sporte.
1592 Arden of Feversham iii. i. 85 He will murther me to make him sport.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 98 This Armado is..one that makes sport To the Prince and his Booke-mates. View more context for this quotation
1600 Chester Plays (Harl. 2013) 2 Interminglinge therewith onely, to make sporte, Some thinge, not warranted by any writt.
1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale xi. 196 Hee that makes them sport shall have their hartes.
1663 A. Cowley Cutter of Coleman-St. ii. ii. 15 'Twill make us excellent sport at night.
1738 G. Lillo Marina i. ii Winds and waters, In their vast tennis-court, have, as a ball, Used me to make them sport.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 386 To make him sport..are causes good And just, in his account, why bird and beast Should suffer torture.
1867 J. T. Trowbridge Neighbours' Wives xxviii. 254 Prudence took the stand, and made sport for the Philistines.
1909 Mrs. H. Ward Daphne ii. 47 That little Yankee girl had really made good sport all the way home.
1974 I. Opie & P. Opie Classic Fairy Tales 48 It would seem safe to think that Shakespeare knew a tale of blood-sniffing giants, such as those who made sport for nimble Jack.
b. To amuse or entertain oneself; to find diversion in; to be amused at or with; to make fun of, toy with. Chiefly with at, of, with.
ΚΠ
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. clx. f. clxxviiv/2 For all that they wolde not abstayne to daunce and to caroll and to make sporte [Fr. en dances en scarolles & en esbatemens] amonge the ladyes and damoselles of Auignon.
1565 J. Jewel Replie Hardinges Answeare x. 428 Nowe, if M. Hardinge, as his manner is, wil cal al these, Naked Signes, and Bare Figures, let him then remember, he maketh sporte, & game at S. Ambrose, his owne Doctour.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. ii. 30 When the sunne shines, let foolish gnats make sport . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iii. 144 If I suspect without cause, Why then make sport at me, then let me be your iest. View more context for this quotation
1667 S. Pepys Diary 28 June (1974) VIII. 299 How sad a thing it is when we come to make sport of proclaiming men traitors.
1699 T. Brown Let. 27 June in 4th Vol. Wks. (1711) 129 I..leave the Dr. and you to make what Sport you shall think fit with me.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation I. xxxvii. 424 These men..sometimes he makes sport with..and sometimes declaimes and exclaimes upon them.
1761 A. Murphy Old Maid ii. 52 There is harm done—I am made sport of—exposed to derision—Oh!
1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sketches (1873) II. i. i. 28 The energy of these wild warriors made sport of walled cities.
1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere I. i. ii. 46 Among this grim and earthy crew, there was one exception, a ‘hop out of kin’, of whom all the rest made sport.
1909 A. Meynell Ceres' Runaway 56 Making sport of the Philistines with a proper national sense of enjoyment of..such natural difficulties, or such misfavour of fortune, as may beset the alien.
1973 Times 18 Dec. 1/3 He made sport of Mr Healey's implications that there should have been some direct taxation.
1998 M. Booth Industry of Souls iv. 73 They had made sport with him, firing deliberately wide, or short.
P3. to show sport: to provide a spectacle, entertainment or diversion; (now) esp. (of a master of foxhounds) to provide good hunting. Also: (esp. of a quarry) to provide good sport by demonstrating spirit and courage. Chiefly Hunting after 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [verb (intransitive)] > show spirit in attack or defence
to show sport1579
the mind > emotion > courage > valour > warlike valour > fight bravely [verb] > exhibit spirit in war
to show sport1579
1579 S. Gosson Ephemerides Phialo sig. ☞7v If idle Drones assayle me, let them know that I shewe no sporte for them, my desire is, to seeke out meate for manly stomackes.
?1587 R. Southwell Epist. Comfort x. f.124v It was an ordinarye pastime a monge the Romaines, for men to shew sporte in wrastelinge and striuing with Lions, and other wilde beastes, onlye for a vayne proofe, and bost of their valoure.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 25 His Asse (being on a scaffolde to shew sport).
1699 G. Farquhar Love & Bottle iii. 36 Sir, I scorn to shew sport to any man.
1790 ‘P. Pindar’ Complimentary Epist. J. Bruce 34 Thus the Bag Fox (how cruelly, alack!) Turn'd out with turpentine upon his back, Amidst the war of hounds and hunters flies; Shows sport; but, luckless, by his fragrance dies!
1834 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last Days of Pompeii III. v. ii. 207 Eumolpus is a good second-rate swordsman;..doubtless they will shew sport. But I have no heart for the game.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. viii. 153 You..must know what a difficult thing it is to shew sport with fox-hounds.
1846 G. P. R. James Heidelberg i This seems a wild boar of the forest. We must force him from his lair; and he will show sport, depend upon it.
1922 J. Eyton Dancing Fakir 52 The fox..could be relied on to show sport over any line of country; but he always baffled hounds in the finish.
1936 Times 28 Oct. 6/1 The five packs in the shires..are sure to find that his capacity for showing sport will divert a large proportion of the usual Leicestershire visitors to his corner of the county.
1985 Times 2 Nov. 29/6 The master of foxhounds..is appointed by an elected hunt committee to ‘show sport’.
P4. Noun phrases with of.
a. sport of nature: (in literal sense) a game played by nature, or a result of this; spec. a freak of nature; a natural curiosity, esp. a fossil; = lusus naturae n. Now chiefly historical. Cf. 6, sporting n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [noun] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation > mutant
sport of nature1601
lusus naturaea1661
sportling1723
sport1834
bud-sport1900
mutant1901
break1921
mutation1941
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. viii. xii. 199 What reason should a man alledge of this so mortall warre betweene them, if it be not a very sport of Nature, and pleasure that she takes, in matching these two so great enemies together, and so euen and equall in each respect? [L. quam quis aliam tantae discordiae causam attulerit nisi naturam spectaculum sibi paria componentem?]
1635 G. Hakewill Apol. (rev. ed.) iii. ii. 230 Cockles, periwinkles and oysters of solid stone:..whither they have bin shellfish and living creatures, or else the sports of nature in her works.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxvii. 64 Spigelius, because he could not somtimes find it, did count it a sport of Nature.
1759 A. Butler Lives Saints IV. 134 They seem either petrifactions or sports of nature in uncommon chrystallizations in a mineral soil.
1773 J. Langhorne Fables of Flora (ed. 5) ix. 9 Thus Nature with the fabled elves We rank, and these her Sports we call.]
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 249 It is in this organ more especially that rudimental attempts at fetal organization, the mere sports of nature, are frequently found produced without impregnation.
1862 R. W. Thomson Amateur's Rosarium xiii. 92 Another variety of the Moss [rose], which owes its origin to a sport of nature.
1889 Mind 14 427 The possibility of thus pronouncing, that ‘white-skinned descendants of black men’ are a mere sport of nature.
1902 Geogr. Jrnl. 20 448 The Sarasins, discrediting the idea that the form of these islands can be accidental or a mere sport of nature, suggest a mechanical explanation.
1944 Times 28 Apr. 6/4 Delius... Beecham himself regards him as an unaccountable sport of nature.
2000 Guardian 29 Apr. (Saturday section) 9/6 If heat and light could magic living flesh from nothing, then it could also act upon ‘lapidifying forces’ to conjure up stony little jests, sports of nature, testaments to God's mysterious ways.
b.
sport of kings n. (with the) (a) hunting; (b) warfare; (c) horse racing (now the usual sense); (d) surfing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > [noun]
huntethc900
huntingc1000
sleatinga1122
purchasec1325
veneryc1330
venation1386
venison1390
the chase?a1400
chasing?a1400
waithc1400
huntc1405
vanchasea1425
enchase1486
vaunt-chase1575
field sport1580
shikara1613
huntsmanshipa1631
cynegetics1646
sport of kings1735
game hunting1823
blood sport1893
society > armed hostility > war > [noun]
MarsOE
war1154
warc1374
irona1387
guerre?a1475
Mart?a1475
(the) feat of warc1503
militia1641
sport of kings1735
emergency1958
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun]
runningeOE
horse-running1504
swift horse running?a1513
horse racingc1654
horse-coursing1764
jockeyinga1770
sport of kings1918
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > [noun]
surf swimming1829
surf-riding1854
surfing1896
surfboarding1903
surf1917
sport of kings1935
kitesurfing1995
a1668 W. Davenant Wks. (1673) i. 322 For I must go where lazy Peace, Will hide her drouzy head; And, for the sport of Kings, encrease The number of the Dead.
1702 E. Ward Bribery & Simony 11 War is the Sport of Kings and mighty Lords.]
1735 W. Somervile Chace i. 14 My hoarse-sounding Horn Invites thee to the Chace, the Sport of Kings, Image of War, without its Guilt.
1744 Review 12 Ths War to Britain sure Destruction brings, War Bane of Subjects, and the Sport of Kings.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. xiii. 253 'Unting is the sport of kings, the image of war without its guilt, and only five-and-twenty per cent. of its danger!
1859 H. H. Dixon Silk & Scarlet 85 The names of ‘Bolton’, ‘Queensberry’, and ‘Rockingham’ had, it is true, lent lustre to ‘the sport of kings’.
1886 Times 27 Mar. 4/1 The decay of hunting would be little short of a national calamity. The sport of kings exercises a healthy influence upon the national character, because it affords an opportunity of keen enjoyment to both gentle and simple.
1918 G. Frankau One of Them in Poet. Wks. (1923) II. xxi. 130 Weep for the King of Sports, the Sport of Kings;..On thousand tracks, unridden, desolate, Hay waves from winning-post to starting-gate.
1935 T. Blake Hawaiian Surfboard iii. 66 News reels and still cameramen will be on hand to shoot the thrilling rides that always accompany big surf, so the rest of the world may see the ‘sport of kings’ by picture.
1961 L. Mumford City in Hist. ii. 44 With concentration on war as the supreme ‘sport of kings’, an ever larger portion of the city's new resources..went into the manufacture of new weapons.
1968 W. Warwick Surfriding in N.Z. 1 Surfriding was practised almost exclusively by members of Hawaiian royal families: hence surfriding's now anachronistic title, ‘Sport of Kings’.
1998 T. Clancy Rainbow Six xxxii. 592 That was the real sport of kings, training a hawk to hunt off your fist for you. I might do some of that myself in a few years.
2007 Racing Rev. 124 Such is the popularity of the sport of Kings in Scotland, that..the Scottish racing industry as a whole contributes £213 million to the economy.
P5. be a sport: (in optative use) act in a generous and sportsmanlike way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > social intercourse or companionship > be sociable [verb (intransitive)] > act in agreeable spirit
be a sport1913
1913 Punch 21 May 405 I say, old chap, I've not had a smoke for half-an-hour, so I think I'll go on top. Be a sport and go inside with the women, will you?
1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary vi. 57 ‘Come on,’ Temple said. ‘Be a sport. It wont take you any time in that Packard.’
1945 E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited i. v. 104 Be a sport, handsome: no one's seen anything but you.
1996 R. Mistry Fine Balance (1997) i. 38 Wait, Hosa, wait, one more kabab, it's delicious, believe me, one more, come on, be a sport.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately.
a. With the first element in singular form.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Ll1v Such a sport-meeting, when rather some song of loue, or matter for ioyfull melody was to be brought forth.
1755 Connoisseur (1756) No. 81. 304 He kept all Manner of Sport Hounds, that ran Buck, Fox, Hare, Otter, and Badger.
1898 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games II. 463 (heading) Imitation of Sport Games. All a Row. Cock-fight. Hare and Hounds. Hunting. Knights. Puff in the Dart.
1913 Times 26 Mar. 22/2 The growing armoury of sport equipment may be made to supply examples for the illustration of dynamics and physics.
1989 D. Morrow & M. Keyes Conc. Hist. Sport in Canada 316 Distrustful sport fans believed that the Sun..‘ghost-wrote’ the cleverly worded letter.
1996 Lacrosse Talk Oct. 7/2 The society is calling for all sport coaches and teachers of dance to obtain a copy of the new booklet and to promote better bone health in these young women.
b. With the first element in plural form.
ΚΠ
1870 W. Collins Man & Wife 82/2 The exhibition, out of doors (on Sports-day), of what the boys can do with their bodies.
1890 D. H. Edwards One Hundred Mod. Sc. Poets 119 He took..the silver medal for pole-vaulting at the Inter-University sports competition.
1916 Iowa City Citizen 6 Jan. 1/6 Cole was well known to sports fans.
1923 Daily Mail 12 May 12 True sportsfolk find an added delight in what may be called their ‘gear’.
1925 W. Deeping Sorrell & Son xvi. §4 He went..with a school-kit... He had his ‘sports-box’, and a pound in pocket-money.
1951 Collier's 15 Dec. 4 For many years sports historians have been searching unsuccessfully for a copy.
1976 Glasgow Herald 26 Nov. 28/8 The British team who won the Olympic Pentathlon event were named the sportsteam of the year.
1999 J. Updike More Matter (2000) 134 A wealth of special sports equipment—sleds, ice skates, skis, snowboards—emerges to harvest fun from the cold.
2008 Evening Post (Nottingham) (Nexis) 15 Feb. 6 Sports coaches are to get more funds to help them gain more qualifications.
c. Designating clothing, shoes, etc., for informal or sporting wear. See also sportswear n.
(a) With the first element in plural form, as sports clothes, sports skirt, etc.
ΚΠ
1910 Times 5 Mar. 13/6 (advt.) New shaped or pleated walking or sports skirt.
1922 Moving Picture Stories 23 June 23/2 A great many of the new sports clothes are shown with the divided skirt and pantalette cuff.
1930 J. Buchan Castle Gay xii. 191 At a small draper's..a jacket of rough tweed was purchased—what is known in the trade as a ‘sports’ line.
1942 Times 20 Apr. 2/6 (advt.) Suede Sports Shoe with pure plantation crepe sole.
1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 70 She was the kind of woman that would not look her best in sports clothes.
1989 R. MacNeil Wordstruck iii. 79 No one had sports clothes in those days.
2004 H. Kunzru Transmission (2005) 266 On the north side of the border is an outlet mall, where..piles of discount jeans and sports shoes are sold.
(b) With the first element in singular form, as sport shoe, sport skirt, sport suit, etc.
ΚΠ
1914 Amer. Mag. Aug. 88/3 She says they are ‘sport’ hats.
1917 N.Y. Tribune 16 Mar. 3/6 (advt.) Sale of women's separate sport skirts at $6.95.
1925 Eaton's News Weekly 2 May 10 Sport shoes of smoked elk and tan calf, with crepe rubber sole and heel.
1927 P. Bottome Belated Reckoning iv. 57 The happy princess..beautiful in her English ‘sport suit’ and crushed felt hat.
1937 M. Levin Old Bunch 13 She dressed spiffy with wrap-around sport skirts.
1950 M. Huxley Let. 21 June in A. Huxley Lett. (1969) 625 When you order shirts please ask whether they have an Airtex blue with sport collar, long sleeves; that is a collar which at will is worn with or without tie.
1955 P. Chayefsky Mother in Television Plays 200 Boss. Hello, Jerry? This is Sam... Jerry, how about that fifty dozen faille sport suits.
1987 Frederick (Maryland) Post 30 July b8/4 (advt.) ‘Cross Trainer’ men's garment leather sport shoe.
2001 Pop. Sci. Oct. 46 Another item that's literally popping out of industrial labs is Festo's Airhopper sport shoe.
d. Designating low-built cars designed for performance at high speeds, or (in extended use) powerful, lightweight motorcycles, designed for optimal speed and handling. Frequently designating a lower-built or higher-speed version of another specified model.
(a) With the first element in plural form. See also sports bike n., sports car n. at Compounds 4b.
ΚΠ
1919 Times 11 Apr. 2/5 (advt.) Special sports model; beautiful long, low-built, stream-line body.
1925 Correct Lubrication 52 Lea-Francis (sports models).
1933 Illustr. London News 9 Dec. 962/1 (caption) This Rover four-door sports saloon is mounted on the new Rover ‘Twelve’ chassis.
1936 ‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death iii. 46 A Lagonda sports-tourer.
1963 R. H. Morrieson Scarecrow (1981) xi. 125 The white sports-job roared up and stopped.
1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 39 It is not far..especially for the fast sports coupé.
1971 ‘D. Shannon’ Murder with Love iv. 68 I don't somehow think Mrs. Franks drives a Mercedes sports model.
1993 Super Bike Jan. 57/1 The ZZ-R..is..a lovely sports-tourer, big yet easy and comfortable to ride.
1998 BBC Top Gear Mag. Sept. 135/3 That genteel sports-tourer turns into rocketship, with a raspy roar you can enjoy even through earplugs.
(b) With the first element in singular form. See also sport bike n. (b) at Compounds 4a, sport car n. at Compounds 4a.
ΚΠ
1919 Washington Post 15 Sept. 11/8 (advt.) Lozier Sport Roadster, 6-cylinder. $500.
1927 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 159/1 Laban, furious, mounts his Sport-model Camel and takes after the elopers.
1964 Life 2 Oct. 59/1 (advt.) There's racy new hardtop styling on every Corvair Sport Coupe and Sport Sedan.
1990 Independent 29 Sept. (Colour Suppl.) 14/2 (caption) In fact its performance isn't just the best of any people carrier, it matches many a sport saloon.
1998 What Car? Sept. 39/3 Sport models have an extended wheelbase offering a more comfortable ride and better handling.
C2.
a. Objective, instrumental, adverbial, etc., as sport-lover, sport-maker, etc., nouns; sport-loving, sport-mad, sport-minded, etc., adjs.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [noun] > devotee
sport-lover1582
society > leisure > sport > [adjective] > devotee
sport-loving1582
sport-minded1582
sports-minded1895
sports-mad1920
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iv. 84 When she the weeds Troian dyd marck, and sporte breder old bed.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Badin,..a Iugler, Tumbler, or any such sport-maker.
a1625 J. Fletcher Womans Prize i. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Nnnnnv/2 What a grief of heart is't,..to lie and tell The clock o'th longs, to rise sport-starv'd?
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xii. 137 O troublesome and sport-hindring doores.
1750 ‘Beelzebub’ Sure Guide to Hell 62 You must be the Sport-maker for him and his Companions.
?1790 Liverpool Songster 171 See the sport loving high mettled steed spurn the ground.
1858 A. Mayhew Paved with Gold 103 The sport-loving gent.
1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 124 Two or three birds,..affording no sport themselves, and not permitting any sport-affording bird to approach their haunts.
1865 London Society Dec. 448/1 The sport-loving traveller would frequently indulge in what we should call a decidedly sensational pastime, which he called ‘blackbird shooting’. But this sort of thing is all of the past now.
1895 Daily News 21 Jan. 7/7 Five dozen..of these sport-giving fish [i.e. perch].
1897 Outing 29 343/2 Four sport-loving young women.
1929 Daily Express 12 Jan. 3 To-day the thoughts of sport-lovers will be spread over thirty-two battle-grounds, where the third round of the F.A. Cup competition will be fought.
1960 V. Jenkins Lions Down Under vii. 103 The people of Christchurch are extremely sport-minded.
2000 P. A. Horton in J. A. Mangan & J. Nauright Sport in Australasian Soc. iv. 66 In the twentieth century DH Lawrence believed Australia to be a vast land devoid of speech and inhabited by sport-obsessed barbarians.
b. With first element in plural form, as sports-holding, sports-loving, sports-minded, etc., adjs.; sports lover, etc., nouns. See also sports-mad adj. at Compounds 3d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [adjective] > devotee
sport-loving1582
sport-minded1582
sports-minded1895
sports-mad1920
1895 Westm. Gaz. 29 Apr. 7/2 So now sixteen sports-holding clubs have resolved to form a Scottish Amateur Athletic Union.
1911 Times 22 Nov. 5/2 The sports-loving instincts of the population are well known.
1912 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Tribune 22 Nov. 4/1 The sincere booster and sports lover.
1929 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 17 Dec. 12/1 Sports-minded clergy and co-workers of the young men.
1960 I. Cross Backward Sex iii. 76 She was not exactly sports-minded.
1981 Sunday Times 5 July (Mag. section) 7/4 Our younger readers will be going off..to sports-orientated country or seaside camps and hostels.
2007 Financial Times (Nexis) 10 Mar. (House & Home) 11 Everybody is very sports-minded in Switzerland, probably because the mountains and lakes present a lot of opportunities for being outdoors.
C3. With the first element in plural form.
a. Designating places where sport is played, esp. structures designed for this purpose.A number of these terms may be found earlier when preceded by athletic.
sports centre n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
1907 Times 7 Jan. 5/1 A committee was appointed to consider..establishing a general sports centre for the island.
1973 Times 27 July (Leisure Suppl.) p. i/2 The Sports Council..claimed that England and Wales need 842 indoor multi-purpose sports centres built by 1981 to supply the leisure demands of the public.
1998 Community Care 7 May 14/2 Outside, there is a grassy patch surrounded by modern blocks containing ‘living units’, a sports centre, an education block,..and an all-weather sports pitch.
sports club n.
ΚΠ
1882 Derby Mercury 1 Nov. 8/4 The Derby Midland Club..needs a general name (say, Field Club, or Sports Club).
1965 ‘J. le Carré’ Looking-glass War xii. 145 I got the knife at cost..through the sports club.
1997 J. Hawes Rancid Aluminium (1998) i. 29 If I joined a sports club I would be relegating myself voluntarily, suicidally, to the new underclass of fat, bald tossers.
sports deck n.
ΚΠ
1912 Evening Post (Frederick, Maryland) 16 Apr. 2/1 Among the attractions on the Titanic were Turkish and electric baths, swimming pools, tennis courts, ballroom,..gymnasium and a sports deck.
1981 J. M. Brinnin Beau Voy. (1982) 59 The sports deck echoing with the click of the discs used in shuffleboard.
1991 Ships Monthly Nov. 37/2 Two of the ship's features which have disappeared from some newer cruise vessels are a semi-enclosed promenade deck (useful on winter voyages) and a separate sports deck.
sports field n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
1877 Ipswich Jrnl. 29 Dec. Suppl. 1/2 A day or two later a purse which had been dropped on the sports field on Whit-Monday, was returned.
1931 What is Fascism & Why? 174 You must give houses, schools, baths, gardens, and sports fields to the working Fascist people.
1991 E. Yorks. Village Bk. 179 The great community spirit has enabled a children's play park to be established,..and more recently a sports field which has a beautiful pavillion.
sports ground n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
1862 Daily News 17 Dec. 1/4 The annual contest for prizes for athletic sports, will take place to-morrow, at 3 o'clock, on the sports ground near the Cedars.
1933 J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iv. i. 325 The aeroplane..had landed in the sports ground of the factory.
1995 K. Toolis Rebel Hearts (1996) v. 266 Harlow, with its planned estates..multi-storey car parks and purpose-built sports grounds, is stamped with the optimistic vision of Britain's state planners of the 1950s.
sports hall n.
ΚΠ
1919 Times 22 Apr. 14/2 (headline) National sports hall and ground.
1943 Archit. Rev. 94 68/1 The Mässhallen in Gothenburg—a large covered sports hall in steel, concrete and siporex—is also by Eriksson.
2001 FourFourTwo Sept. 150/2 The council allowed our client's team to play five-a-side in a sports hall where they knew that the roof had been leaking.
sports pavilion n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun] > pavilion
pavilion1799
field house1892
sports pavilion1913
1913 Times 2 Sept. 3/5 An unsuccessful attempt, presumably the work of suffragists, was made on Sunday to burn down the sports pavilion of the International Correspondence Schools Athletic Ground, Manor-park, Hampstead.
1931 ‘G. Trevor’ Murder at School ii. 42 The pair had reached the sports pavilion.
1993 New Scientist 9 Oct. (Science Sport Suppl.) 14/1 He thinks that some athletes may be at higher risk of problem drinking than nonathletes, as ‘the opportunity to drink is often present in the sports pavilion’.
sports stadium n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
1911 Times 5 Dec. 8/1 The sports stadium is at the southern boundary of the Exhibition.
1963 J. Comay Introd. Israel viii. 129 The Maccabiah, an ‘Olympic Games’ for Jewish athletes..takes place in the huge Ramat Gan Sports Stadium.
1999 Building Design 13 Aug. 24/1 Whatever you intend to specialise in—houses, offices, shops, warehousing, sports stadia.., you will find Easibrief an indispensable reference companion.
b. Designating a retailer of sportswear or sporting equipment.
sports department n.
ΚΠ
1898 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 17 June 2/4 (advt.) Sports Department. A fresh arrival of cricket bats, cricket balls, [etc.].
1975 G. Howell In Vogue 80/1 Jean Patou's new sports department sells jersey and marocain bathing suits.
2007 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 21 Sept. a1 A state investigator saw an NCR worker go to the back of a Wal-Mart, grab some free weights from the sports department, and plunk them on a scale to test its accuracy.
sports outfitter n.
ΚΠ
1886 Times 15 May 13/2 Ellson, Cave John, Loughborough, rope and twine maker, and British sports outfitter.]
1890 Birmingham Daily Post 13 Dec. 6/4 Elizabeth Bailey Vetch, sports outfitter,..brought an action against J. Lathbury Ash.
1992 N.Y. Times 5 May d1/2 He passes a sports outfitter named USA Sport.
sports shop n.
ΚΠ
1915 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Daily News 30 July 4/3 Every sports shop shows them, and they complete every smart sports costume.
1996 D. Brimson & E. Brimson Everywhere we Go iii. 36 We positively refuse to go into sports shops which stock their kit (fortunately few and far between anyway).
c. With reference to media coverage of sporting events.
sports announcer n.
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1923 Washington Post 14 Sept. 15/3 Radio editor for the Wireless Age, and sports announcer for the Radio Corporation of America.
2000 J. M. Gray Gift for little Master 87 ‘Who wrote this shit?’ demands the sports announcer in a voice loud enough for an alert viewer to pick it up on mike spill.
sports columnist n.
ΚΠ
1923 Helena (Montana) Independent 29 May 6/4 The veteran sports columnist of the Kansas City Post.
2001 B. Broady In this Block there lives Slag 184 If the football or rugby league teams managed to string even a couple of wins together, the previously cynical local sports columnists would now pump up expectations.
sports desk n.
ΚΠ
1919 Waterloo (Iowa) Times-Tribune 17 Aug. 16/4 ‘Well, Mike, old timer. I am on my new job’, his letter says. ‘Working on the sports desk’.
1968 D. Francis Forfeit viii. 101 The sports desk is a big asset to the paper.
2003 Globe & Mail (Toronto) Apr. 26 a2/3 The late-night jockeying of playoff hockey is hell on wheels for night editors, especially on the sports desk.
sports edition n.
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1913 Des Moines (Iowa) News 6 Apr. 1/3 (headline) Everybody talking about the big sports edition and everybody reading one.
1959 M. Shadbolt New Zealanders 75 Mr Jackson lay belly-upwards on an unshaded part of the baked-brittle back lawn. The Saturday sports edition covered his face.
2006 Financial Times (Nexis) 6 May 12 The Saturday night sports editions disappeared from London decades ago, but they held their ground in the leading provincial footballing centres.
sports editor n.
ΚΠ
1897 Daily News 28 June 10/3 (advt.) As sports editor or correspondent. Football, Cricket, &c.; also dramatic.
1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 237 The sports-editor devoted his hitherto undiscovered talents to evolving alliterative headlines.
1999 Cricketer Mar. 8/2 It's always dangerous when sports editors start writing ‘think’ pieces.
sports journalism n.
ΚΠ
1931 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 3 July Some of the other ‘big shots’ in sports journalism.
2008 Business & Money (Nexis) 3 Feb. 12 The hero-to-zero phenomenon is probably most noticeable in sports journalism.
sports journalist n.
ΚΠ
1923 Advt. in B. Wells Physical Energy (end matter) The author, a well-known sports journalist of thirty years' experience, gossips pleasantly on the great glove game during this period.
2003 Press Gaz. 19 Dec. 24/4 When a sports journalist strays from his specialism, subs should be extra vigilant and look out for factual howlers.
sports news n.
ΚΠ
1905 Renwick (Iowa) Times 30 Nov. 4/5 In sports news, The Register and Leader also leads, no other Iowa paper publishing so many baseball and football results.
1967 P. M. Hubbard Custom of Country (1969) iv. 51 There was some sports news, a city page of surprising sophistication and a sprinkling of..foreign news.
1993 Cycling Weekly 16 Jan. 16/2 He made the international sports news when he held off the world's best to lead the Tour du Pont for five days in May.
sports page n.
ΚΠ
1906 Daily Times-Tribune (Waterloo, Iowa) 23 Sept. 12/7 The sports page of the Burlington Hawk-Eye last Sunday was edited by Manager Ned Egan of the Pathfinders.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement ii. 57 Mr. Smeeth..arrived at the sports page, where the prospects of certain women golfers were discussed at considerable length.
1976 L. Henderson Major Enq. ii. 11 Milton glanced only briefly at the headlines of the newspaper before he turned to the sports pages.
1999 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 15 July 11/2 The sports pages are the most-read section of the newspaper, and the columnists are the panzer commanders of the circulation wars.
sports programme n.
ΚΠ
1925 Manitoba (Winnipeg) Free Press 15 Aug. 6/3 (radio listing) Special sports programme.
1973 J. Porter It's Murder with Dover vi. 60 He sat in front of the television watching that sports programme.
1998 Daily Post (Liverpool) 25 Apr. (Wales ed.) (TV Wales Suppl.) 3/1 They're still relegated to one minute fill-ins on sports programmes and have to raise personal contributions towards taking part in the tournament.
sports reporter n.
ΚΠ
1911 Daily Rev. (Decatur, Illinois) 24 Mar. 4/5 [He] is now a sports reporter on the Minneapolis Tribune.
2004 Independent 10 Aug. (Review section) 8/1 CNN has insisted that its sports reporters have ‘hostile environment’ training before covering the Olympics.
sports section n.
ΚΠ
1912 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 15 June 1/1 A well-edited sports section, contributed to by experts.
1940 G. Marx Let. in G. Marx et al. Groucho Lett. (1967) 46 I picked up the paper Tuesday morning, nervously turned to the sports section.
2004 Guardian 12 Jan. (Media section) 8/1 We expect not just a newspaper, but also a weekend section, an arts section, a blow-by-blow sports section, [etc.].
sports writing n.
ΚΠ
1913 Waterloo (Iowa) Evening Courier 31 Mar. 2/1 This organization..did a great deal to bring the art of sports writing in this circuit up to a high standing.
2004 New Yorker 29 Mar. 53/1 Combat journalism is prone to some of the same sins as sportswriting.
d.
sports-mad adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > [adjective] > devotee
sport-loving1582
sport-minded1582
sports-minded1895
sports-mad1920
1920 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 8 Feb. (Mag.) 9/2 It might have been different had his home life not been all cluttered in the smart, dog loving, sports mad colony.
1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 May 370/2 Australians..are sports-mad.
1991 Argus (Cape Town) 16 Apr. 10/1 It did this by striking at the pride and chauvinism of a sports-mad nation.
C4.
a. With the first element in the singular.† sport staff n. Scottish Obsolete rare a quarterstaff used for exercise or practice.
sport bag n. = sports bag n. at Compounds 4b.
ΚΠ
1916 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 4 June 26/4 $1.50 silk novelty sport bags 89c. Chic bags in colors to match sport costumes, afternoon dresses and street suits.
1930 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 30 Nov. 6/4 (advt.) Sport bags. For golf togs. For shoes. The smartest bag.
2004 K. Klatt Don't come Out xxvii. 196 Brian, freshly showered and carrying a sport bag full of sweaty gear.
sport bike n. (a) a bicycle designed for general recreational use; (b) a powerful, lightweight motorcycle, designed for optimal speed and handling.
ΚΠ
1937 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 8 Oct. d10 (advt.) Sport bike... Safe,..because of the nationally-famous coaster brake wide braced handlebars and deep tread balloon tires.
1964 Hobbs (New Mexico) Daily News-Sun 7 Oct. 14/2 (advt.) Win a new sport bike with hot rod motor!
1991 Current Health Apr. 21/1 Because sport bikes are not as light in weight as racing bikes, they are sturdier and more durable.
2003 J. N. Luftman Competing in Information Age ii. iii. 64 A high-performance Japanese sport bike, which has 150 horsepower.
sport bra n. (a) U.S. a (usually midriff-baring) top resembling a brassiere, used for sunbathing and casual summer wear (now rare); (b) a brassiere providing extra support for use during vigorous exercise (cf. sports bra n. at Compounds 4b).
ΚΠ
1945 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 12 Apr. 8/1 (advt.) See our bareable little swim suits—‘midriff’ play suits—bareback pinafores—crisp shorts—and sport bras.
1962 Los Angeles Times 20 Aug. iv. 8 (advt.) Sport bra. Five section cup, one-section elastic keeps strap in place and does not cut or dig shoulders.
2006 Daily Tel. 13 Jan. 10/5 More than three quarters of..women who take regular exercise risk irreversibly sagging breasts because they do not wear sport bras.
sport car n. chiefly U.S. = sports car n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > sports car
supercar1910
sport car1916
sportster1918
sport1919
sports car1919
pony car1968
1916 Los Angeles Times 10 Jan. iii-3/1 The Packard..attracted much favorable comment, especially the finely designed roadster or sport car.
1927 U. Sinclair Oil! iv. 80 But that didn't trouble Mr. Bankside, who had already..bought himself..a big new limousine, also a ‘sport-car’.
1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xiv. 280 The man's sport car still chugged like an animal.
1992 Virginian Pilot & Ledger-Star 2 July d 1/2 You think a bozo with a chart can keep track of those vans, sedans, sport cars and viper-stompin' 'Vettes?
sportcast n. = sportscast n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of
news bulletin1857
news summary1875
police message1886
newsflash1904
headline1908
play-by-play1909
feature1913
spot ad1916
magazine1921
news1923
time signal1923
outside broadcast1924
radiocast1924
amateur hour1925
bulletin1925
serial1926
commentary1927
rebroadcast1927
school broadcast1927
feature programme1928
trailer1928
hour1930
schools broadcast1930
show1930
spot advertisement1930
spot announcement1930
sustaining1931
flash1934
newscast1934
commercial1935
clambake1937
remote1937
repeat1937
snap1937
soap opera1939
sportcast1939
spot commercial1939
daytimer1940
magazine programme1941
season1942
soap1943
soaper1946
parade1947
public service announcement1948
simulcasting1949
breakfast-time television1952
call-in1952
talkathon1952
game show1953
kidvid1955
roundup1958
telenovela1961
opt-out1962
miniseries1963
simulcast1964
soapie1964
party political1966
novela1968
phone-in1968
sudser1968
schools programme1971
talk-in1971
God slot1972
roadshow1973
trail1973
drama-doc1977
informercial1980
infotainment1980
infomercial1981
kideo1983
talk-back1984
indie1988
omnibus1988
teleserye2000
kidult-
society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > type of programme
dramedy1905
news film1912
sex comedy1915
television adaptation1935
action comedy1936
sportcast1939
teleshopper1949
telethon1949
special1952
television special1952
TV special1952
science-fictioner1953
spectacular1954
promo1955
sitcom1956
spec1959
spin-off1959
reality programming1962
teleroman1964
mockumentary1965
serialization1965
talk show1965
laugh-in1967
novela1968
reality show1968
breakfast television1971
spy series1975
reality television1978
reality TV1980
series1988
shockumentary1988
1939 Amer. Speech 14 6 Newspaper and magazine columns..‘Sportorial’, ‘Sportcast’, ‘Sportlight’.
2003 State Jrnl. (W. Va.) (Nexis) 19 Sept. 9 WRNR also was named first for the best regularly scheduled sportcast for the fifth straight year.
sportcaster n. = sportscaster n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > broadcaster > [noun] > types of
co-host1908
announcer1922
newsreader1925
race-reader1926
newscaster1930
sportscaster1930
quizzee1933
school broadcaster1937
commentator1938
racecaster1938
sportcaster1938
femcee1940
record jockey1940
disc jockey1941
narrator1941
deejay1946
colourman1947
anchorman1948
host1948
jock1952
speakerine1957
presenter1959
linkman1960
anchorwoman1961
rock jock1961
anchor1962
jockey1963
voice-over1966
anchorperson1971
outside broadcaster1971
news anchor1975
talk-master1975
satcaster1982
society > leisure > sport > broadcasting > [noun] > broadcaster
sportscaster1930
sportcaster1938
1938 Variety 28 Dec. 30/4 Jim Britt, WBEN sportcaster, promised a copy of a set of health rules to any listeners who would write in.
2007 Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 15 Jan. Why have so many sportcasters lately been gushing about..him?
sportcasting n. = sportscasting n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > [noun] > broadcasting specific type of programme or item
spot advertising1904
outside broadcasting1925
school broadcasting1926
newscasting1928
sportcasting1934
sportscasting1941
revival1955
pray-TV1957
trailing1961
radiovision1963
society > leisure > sport > broadcasting > [noun]
sportcasting1934
sportscasting1941
1934 Mansfield (Ohio) News 24 Apr. 8/4 Ellis Vander Pyle..is doing the sportcasting for station WCAR, Cleveland.
1992 Boston Globe (Nexis) 6 Mar. 52 Caray's strength as a broadcaster leaned far more toward entertainment than the highly professional sportcasting of McDonough.
sport climb n. a route prepared for or used in sport climbing; an act of climbing such a route.
ΚΠ
1989 San Francisco Chron. 23 Oct. c12/1 Heated debates erupt over whether drilling and placing the many bolts needed for a sport climb actually equals defacement of the rock.
1993 Climber & Hillwalker Nov. 55/1 On the Diamond buttress nearest to the viaduct there's Easyover,..one of Scotland's hardest sport climbs.
2002 Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 15 Feb. c3 From there, the right equipment for sport climbs completes the starter kit for new enthusiasts.
sport climber n. a participant in sport climbing.
ΚΠ
1973 Los Angeles Times 3 June 7/1 They enjoy the risks involved in exactly the same way the sport climbers do.
1989 Times 4 Apr. 40/8 Ambitious young rock gymnasts delighted by the prospect opening up of Olympic stardom and a lucrative living as sport climbers.
2002 Backpacker (Electronic ed.) 1 June The rocky notch is the border between the well-traveled Bridget Wilderness, with its web of maintained trails, dayhikers and sport climbers, and the virtually empty and trail-less Fitzpatrick Wilderness.
sport climbing n. recreational or competitive climbing; spec. a form of climbing in which participants tackle overhanging or otherwise difficult rock faces, in which there are usually bolts already in place.
ΚΠ
1974 J. Greiner Wager with Wind 98 The pilot..was building a solid reputation servicing scientific expeditions in the Alaskan mountains, and..word of his abilities was beginning to spill over into the world of sport climbing.
1988 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 14 Oct. d2 In fact, the new breed has turned the activity into what Ridgeway calls ‘sport climbing’... ‘They treat rock faces like an outdoor gym. It's short, difficult climbs that you might have to work a year or two to prepare for.’
1998 On the Edge May 8/2 Despite his success in the field of sport climbing Steve still prefers traditional routes.
sport coat n. = sports coat n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > coat > types of > for specific purpose > other
dust-coat1702
hunting-coat1789
pinkc1791
reading-coat1830
wedding-coat1838
zephyr1843
lab coat1895
tea-coat1899
stroller1901
bridge coat1905
sport coat1917
sportster1929
laboratory coatc1936
car coat1956
1917 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. 4/4 (advt.) The motor or sport coat for general wear.
1946 Chicago Daily News 17 May 35/8 And to think I've been afraid to be seen outside in my new sport coat!
2000 R. Mroz Defensive Shooting for Real-life Encounters xii. 124 I used to comfortably conceal a 4-inch L-frame S&W 686 .357 Magnum under a sport coat.
sport-coated adj. = sports-coated adj. at Compounds 4b.
ΚΠ
1937 Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 10 Aug. 12/1 The track will be the Good Time track, the scene Goshen, and the crowd the combination of shirt-sleeved farmers and sport-coated socialites that has cheered him in a score of other efforts.
2007 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 23 Oct. c4 The development workers were holding wine glasses at dangerous angles as they excitedly grabbed each others' sport-coated elbows.
sport diver n. a person who participates in sport diving.
ΚΠ
1953 Independent-Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 17 May (Southland Mag.) 3 The steadfast adherents of skin diving scoff at sport divers because they use breathing apparatuses.
2007 Niagara Falls Rev. (Ont.) (Nexis) 27 Dec. a5 Most of the studied wrecks rest 40 to 50 metres below the surface, slightly deeper than sport divers venture.
sport diving n. the sport or recreational activity of swimming underwater with breathing apparatus; scuba diving; cf. skin-diving n.
ΚΠ
1953 Independent-Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 17 May (Southland Mag.) 3 Later, there developed what now is called sport diving.
2007 Cornish Guardian (Nexis) 19 Dec. 27 An underwater exhibition isn't complete without recognition of the greatest pioneer of sport diving.
sport drink n. = sports drink n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > aerated or carbonated drink > [noun] > other types
acid phosphate1804
mead1824
phosphate1885
sports drink1979
sport drink1983
1983 Mountain Democrat (Placerville, Calif.) 9 Nov. a6/ You'd think that many of the sport drinks would help us put back what our bodies have used up.
2000 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 27 Mar. 15 A hypotonic sport drink which doesn't run through the body as quickly as plain water does, thus helping performers avoid the ever present risk of fatigue through dehydration.
sportfest n. [ < sport n.1 + fest n., probably after German Sportfest (early 20th cent. or earlier)] = sportsfest n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > series of, as public spectacle
gamea1387
sports1535
Olympic Games1636
gymkhana1861
meet1893
sportfest1919
summer games1928
sportsfest1953
Commonwealth Games1954
motorkhana1954
1919 Indianapolis Star 16 May 12/2 Entries received here today from Indiana State Normal and Rose Polytechnic Institute caused the total number of athletes who will compete in the I.C.A.L. sportfest Saturday to advance to eighty-six.
1937 W. H. Auden in W. H. Auden & L. MacNeice Lett. from Iceland xi. 147 The sport-fest was a primitive affair. Some part singing..and a swimming race.
2002 Sunday Times (Nexis) 29 Sept. 15 How do you make grown men cry? Oblige them to forgo their Saturday afternoon sportfest for a bout of retail therapy.
sport fish n. [after sportfishing n.] originally and chiefly North American a fish caught for sport rather than for food.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > caught for sport
game fish1837
sporting fish1848
sport fish1915
1915 Daily Kennebac (Maine) Jrnl. 17 Dec. 11/2 Everyone is delighted with the handsome specimens of Maine's sport fish which Curator James has already placed in the aquarium.
1950 E. Bradner Northwest Angling iii. i. 172 As a sport fish, the salmon is highly valued by the anglers of the Pacific Coast.
1971 Nature 18 June 422/3 The billfishes of the family Istiophoridae, which include several well known sportfish such as the sailfish, the marlins, and spearfishes.
2003 Alaska Mag. May 46/3 There's always grayling, one of Alaska's most enjoyable sport fish.
sport fisher n. originally and chiefly North American (a) = sport fisherman n. (a); (b) = sport fisherman n. (b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > angler
anglerc1450
piscator1674
piscatorian1694
Waltonian1832
rodsman1837
rod1848
rodman1865
rodster1867
piscatorialist1881
sport fisher1902
sport fisherman1915
sportsfisherman1928
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > fishing vessel > [noun] > other types of fishing vessel
spindlers-boat1243
manfare1326
stall boat1328
dogger1338
hackboat1344
coble1493
peter-boat1540
monger1558
trimboat1558
shotter1580
crab-skuit1614
fly-boat1614
cantera1642
dogger-boat1646
cag1666
yawl1670
barca-longa1681
hogboat1784
fishing-smack1785
hooker1801
hatch-boat1828
pinkie1840
fishing-bark1841
pookhaun1851
garookuh1855
jigger1860
fisher-bark1862
fisher-keel1870
Norwegian1872
scaf1877
mule coble1883
mule1884
Zulu1884
novy1885
tosher1885
skipjack1887
fleeter1888
fishing-float1893
rodney1895
mutton-ham boat1899
nobby1899
sinagot1927
sport fisherman1937
sport fisher1940
ski-boat1964
belly boat1976
1902 W. H. Gregg & J. Gardner Where to catch Fish on East Coast Florida 9 The above mentioned factors have measurably decreased the number of fishes, but there are still enough left to satisfy the average sport fisher.
1940 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 27 Oct. d7/8 (advt.) Sport fisher 24x8, 1940... Large self-bailing cockpit.
1979 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 39 322 Special-interest blocs of voters (sport fishers, for one).
2006 S. Hamblin Adventure Guide Maui 358 For a..trip on a 28-foot sport fisher, contact Spinning Dolphin Fishing Charters.
sport fisherman n. originally and chiefly North American (a) a person who engages in sportfishing; (b) a seagoing boat equipped for sportfishing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > angler
anglerc1450
piscator1674
piscatorian1694
Waltonian1832
rodsman1837
rod1848
rodman1865
rodster1867
piscatorialist1881
sport fisher1902
sport fisherman1915
sportsfisherman1928
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > fishing vessel > [noun] > other types of fishing vessel
spindlers-boat1243
manfare1326
stall boat1328
dogger1338
hackboat1344
coble1493
peter-boat1540
monger1558
trimboat1558
shotter1580
crab-skuit1614
fly-boat1614
cantera1642
dogger-boat1646
cag1666
yawl1670
barca-longa1681
hogboat1784
fishing-smack1785
hooker1801
hatch-boat1828
pinkie1840
fishing-bark1841
pookhaun1851
garookuh1855
jigger1860
fisher-bark1862
fisher-keel1870
Norwegian1872
scaf1877
mule coble1883
mule1884
Zulu1884
novy1885
tosher1885
skipjack1887
fleeter1888
fishing-float1893
rodney1895
mutton-ham boat1899
nobby1899
sinagot1927
sport fisherman1937
sport fisher1940
ski-boat1964
belly boat1976
1915 G. A. Cleveland Maine 164 Oh, I didn't know but you might be one o' them ere Boston sport fishermen, them's what they were.
1937 Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman 15 July 9/3 From the small family cruiser to this year's new sport fisherman the booklet takes up in detail the different stock and custom built craft.
1999 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 17 Oct. v. 8/3 He operated his own sportfisherman off Cuba for giant marlin.
2008 Inside Bay Area (Calif.) (Nexis) 10 Feb. Sport fishermen have been coming for decades to land yellowfin tuna, marlin, red snapper and other varieties.
sportfishery n. originally and chiefly North American a fishery for rearing fish for sportfishing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > angling
anglingc1450
the gentle craft1828
the gentle art1834
Waltonizing1841
sportfishing1910
sportfishery1930
1930 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 10 Apr. 14/6 The authorities had the whole-hearted cooperation of anglers in the district in their effort to build up a new sport fishery in that part of the country.
1955 (title) Sport fishery abstracts.
1994 N. Amer. Jrnl. Fisheries Managem. 14 14 White bass were recruited to the sport fishery in their second year of life.
sportfishing n. originally and chiefly North American the sport or pastime of fishing with a rod and line; angling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > angling
anglingc1450
the gentle craft1828
the gentle art1834
Waltonizing1841
sportfishing1910
sportfishery1930
1910 C. G. Holder in Proc. 4th International Fishery Congress i. 201 (heading) Sport fishing in California and Florida.
1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 15 July 5/3 Something had to be done in order to save the sport fishing of Vancouver Island.
1978 A. Gilchrist Cod Wars v. 36 The Icelandic government (well aware of the amount of money which sport-fishing brings into the country) takes care of the availability of salmon in two important ways.
2005 Wine Internat. Jan. (Austral. Life Suppl.) 37/3 Those interested in sportfishing can try their luck with queenfish, giant trevally and golden trevally using light tackle, or chase larger black jewfish, marlin and sailfish further offshore.
sport-fucking n. U.S. coarse slang copulation engaged in solely for sport or recreation; casual sex.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual relationship > [noun] > casual
snatch1592
1968 P. Newman in Playboy July 69 There was sport fucking. There was mercy fucking.
1993 Wired Sept. 111/1 Sorry, sport-fucking has never been my event.
1996 Frontiers Newsmag. 12 July 87 McBride talks frankly about life on the A-list and the sport fucking that filled his days and nights.
sport horse n. a horse used for hunting, racing, or competitive equestrian events.
ΚΠ
1917 Washington Post 24 June (Mag.) 18/1 (heading) U.S. sport horses too small for war. Little danger of hunters, saddlers or polo ponies being commandeered.
1924 Bk. Rev. Digest for 1923 331/2 The book..goes into horsemanship in general including its history, hunting and hunters, and the training and care of sport horses.
2005 New Scientist 27 Aug. 16/1 One application that has received less attention shows a surprising amount of promise: cloning sport horses. These are the animals that compete in events such as dressage, cross-country and show jumping.
sport jacket n. = sports jacket n. at Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > jacket > (suitable) for specific purpose
cork-jacket1762
tea-jacket1887
stroller1901
sports jacket1912
bed-jacket1914
smoking1922
hacking jacket1935
safari jacket1938
lumber jacket1939
judogi1944
loafer1959
1917 N.Y. Times 25 Mar. 9/6 (advt.) New pointed jacket and plaited sport jacket models.
1920 Times 6 July 16/5 (advt.) These are stylish, roomy Sport Jackets.
1998 R. Stone Damascus Gate vii. 64 In a tweed sport jacket and an English bookie's cap he accosted tourists at the bus station or the tourist office.
sport-jacketed adj. = sports-jacketed adj. at Compounds 4b.
ΚΠ
1949 Chester (Pa.) Times 9 June 14/1 A husky sport-jacketed stranger faced him over the counter.
2006 Time Out N.Y. 2 Feb. 15/4 Roberts is best known for playing Woody Allen's sport-jacketed pal in films like Annie Hall and Play It Again, Sam.
sport psychologist n. = sports psychologist n. at Compounds 4b.
ΚΠ
1916 Boston Daily Globe 4 Feb. 7/4 Bud Smith..put Mike Sweeney, who is to be adviser at Yale, in the very front rank as a sport psychologist.
1970 Internat. Jrnl. Sport Psychol. 1 38 The main task of sport psychologists is to observe, and attend to, any problems that may arise in top-level athletes.
2000 C. A. Oglesby et al. Encycl. Women & Sport in Amer. 136 She used a private coach and, unusual for the time, her own sport psychologist.
sport psychology n. = sports psychology n. at Compounds 4b.
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1929 School Rev. 37 91 This new science of sport psychology.
1966 A. M. Olsen in F. Antonelli Proc. 1st Internat. Congr. Sports Psychol. Human motor learning and the fundamental, theoretical bases of human movement should be a major concern of sport psychology.
1998 R. S. Griffin Sports in Lives of Children & Adolescents i. 2 For some time I have had a professional interest in exploring sport psychology and coaching strategies.
sport seat n. originally and chiefly U.S. (a) = sports seat n. (a) at Compounds 4b; (b) = sports seat n. (b) at Compounds 4b.
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1948 Evening Independent (Massillon, Ohio) 15 Sept. 1/3 Sport seats for the game... After you have tried one of these comfortable seats you would not do without it for all the tea in China.
1965 Xenia (Ohio) Daily Gaz. 12 Apr. 20/1 (advt.) This is a real luxury car, with custom interior trim, custom sport seat with folding center armrest.
1991 Western Living June 58 (advt.) And such luxury options as a CD player, moonroof and 7-way driver's sport seat.
2007 Tulsa (Oklahoma) World (Nexis) 17 Feb. e1 This latest major tournament meant doubling his pro shop and outside staff, and stocking and then reordering popular accessories like portable sport seats.
sport shirt n. = sports shirt n. at Compounds 4b.
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1914 Puck (N.Y.) 18 July 20/2 (advt.) ‘Piping Rock’ Sport Shirt,..For Athletic Men.
1966 H. Kemelman Saturday Rabbi went Hungry (1967) xiv. 89 The local chief of police was wearing a sport shirt and chinos.
1994 Artnews Feb. 85/2 Curtis dresses in tan chinos, a bright blue sport shirt, and a tan beret.
sportspeak n. freq. depreciative the language or jargon typically used to describe sport.
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1968 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 30 May 5 c/3 Historians of sportspeak claim that it is neither new nor particularly American.
2007 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 21 Sept. 27 He combined un-English self-praise with a refreshing turn of phrase, alien to the mumbling sport-speak of the home-grown manager.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > club or stick > [noun] > armed club
masuelc1312
macec1325
maulc1325
mell1333
brogged staff1429
balk-staffc1460
malleta1500
quarterstaff?1560
sport staff1634
morgenstern1637
roundhead1643
morning star1684
patu patu1769
patuc1771
shell-stick1790
holy water sprinkler1816
mace-head1824
shark's teeth sword1845
taiaha1845
1634 Burgh Rec. Stirling (1887) 172 In hambringing and taking agane to Edinburgh the sport stafes and gownes.
sport ute n. North American = sport utility vehicle n.
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1989 Toronto Star 15 July j4/1 The next 12 months will see four-door sport-utes from GM, Ford, Nissan and others.
2001 Pop. Sci. Apr. 30/3 Chrysler will debut a Dodge Durango sport-ute with electric drive for the front axle and gasoline for the rear.
sport utility n. originally and chiefly North American (a) attributive designating a coat or other article of outerwear designed for outdoor work and recreation (now rare); (b) a vehicle designed for recreational use; (now) esp. = sport utility vehicle n. (chiefly attributive).
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [adjective] > coat > other
full-dressed1752
broad-skirted1809
swallow-tailed1824
shad-bellied1832
square-tailed1837
cut-off1840
cutaway1841
sack1847
raglan1858
swing-back1862
Prince Albert1873
box back1892
highwayman1892
sack-back1892
sport utility1925
teddy bear1925
Redfern1932
sports utility1940
Crombie1951
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > estate car
beach-wagon1869
ranch wagon1879
shooting brake1912
sport utility1925
station wagon1929
carryall1932
sports utility1940
ute1943
utility1944
estate car1950
wagon1955
estate wagon1959
SUV1987
1925 N.Y. Times 29 Sept. 6 (advt.) Worn the world over—most generally accepted of sport utility coats.
1950 N.Y. Times 13 Aug. s4 (advt.) New, fast, seaworthy 22′×5′ sport utility.
1991 Business Week 12 Aug. 73/3 And that, after all, is what sport-utilities are about.
1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 24 Apr. e1/1 1993 marks the third model year for the uppity sport utility 4-door.
2001 Boston Globe 8 July a1/5 It also has been active at the grass-roots level, including a rally outside sport-utility dealerships in Lynn.
sport utility vehicle n. originally and chiefly North American a four-wheel drive motor vehicle that can be used for recreational off-road driving (abbreviated SUV).
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1969 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 27 Feb. 25/5 (caption) Chevrolet's new four-wheel-drive blazer, new sport-utility vehicle combines comfort, power, lots of options.
2000 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 4 Jan. 12/3 President Clinton announces a plan to make sport utility vehicles meet the same emissions standards as cars to reduce air pollution.
sport vehicle n. originally and chiefly North American a vehicle intended for sporting or recreational use; spec. = sport utility vehicle n.
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1929 Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent 27 Aug. 16/2 The most hopeful thing about this record is that the gain shown was in commercial and sport vehicles rather than in the military models [of aeroplane].
1968 Wall St. Jrnl. 6 Nov. 8/2 Enthusiasm for off-the-road driving has pushed annual sales of four-wheel-drive sport vehicles to a record of more than $145 million.
2007 Lancaster (Pa.) New Era (Nexis) 20 Nov. a9 Police arrested him for suspected drunken driving after his 2005 Suzuki sport-vehicle struck a tree.
sport wheel n. = sports wheel n. at Compounds 4b.
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1954 Modesto (Calif.) Bee 13 Aug. 22/1 (advt.) Studebaker... Overdrive, white walls, wire sport wheels.
2008 New Straits (Malaysia) Times (Nexis) 3 Feb. 12 Other than a new set of 15-inch sport wheels, the Waja has not been modified further.
sport writer n. = sportswriter n. at Compounds 4b.
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1898 New Castle (Pa.) News 26 Jan. 1/5 According to the sport writer who makes batsmen boot to the outfield and firstbasemen make one armed throws to third.
2005 Scotsman (Nexis) 20 June 8 A fortnight ago came another successful match for the Finn, though the kind sport writers are obliged to state was made in heaven.
b. With the first element in plural form.
sports agent n. a person who represents a professional athlete in financial and contractual matters.
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1943 Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman 17 Nov. 9/3 ‘I can put together a stellar representation,’..said the veteran sports agent.
2000 S. King On Writing 239 Sports agents represent minor leaguers who are basically playing for meal-money, in hopes that their young clients will make it to the bigs.
sports anaemia n. Medicine a typically mild degree of anaemia associated with intensive physical training and having a number of contributory factors, including increased destruction of red blood cells and plasma volume expansion.
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1970 Nutrition Rev. 28 451 (title) Anemia during physical training (sports anemia).
1977 Japanese Jrnl. Physiol. 27 413 Sports anemia induced by tennis training or exercising on a bicycle ergometer was studied in healthy male students.
1999 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press (Nexis) 21 Aug. e9 I presumed that the diagnosis was sports anemia because neither further testing nor treatment was suggested.
sports bag n. (originally) a bag designed to accessorize informal or casual attire (cf. Compounds 1c(b)); (now chiefly) a bag designed to carry sports equipment or clothing.
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1916 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 17 July 5/3 (advt.) Sports Bag to match Coat.
1934 Lincoln (Nebraska) Jrnl. & Star 27 May 3 b/2 (advt.) Zipper closed utility sports bag. For swimming. For picnicing.
1999 S. Bishop in J. Gay & J. Bell Hard Shoulder 147 All I've got is some Gap gear I just threw into a sportsbag along with the tinnies.
sports bar n. originally U.S. a bar with a sporting theme; esp. one where non-stop televised sport is shown.
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1975 N.Y. Times 27 Jan. 16/4 Frequenting a popular Washington sports bar and restaurant.
1995 Independent on Sunday 30 July 20/3 When cable television companies launched round-the-clock sports channels, sports bars took off in the US in a big way.
2003 Variety 13 Jan. 42/2 The sound of televised baseball in a Yank-style sports bar tucked in a Venetian side street can be heard many blocks away deep inside the vast Piazza San Marco.
sports bike n. (a) = sport bike n. (a) at Compounds 4a; (b) = sport bike n. (b) at Compounds 4a.
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1953 Winnipeg Free Press 28 Apr. 29/2 (advt.) Man's Rawley Sports Bike.
1966 Oneonta (N.Y.) Star 1 Aug. 5/5 There are an assortment of popular sports bikes. The Ducati and Guzzi are made in Italy..and the Yamaha comes from Japan.
1993 Social Stud. Sci. 23 510 Racing, touring and sports bikes are generally referred to by mountain bikers under the blanket term of road bikes.
2001 FHM Feb. 177 Under that rather staid exterior beats the 150bhp engine from the mental YZF-R1 sportsbike.
sports boat n. a powerful, high-speed boat, esp. one used for racing.
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1945 G. E. Pendray Coming Age Rocket Power xii. 172 It would not be surprising if sports boats and special purpose utility boats of various sorts were to undergo radical redesign in the near future.
2005 Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard 15 July 20/2 Robin won his last race aboard his sportsboat, ‘Risque’, crewed by his wife.
sports bra n. a brassiere providing extra support for use during vigorous exercise.
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1917 Washington Post 3 June (Fashion section) 4/1 A sports brassiere for horseback riding and bathing which could be worn without any corsets or with just the rubber sports corsets.]
1936 Chicago Tribune 8 Feb. 13 (advt.) Slip-over sports bra of firm, open mesh lastex.
2006 Daily Tel. 13 Mar. 23/3 You will have to choose between the two types of sports bras—compression or encapsulation.
sports car n. a low-built car designed for performance at high speeds, often having a roof that can be folded back.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > sports car
supercar1910
sport car1916
sportster1918
sport1919
sports car1919
pony car1968
1919 Times 12 Nov. 6/2 The sports car, however, is not everybody's vehicle.
1932 G. Winn Unequal Conflict xviii. 350 She nourished a wild hope that..she would find Derek's silver sports car standing outside.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds xviii. 484 He pushed on, gunned the red sports car up..the Domokos Pass.
2005 T. Hall Salaam Brick Lane vii. 157 Four or five Bangladeshi teenagers crowded round a new sports car in which the owner sat.
sportscast n. a radio or television broadcast of a sporting event or sports news.
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1930 Washington Post 16 Mar. a5/5 (radio listing) Sportscasts, by Grantland Rice, WRC.
1976 H. Nielsen Brink of Murder i. 11 The sportscast on the portable TV was in progress.
1992 New Yorker 9 Mar. 53/2 Nature films are like highlight clips shown on the evening sportscast, all rim-bending slam dunks and bleacher-clearing home runs.
sportscaster n. North American a person who presents a sportscast, or commentates on a broadcasted sporting event.
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society > communication > broadcasting > broadcaster > [noun] > types of
co-host1908
announcer1922
newsreader1925
race-reader1926
newscaster1930
sportscaster1930
quizzee1933
school broadcaster1937
commentator1938
racecaster1938
sportcaster1938
femcee1940
record jockey1940
disc jockey1941
narrator1941
deejay1946
colourman1947
anchorman1948
host1948
jock1952
speakerine1957
presenter1959
linkman1960
anchorwoman1961
rock jock1961
anchor1962
jockey1963
voice-over1966
anchorperson1971
outside broadcaster1971
news anchor1975
talk-master1975
satcaster1982
society > leisure > sport > broadcasting > [noun] > broadcaster
sportscaster1930
sportcaster1938
1930 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 28 Sept. 37/5 What we call wasted energy is the sportscasters who still announce each evening how many games the New York Yankees are leading the Boston Red Sox.
1938 Amer. Speech 13 239 Note that newscaster and sportscaster are now common terms in Variety.
1952 B. Wolfe Limbo xx. 323 With each passing day the sportscaster's voice lost a few more decibels of its professional bounce.
1964 M. McLuhan Understanding Media xxx. 303 A sportscaster had just begun his fifteen-minute reading from a script.
1981 ‘E. McBain’ Heat iii. 51 The sportscaster read off the baseball scores.
2004 Time Out N.Y. 16 Dec. 89/1 Which is the most insufferable? Duke's obnoxious fans, its floor-slapping players or the sportscasters who mindlessly drool over both?
sportscasting n. the broadcasting of sport on radio or television.
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society > communication > broadcasting > [noun] > broadcasting specific type of programme or item
spot advertising1904
outside broadcasting1925
school broadcasting1926
newscasting1928
sportcasting1934
sportscasting1941
revival1955
pray-TV1957
trailing1961
radiovision1963
society > leisure > sport > broadcasting > [noun]
sportcasting1934
sportscasting1941
1941 Newsweek 30 June 54/3 As was to be expected, Corum, an old hand at sportscasting turned in a top job.
1969 C. Armstrong Seven Seats to Moon xii. 125 J sat all the way through the sportscasting.
2003 N.Y. Mag. 20 Oct. 24/3 Rush's move..into the media mainstream—with his ESPN sportscasting job—is also a leap.
sports channel n. a (satellite or cable) television channel which is devoted to sport and coverage of sporting events.
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1973 Fond Du Lac (Wisconsin) Reporter 10 Mar. 9/6 There may be many pay-TV channels—a showcase movie channel, a sports channel, an opera channel, even a Walt Disney channel.
1997 G. Williams Diamond Geezers xxiv. 154 Punters didn't have to watch abseiling from Latvia on a sports channel while sitting on a wood-effect stool that had been screwed to the floor.
sports clinic n. (a) North American an event at which instruction or coaching in a particular sport or sports is given; (b) a clinic dedicated to the treatment of injuries sustained during or caused by participation in sport.
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1933 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 22 Apr. 6/4 A sports clinic, a football game, five track meets and sundry college baseball battles are offered to Ohio fans Saturday.
1974 Star News (Pasadena, Calif.) 14 Sept. a8/3 Dr. James Nicholas, chief of the sports clinic at Lenox Hill Hospital..warns girls to stay away from football.
1997 A. Andersen Small Store Survival ii. 57 Sponsor a sports clinic or cooking class to educate or entertain the community.
2003 T. Lincoln Crossing Sat. Furlong 36 I manage to sneak in an early afternoon appointment at the sports clinic. I emerge walking tall, but still unable to set any weight on my shoulders.
sports coat n. a coat, now typically one worn by a man, for informal wear or (chiefly in early use) for sport; cf. sports jacket n.
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1909 Times 26 Aug. 11/6 (advt.) Our stock contains a great variety of new shapes and styles in Golf Jerseys and Sports Coats [for women].
1921 E. Ferber Girls xiv. 281 She wore her white wash-satin skirt and the pink sports coat and her big hat and looked very well indeed.
1951 L. P. Hartley My Fellow Devils xi. 100 His habitual dark Sunday wear a sports coat and flannel trousers.
1995 E. Arthur Antarctic Navigation 40 Dr. Jim always wore sports coats, with ties and button-down shirts.
sports-coated adj. wearing a sports coat.
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1952 B. Hamilton So Sad, so Fresh ii. 22 These sports-coated, bepiped, sophisticated young bloods.
2007 Seattle Times (Nexis) 17 Apr. c3 The sports-coated Johnny Marr had a relative loaf job. All he had to do was play guitar brilliantly and look cool.
sports complex n. originally and chiefly North American a sports centre offering a variety of different sports facilities, esp. under one roof.
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society > leisure > sport > place for sports or games > [noun]
ring?a1400
rink1489
game place1542
playing field1583
rink-room1594
stadium1603
cirque1644
xystus1664
amphitheatre1710
field1730
grandstand1754
chunk-yard1773
sports ground1862
park1867
sports field1877
pitch1895
close1898
sports centre1907
padang1909
sports stadium1911
bowl1913
field house1922
sportsdrome1951
sports complex1957
astrodome1964
dome1965
sportsplex1974
1957 Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 12 Dec. 41/5 Bob Considine calls it the greatest sports complex he has ever seen.
1991 Daily Tel. 5 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 38/1 When completed, Ponds Forge will be the most versatile sports complex in the world.
2001 N.Y. Times 1 July xiv. 6/2 It is not clear whether New Jerseyans care a bat's ash what happens to the arena or, for that matter, to the entire sports complex.
sports day n. a day of organized sports for a particular group of people, esp. an occasion on which the pupils of a school compete in various races and athletic events.
ΚΠ
1875 Ipswich Jrnl. 12 June 5/5 Both Friendly Societies..[decided] to hold a counter demonstration in the town on the Sports Day.
1906 Times 17 Jan. 11/6 It may interest you to know that about two years ago my company instituted a competition amongst passengers on Sports Day on board its steamers for the quickest and proper method of putting on the lifebelt.
1924 Times 22 Mar. 6/3 Shrewsbury School Sports Day will be on Saturday, March 29.
1940 F. Sargeson Man & his Wife (1944) 54 When the last war ended I was at the High School. We got the news of the armistice on our annual sports day.
1990 Independent 26 May (Mag.) 7/3 I remember sneaking off with a friend during Sport's Day at my school.
sports diver n. = sport diver n. at Compounds 4a.
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1951 Berkshire Evening Eagle (Pittsfield, Mass.) 7 Dec. 14/5 Offshore abalones move into the shallows each year to repopulate the areas thinned out by the sports divers.
1955 A. VanderKogel & R. Lardner Underwater Sport xi. 166 The American sports diver seeking relatively close-at-hand areas for good hunting, worth-while exploring, coral and shell collecting,..should..take a trip south.
2006 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 27 Mar. 7 A student who was a qualified sports diver has died after a training dive went wrong 200 metres off the South Devon coast.
sports diving n. = sport diving n. at Compounds 4a.
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1951 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 25 Dec. 14/2 The pressure of commercial and sports diving for abalone has been blamed for the lessening population of the much-sought mollusc.
1970 F. Scott & W. Scott Exploring Ocean Frontiers iii. 56 Advances in commercial diving and sports diving went hand in hand.
2007 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 2 Oct. 22 I used to be involved with Sports Diving.
sports doctor n. a doctor who specializes in the physiological aspects of athletic performance, esp. the treatment of injuries sustained during or caused by participation in sporting activities.
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1938 Lancet 26 Mar. 724/2 ‘Sports doctors’ judged the capacity of boys to participate in exercise, but had no opportunity to estimate results.
1972 Science 30 June 1399/3 Senior sports doctors..insist that steroids do not increase muscle but do have a variety of unpleasant side effects.
2004 L. Greene & R. Pate Training for Young Distance Runners (ed. 2) xx. 213 Runners with shin pain should consult a sports doctor because appropriate treatment depends on the cause.
sports drink n. a soft drink designed or marketed for consumption in conjunction with sporting activity or strenuous exercise, which typically contains electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride, and a high percentage of sugar to restore energy.
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the world > food and drink > drink > aerated or carbonated drink > [noun] > other types
acid phosphate1804
mead1824
phosphate1885
sports drink1979
sport drink1983
1979 Washington Post 22 Feb. e17/3 Serfass is more than critical about the sports drink. ‘You don't need it. Water is the surest way for replacing fluids.’
2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 238/2 A sports drink has recently been developed from coconut water.
sportsfest n. [compare earlier sportfest n. at Compounds 4a] a festival of sport; a meeting at which athletics or other competitive sports take place; (also) a piece of sporting entertainment; cf. sportfest n. at Compounds 4a.
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society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > series of, as public spectacle
gamea1387
sports1535
Olympic Games1636
gymkhana1861
meet1893
sportfest1919
summer games1928
sportsfest1953
Commonwealth Games1954
motorkhana1954
1953 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 13 Dec. c9/5 Faculty and student body are deep in plans and preparations for the annual Milk Fund Benefit, which features a sportsfest as part of the evening's entertainment.
1976 Listener 5 Aug. 151/1 Television caught both aspects of this mammoth sports-fest [sc. the Olympic Games] very well.
2004 Games TM Apr. 142/2 Consisting of six extreme sports events, up to eight players could compete in turn, taking control of skateboards, bikes and even surfboards in this alternative sports-fest.
sports finder n. Photography a direct-vision viewfinder usually consisting of a simple frame which allows action outside the field of view of the camera to be seen, fitted esp. to twin-lens reflex cameras.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > view-finder
rearsight1831
finder1862
viewfinder1883
sports finder1938
1938 Times 17 Aug. 1/3 (advt.) Leica outfit..universal and sports finder, lens hood, filters.
1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 165 Most twin lens reflexes have a ‘sports finder’ which folds out of the hood.
2002 Pop. Photogr. Apr. 83/2 We would not recommend using the direct vision sportsfinder for subjects closer than about 10 feet due to serious parallax error.
sportsfisherman n. originally and chiefly North American (a) = sport fisherman n. (a) at Compounds 4a; (b) = sport fisherman n. (b) at Compounds 4a.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > angler
anglerc1450
piscator1674
piscatorian1694
Waltonian1832
rodsman1837
rod1848
rodman1865
rodster1867
piscatorialist1881
sport fisher1902
sport fisherman1915
sportsfisherman1928
1928 Los Angeles Times 21 June ii. 10/4 Salton Sea is to become a popular mecca for sports fishermen.
1960 J. J. Rowlands Spindrift from House by Sea 207 A small sports-fisherman, with the strong high bow of a Nova Scotia lobster boat, is taking on ice and provisions for a week-end cruise.
1994 Canad. Geographic Jan. 49/3 (caption) Berry, an avid sportsfisherman, has made more than a dozen trips to the Red River to pursue his passion for catching some of the world's largest catfish.
2006 Bradenton (Florida) Herald (Nexis) 16 Apr. 4 Four lucky anglers will be fishing far off the peninsula for grouper and snapper as guests of Capt. Larry McGuire aboard his 31-foot sportsfisherman.
sportsfishing n. = sportfishing n. at Compounds 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > angling
anglingc1450
the gentle craft1828
the gentle art1834
Waltonizing1841
sportfishing1910
sportfishery1930
1926 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 6 July 4/5 Our good friends who are deeply concerned in the perpetuations of sports fishing.
2000 E. Hunt et al. South Pacific 855/2 Sportsfishing (mostly catch and release) on Bikini is quite good, with skipjack, yellowfin and trevallys.
sports girl n. a girl or young woman who takes part in sport.
ΚΠ
1922 Times 22 Apr. 9/6 (headline) Sports girls who ‘play the game’.
1938 J. Betjeman in New Statesman 12 Nov. 777/1 I adore you, Pam, you great big mountainous sports girl.
2007 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 1 July (Sport section) 8 Maybe she is a disaster waiting to happen, like so many other American sports-girls who were hot-housed at a ridiculously young age.
sports industry n. the sporting world or realm, esp. viewed in commercial terms.
ΚΠ
1920 All India Reporter (Lahore) 172/1 He has advertised his firm as being the founders of the sports industry in India and as being large manufacturers with extensive experience.
2006 Wall St. Jrnl. 16 Sept. r3/1 Team and league executives loosely divide the sports industry into three overlapping areas: content, or the leagues, teams and other sports organizations; channels of distribution..; and related businesses.
sports injury n. an injury sustained during or resulting from participation in sport.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [noun]
clakec1000
wemming1100
hurt?c1225
un-i-soundc1275
breach1398
wrethec1400
discomfiture1599
tort1632
personal injury1653
punishment1811
insult1903
sports injury1932
1932 Washington Post 16 Jan. 8/3 Most people have had experience with sports injuries or bruises of like character due to other causes.
1963 Times 29 Nov. 6/3 The medical profession has shown comparatively little practical interest in the prevention of sports injuries.
2001 N. Jones Rough Guide Trav. Health ii. 415 Ruta grav is good for sprained wrists and ankles, torn ligaments and tendons and for sports injuries as a whole.
sports jacket n. a jacket, typically resembling a suit jacket and now usually worn by a man, for informal wear or (chiefly in early use) for sport; cf. sports coat n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > jacket > (suitable) for specific purpose
cork-jacket1762
tea-jacket1887
stroller1901
sports jacket1912
bed-jacket1914
smoking1922
hacking jacket1935
safari jacket1938
lumber jacket1939
judogi1944
loafer1959
1912 Times 16 May 10/6 They are also showing some quite new white knitted sports jackets made of Shetland wool.
1927 ‘C. Barry’ Mouls House Mystery xx. 178 In an hour, Gilmartin was at his home, clad in an old sports jacket.
1962 J. D. Salinger Franny & Zooey 132 And there was old Dick..Sitting at a table in blue jeans and a gruesome sports jacket.
2001 I. Sinclair Landor's Tower (2002) i. i. 1 He was melting inside his undervest, white shirt, leather waistcoat, sports jacket, corduroy car coat.
sports-jacketed adj. wearing a sports jacket.
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1934 Washington Post 13 May (Rotogravure section) 8 (advt.) Hatless and sports-jacketed for Summer.
1955 N. Fitzgerald House is Falling vii. 107 Brigadier Poodle Poole-Casey, hatless and sports-jacketed.
1992 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Dec. 186/1 For 22 years, Alistair Cooke has been America's visual icon of cod Englishness, as the urbane..white-haired, sports-jacketed introducer of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.
sports kit n. the clothing and equipment needed to participate in (a particular) sport; clothes worn for sport.Not in North American use.
ΚΠ
1906 Field 30 June p. xxiii/2 (advt.) Gentlemen making their preparations for the Shooting season should take the opportunity while in town of inspecting our Burberry Sports Kit for the Moors.
1952 Brit. Jrnl. Delinquency 3 16 At a boarding school..pupils have their own desks and lockers, their own books and instruments, their own sports kit and even their own rooms to look after.
2002 B July 58/2 A faux leather Nike duffel affair containing sweaty sports kit.
sports massage n. a type of massage (esp. a deep-tissue massage), often used to relieve pain in or relax muscles after sporting activity.
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1955 H. Kubly Amer. in Italy 221 You like massage. I give good massage. I offer aesthetic, curative, and sports massages, and if you like, a massaggio generale.
1981 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 Aug. 50 ‘Joggers are often really tight people’, noted the sports massage specialist.
2000 Herald (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 9 Dec. A totally exclusive treatment that incorporates a full sports massage, designed to reinvigorate and freshen tired and stressed muscle tissue.
sports medicine n. the branch of medicine concerned chiefly with the physiological aspects of athletic performance, esp. the treatment of injuries sustained during or caused by participation in sporting activities.
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the world > health and disease > healing > art or science of medicine > [noun] > sports medicine
sports medicine1952
1952 Humboldt (Calif.) Standard 26 Mar. 2/3 Dr Jokl is one of the outstanding authorities in the world on sports medicine.
1961 (title) Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness.
2003 O. Shine Lang. Tennis 138 The ATP Tour employs four full-time Sports Medicine Trainers to care for players on the circuit.
sports meet n. an organized event at which a number of athletic or other sporting contests are held (cf. meet n.2 2b).
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1947 N.Y. Times 21 July 17/1 (headline) Park sports meet held.
1949 R. D. Matthews & M. Akrawi Educ. Arab Countries of Near East ix. 152 Competitive sports meets between schools are held in the larger cities.
2008 Statesman (India) (Nexis) 14 Jan. The staff and the guardians decided to cancel the sports meet.
sports palace n. chiefly North American a large sports complex or venue offering numerous facilities.
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1914 Chicago Sunday Tribune 14 June vii. 2/2 The winter sports palace which it is proposed to erect in New York... Lawn tennis courts will occupy the top floor, which will also have four full size curling rinks.
2001 B. Kamin Why Archit. Matters 212 How would the interior of Chicago's new sports palace measure up against the Stadium, a place fabled for its extraordinary intimacy and decibel levels?
sportspeople n. people who participate in sport or athletic activities.
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1926 Times 1 Nov. 24/7 (advt.) Gstaad... The place for sports people.
1999 Financial Times 9 Oct. (FT Weekend section) p. xxii/3 She would have preferred not to run in Sicily but, as with many strong-willed sportspeople,..[she] and her athletics' federation do not see eye to eye.
sportsperson n. a person who participates in sport or athletic activities; a sportsman or sportswoman.
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1909 W. de Morgan It never can happen Again xxxix. 506 You may perhaps have caught some bird, maimed by a sportsman..and may have seen that it would be merciful in you, not a sportsperson at all, but a sentimentalist, to make a quick end of it.
1922 Lima (Ohio) News 6 Sept. (advt.) The proper gloves are mighty important. They give a finisse [sic] that is noticeable to the particular sports person.
2004 Eventing Oct. 8/1 Entering the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony in Athens must be about as close as most sportspersons get to feeling like rock stars.
sports physician n. = sports doctor n.
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1935 J. B. Nash Interpret. Physic. Educ. V. 171 Sports Physicians.
1977 Time 9 May r1/2 Sports physicians will confirm that the average marathoner is a more ‘superb’ athlete than the fanciest of leftfielders.
2007 W. Briner Action Plan for Allergies viii. 173 Most sports physicians would advise stopping antihistamines and decongestants before strenuous exercise in hot environs.
sports psychologist n. a practitioner or student of sports psychology.
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1947 Chicago Tribune 1 Jan. iv. 53/7 If there is a new record there really will be something for the sports psychologists to figure out.
1972 H. T. A. Whiting Readings in Sports Psychol. 4 A sports psychologist might approach his study of behaviour in a sporting situation in many different ways.
2001 FourFourTwo Sept. 63/1 He..was the sports psychologist for the British Olympic cycling team in 1992.
sports psychology n. (a branch of) psychology applied to aspects of participation in sport, esp. with the aim of enhancing performance in competitive sports.
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1932 Chicago Tribune 14 Oct. 28/3 Charles Dorais, football coach at the University of Detroit, has sounded a new note in sports psychology.
1966 A. M. Olsen in F. Antonelli Proc. 1st Internat. Congr. Sports Psychol. 45 Sports psychology should cover all psychological problems of vital importance to the practice of sports.
1999 BBC Vegetarian Good Food May 26/1 During the week Joyce works from home on her PhD in sports psychology.
sports racket n. (also sports racquet) a racket used for striking the ball, shuttlecock, etc., in tennis, badminton, or other racket sports; = racket n.1 1b.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > rackets > [noun] > equipment
racquetball1597
sports racket1934
1934 Manch. Guardian 16 Mar. 20/3 The Import Duties Advisory Committee give notice of..the imposition of a specific duty on sports rackets and unstrung frames thereof.
1966 M. J. Barnes et al. Sports Activities for Girls & Women iii. 24 A badminton racket weighs about five ounces and is the lightest and most fragile of all sports rackets.
1989 U.S. Patent 4,860,531 1 There is a continuing need for new and improved sports racquet strings made from synthetic materials.
2015 Mirror (Nexis) 24 July We..have not identified anyone carrying a firearm. We did identify someone..who was carrying a sports racket.
sports science n. the study of disciplines such as anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and psychology as they relate to sporting performance.
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1968 H. Dawson On Outskirts of Hope 210 Some of the people I was sitting with were talking about sports science.
2005 E. Cashmore Making Sense of Sport (ed. 4) xviii. 462 Over the final two decades of the twentieth century, sports studies and sports science were, sometimes grudgingly, accepted as legitimate academic pursuits.
sports scientist n. an expert or specialist in sports science.
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1965 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 2 Nov. 15/5 A Soviet sports scientist suggested this..at the opening here of a national conference.
1978 Science 26 May 921/1 In the past 30 years, sports scientists have clarified the roles played by carbohydrates and fats in metabolism during exercise.
2003 Muscle & Fitness Jan. 119/1 Problems sleeping, an irregular sleep/wake cycle and not having a consistent work rhythm can..lead to a condition called desynchronization, which sports scientists have found seriously hampers performance in Olympic athletes competing in foreign time zones.
sports seat n. (a) any of various types of portable seat or cushion used by spectators at sporting events for extra comfort or when there are no seats provided; (b) a type of seat typically found in a high-performance car, which provides additional lateral support, preventing the driver from sliding sideways while cornering; cf. bucket-seat n. at bucket n.1 Compounds.
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1933 Times 21 Aug. 1/3 (advt.) Pray then be seated! on the new umbrella with its comfortable leather covered sports seat handle.
1959 Morgantown (W. Va.) Post 5 Aug. 4/1 (advt.) Padding... Outdoor furniture... Sports seats.
1982 Times 10 Dec. 21/7 (advt.) Porsche... Light metallic blue. Sports seats.
2007 Volkswagen Driver Mar. 11/1 Inside, it has special half-Vienna leather sports seats, trimmed with Interlagos cloth panels and finished with red seam stitching.
sports shirt n. a shirt, now typically a short-sleeved one worn by a man, for informal wear or for sport.
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1912 Times 15 June 11/6 (advt.) Sports shirt, made from extra heavy pyjama silk, with stitched turned down collar and cuffs.
1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed 111 A loud, open-throated sports-shirt.
1998 P. Gourevitch We wish to inform You xvi. 262 An amiable man in a red sports shirt greeted me and introduced himself as Sindikubwabo's chief of protocol.
sports-shirted adj. wearing a sports shirt.
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1961 R. Tregaskis X-15 Diary iii. 207 Sports-shirted technicians were working nearby amid the big metal and wood ribs of the jigs on which the X-15s were built.
1998 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch (Nexis) 8 Mar. c1 I spotted a group of sport-shirted VIPs strolling down the flight deck, sans helmets.
sportsspeak n. freq. depreciative = sportspeak n. at Compounds 4a.
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1981 N.Y. Times Mag. 6 Dec. 54 In talking about these interviews, Wood echoes the sportsspeak they use about him.
2001 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 19 Oct. 16 He helps them lift their game, to get back to the old sportsspeak, to identify and help remove the blockages that are stopping them being really successful.
sports star n. a celebrated or extremely famous sportsperson.
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1921 Iowa City Press Citizen 30 June 1/1 The greatest sports stars of the American nation are those who are educated.
2006 Surface No. 62. 74 Soon, musicians and sports stars began exerting an unprecedented influence on the footwear industry.
sports suspension n. suspension fitted to high-performance vehicles, typically stiffer than that found in ordinary vehicles, having the effect of keeping the tyres in contact with the road more effectively, giving the vehicle better handling.
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1966 Gastonia (N. Carolina) Gaz. 20 Mar. Family Weekly section Along with the 207-hp-premier-fuel engine, you get distinctive emblems,..a tenacious sports suspension and those swaggering sports stripes.
1968 Times (Illinois) 4 Aug. 8 e/2 The Hurst-Olds modification car... Equipped with heavy duty rally sports suspension.
2008 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 14 Mar. 14 [They] have a habit of fitting sports suspension to many of their test cars and that would certainly explain the rather hard ride.
sports utility n. originally and chiefly North American (a) = sport utility n. (a) at Compounds 4a (now rare); (b) = sport utility n. (b) at Compounds 4a.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [adjective] > coat > other
full-dressed1752
broad-skirted1809
swallow-tailed1824
shad-bellied1832
square-tailed1837
cut-off1840
cutaway1841
sack1847
raglan1858
swing-back1862
Prince Albert1873
box back1892
highwayman1892
sack-back1892
sport utility1925
teddy bear1925
Redfern1932
sports utility1940
Crombie1951
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > estate car
beach-wagon1869
ranch wagon1879
shooting brake1912
sport utility1925
station wagon1929
carryall1932
sports utility1940
ute1943
utility1944
estate car1950
wagon1955
estate wagon1959
SUV1987
1940 Winnipeg Free Press 6 Mar. 22/1 Almost every man needs a sports utility jacket of this kind.
1947 N.Y. Times 18 Nov. 33/3 The ‘sports utility’ model is particularly designed for hunting, fishing or other recreational trips.
1999 Daily Tel. 18 June 3/1 She..drove her three daughters around their affluent suburb in a white ‘sports utility’.
sports utility vehicle n. originally and chiefly North American = sport utility vehicle n. at Compounds 4a (abbreviated SUV).
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1960 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 17 July 12 c/3 The Toyota Land Cruiser, powerful 4-wheel drive sports utility vehicle.
1972 Washington Post 14 Nov. (Advt. Suppl.) 10 (advt.) Suburban housewives are using..sports utility vehicles built on a truck chassis for a variety of activities.
1999 Earth Matters Summer 4/3 A distinction should be made between motorists who minimise their environmental impact and the increasing number who follow the American-inspired trend for ‘sports utility vehicles’.
sports wheel n. a type of wheel found in high-performance motor vehicles, typically more lightweight than those found in ordinary vehicles, designed to improve performance; usually in plural.
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1957 Salina (Kansas) Jrnl. 30 Oct. 19/1 (advt.) 1953 Chrysler convertible—radio, heater, automatic, power steering and chrome wire sports wheels.
2000 Ralph 7 July 9 Creature comforts include a booming CD player, power steering, power windows, central locking, high performance sports wheels and a warranty that simply blows the competition away.
sportswriter n. a person whose job is to write about sport, esp. in a newspaper; a sports journalist.
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1907 Iowa City Daily Press 19 Apr. The Old Gold has been little figured on thus far by the sports writers of the capital city.
1932 B. Wood What Price Football vi. 100 A kind of sportswriter known to football players and coaches as a ‘Monday morning quarterback’... Not content with reporting the game..the writer must analyze it.
2004 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 4 July 6/2 American pundits, shock jocks, sportswriters and professional wisealecks go out of their way to deride a sport whose strange, minimalist beauty escapes them.
Derivatives
ˈsportswise adv. in terms of sport, as far as sport is concerned.
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1924 Nevada State Jrnl. 7 Feb. 5/1 Yale University looks for another successful year sportswise in 1924.
2007 Liverpool Echo (Nexis) 13 June 6 The week started and finished on a high note sportswise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2022).
† sportn.2
Obsolete.
A handbasket; a hamper.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > basket > [noun] > for carrying > to be carried in hand
sportlet1447
handbasket1495
sport1656
hoppet1671
1656 Act Commwealth (1658) c. 20. 459 Baskets called Hand-baskets or Sports the dozen,..04[s.] 00.
1661 T. Blount Glossographia (ed. 2) Sport, a Hand-basket, Maund or Pannier.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
sportv.
/spɔːt/, U.S. /spɔrt/ I. Senses relating to play, pleasure, or entertainment.† 5. transitive. To provide with sport or entertainment; to amuse, divert; to cheer, enliven. Cf. disport v. 1. Obsolete.† 11. transitive. To express or represent in music or poetry. Obsolete. rare.† 13. transitive. colloquial. To open (a door) with some force or violence; to force open. Obsolete.
1.
a. transitive (reflexive). To amuse, divert, or entertain oneself; to take one's pleasure, have a pleasant or leisurely time. Cf. disport v. 2. Now somewhat archaic.Fairly common until the end of the 17th cent., but in later use much rarer than sense 2a.
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society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (reflexive)]
shurt?c1225
playc1300
solace1340
lakea1375
to disport oneselfc1385
sport?a1425
short1449
recreate1530
entertain1594
to make oneself glee1602
deboise1633
divertise1651
divert1660
regale1682
besport1855
?a1425 Constit. Masonry (Royal 17 A.i) l. 65 in J. O. Halliwell Early Hist. Freemasonry in Eng. (1844) 14 Yn tyme of good kynge Adelstonus day; He made tho bothe halle and eke bowre..To sportyn hym yn.
a1485 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) p. xlvi Rydyng a hontyng, hym silff to sporte & playe.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) liii. 180 Let youre doughter go in to her chambre & sporte her with her damselles.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 729 I wyll go sporte me in this gardayne for an houre or twayne.
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 42 Many of you whiche were wont to sporte your selues at Theaters.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 144 Bupalus and Anthermus, to sport themselves,..made the statue of Hipponactes the Poet, who was halfe a Dwarfe.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 63 Some [lambs] leaping securely in the cool shade, whilst others sported themselvs in the cheerful Sun. View more context for this quotation
1712 A. Pope To Young Lady in Misc. Poems 138 Chearful, he play'd the Trifle, Life, away, 'Till Death scarce felt did o'er his Pleasures creep, As smiling Infants sport themselves to Sleep.
1779 Mirror No. 64 The gay, whose minds, unbent from serious and important occupations, had leisure to sport themselves in the regions of wit and humour.
1818 J. Keats Endymion iv. 167 A lover would not tread A cowslip on the head, Though he should dance from eve till peep of day—Nor any drooping flower Held sacred for thy bower, Wherever he may sport himself and play.
1897 New Eng. Mag. June 500/2 He paddled down to the beach, at the mouth of the river, where the gay bathers were beginning to sport themselves.
1929 Times 19 Nov. 15/6 Whales and seabirds of every description sporting themselves in the landlocked waters took little notice of the intrusion of our vessel.
1980 M. Thelwell Harder they Come x. 232 Maybe he's gone for a cruise on his bike, sah. Gone ride out and sport himself.
2013 S. Lefait Surveillance on Screen iv. 180 Individuals experience the desperate need to remain in the global picture by sporting themselves in front of implicit or explicit surveillance cameras.
b. transitive (reflexive). With the source of, or a companion in, the amusement, diversion, or entertainment specified. Frequently with by, in, or with. Also with reflexive pronoun as object in later use. Now somewhat archaic.In cases where a companion is specified, frequently with sexual connotation; cf. sense 6.
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c1438 Bk. Margery Kempe ii. 244 Ech of hem jangelyd to oþer..Whan þei had wel sportyd hem wyth þes wordys.
1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 35 Whan ye shalbe wery of studyng, sporte you in redyng goode stories.
?1478 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 649 If it lyke yow that I may come..and sporte me wyth yow at London a day or ij.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 520 Whereas he in the mean while skorned hir, sporting himself with Cleopatra in the sight and knowledge of all men.
a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. D4v Seeing I haue sported me, With laughing at these mad and merrie wagges.
1611 D. Murray Tragicall Death Sophonisba sig. D2v Go wanton Cupid, sport thee with thy mother.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 62 Let her sport her selfe With that shee's big-with. View more context for this quotation
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iii. v. 59 Our Captaine sporting himselfe by nayling them [sc. fish] to the grownd with his sword.
1670 J. Covel Diary in J. T. Bent Early Voy. Levant (1893) 134 After we had sported our selves a while with shooting in these thickets and Plashes.
1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans II. 200 The ministers of state sported themselves in the most wanton acts of arbitrary power.
1760 W. Law Coll. Lett. Interesting & Important Subj. xi. 161 Pleasing himself with supposed deep Enquiries after strict Truth, whilst he is only sporting himself with lively, wandring Images of This and That.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 213 So language..Too often proves..A toy to sport with, and pass time away.
1794 Pigs' Meat II. 88 The Philistines had never sported themselves with Sampson, or Ulisses with Polyphemas, had they not first put out their eyes.
1874 G. R. Sims tr. H. de Balzac Droll Stories 650 Ye gods! but she is sporting herself in them like a hundred schoolboys in a hedgefull of blackberries, after vespers.
1958 M. Lefebure Murder with Difference ii. x. 231 While he and Ethel Christie lived apart he had sported himself with the person whom he finally dismissed from his life with the cricket bat.
1973 J. Cashman Gentleman from Chicago 158 To suggest that I have sported myself with this lady while her husband languished at home, a sick man, is a monstrous slander.
c. transitive (reflexive). figurative and in extended use. Of things.In early use frequently with personification.
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1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 203 Ex growing bigger, and sporting himselfe, as it were, with spreading into many streames.
1721 Coll. Polit. Lett. London Jrnl. 1720 50 Imagination,..roaming casually from Object to Object, and sporting it self with Phantoms and Non-entities.
1746 J. Hervey Medit. (1818) 127 Here, she [sc. beauty] indulges a thousand freaks, and sports herself in the most charming diversity of colours.
1850 J. Ingelow Rhyming Chron. i. 58 What are thy thoughts made up of? Do they stray Abroad with wand'ring swallows in the air, Or sport themselves with circling flies, that play Under thy sycamore?
1879 Atlantic Monthly Dec. 794/2 His unconscious indulgence of a native wit or drollery, which simply..has sported itself among the nearest and most familiar objects.
1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow v. 128 How rich and splendid his own life was, red and burning and blazing and sporting itself in the dark meshes of his body.
2006 S. S. Parrish Amer. Curiosity v. 188 A place where nature was sporting itself with radiant treasures.
2.
a. intransitive. To amuse or entertain oneself, esp. by outdoor exercise or activity; to play in a lively, energetic way. Also occasionally transitive with it.
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society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (intransitive)]
playeOE
glewc900
gameOE
lakec1300
solace1340
bourdc1440
dallyc1440
sporta1450
to make sportc1475
disport1480
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509
toy?1521
pastime1523
recreate1589
jest1597
feast1609
deliciate1633
divert1670
carpe diem1817
hobby-horse1819
popjoy1853
that'll be the day1916
to play around1929
loon1969
a1450 in F. W. Willmore Hist. Walsall (1887) 167 (MED) It is ordeyned that if eny man kepe eny at the ale or sportyng in theire houses aft. the howers appoynted, to make a fyne therfore.
a1485 H. Baradoun in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 290 When I wolde sporte with company also, I dare not out, I am so sore agast.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Aii [If] you haue not your owne fre lyberte To sporte at your pleasure to ryn and to ryde.
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. A2 Not marching now in fields of Thracimene,..Nor sporting in the dalliance of loue.
1645 R. Harwood Loyall Subiects Retiring-roome 29 Doe you not see the Keeper sport with his Lion, when the Spectatour will scarce trust his chaine?
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 54 Having sported two or three Hours, we were treated with a Collation.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles ii. i. 200 As the Year brought back the Jovial Day, Freely they sported, innocently gay.
1777 H. H. Brackenridge Death Gen. Montgomery iii. i. 24 Yet I could wish, Once more [printed morce] to see the Sasquehanna banks, My native rocks, and sweet resounding hills, Where I have fondly stray'd, delightful stream, Where I have sported, in the summers day.
1807 W. Wordsworth Ode in Poems II. 156 See the Children sport upon the shore. View more context for this quotation
1837 Tait's Edinb. Mag. 4 492 I'll foot it and sport it by fountain and rill.
1856 N. Brit. Rev. 26 133 The Iobajjy..dance and sing and sport whenever they have a moment's leisure.
1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 147 Cupa and Horta sported amidst the flowers.
1954 J. Betjeman Few Late Chrysanthemums 21 Outside the carefree children sported in the summer haze.
1988 M. Chabon Myst. Pittsburgh iii. 31 There are many people sporting out there.
b. intransitive. Of animals, insects, etc.
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c1460 in R. Brotanek Mittelengl. Dichtungen MS 432 Trin. Coll. Dublin (1940) 118 (MED) A gayne þe bere þan was none hounde, But he might sporte and take his play.
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes iii. 259 There both mightie shippes saile, and some lye at roade: The whale huge and monstrous there also doth sporte.
1621 H. Goodcole Wonderfull Discouerie E. Sawyer sig. A3v I was ashamed to see and heare such ridiculous fictions..of a Ferret and an Owle dayly sporting before her.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 343 Sporting the Lion rampd, and in his paw Dandl'd the Kid. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 405 Of Fish that..sporting with quick glance Show to the Sun thir wav'd coats dropt with Gold. View more context for this quotation
1735 W. Somervile Chace iv. 115 Alone to range the Woods, or haunt the Brakes where dodging Conies sport.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth II. 20 These little animals, which thus appear swimming, and sporting, in almost every fluid we examine.
1826 G. Samouelle Gen. Direct. collecting Exotic Insects & Crustacea 27 Numbers [of these insects] will be seen sporting in the noontide sun.
1889 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 25 197 The winged atoms sporting in the golden beams.
1929 R. Hughes High Wind in Jamaica viii. 192 The ship's monkey..was sporting on its back on the cabin skylight.
1948 Times 27 May 2/3 They [sc. three escaped monkeys] sported on roof-tops, climbed through bedroom windows and paid a short visit to a girls' school.
1990 S. Maitland Three Times Table (1991) ii. iii. 161 A real dragon needs a whole ocean to sport in.
c. intransitive. figurative and in extended use. Of things. Also transitive with it.In early use frequently with personification.
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society > leisure > sport > [verb (intransitive)]
playOE
to play at ——c1300
sporta1635
sport1793
1528 T. Wyatt tr. Plutarch Quyete of Mynde sig. bv Whom fortune hath exalted to the heyght of thynges, whan she lysted to sport.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. G2v Aduise is sporting while infection breeds. View more context for this quotation
a1642 J. Suckling Poems 30 in Fragmenta Aurea (1646) Her beams (which some dul men call'd hair) divided Part with her cheeks, part with her lips did sport.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Visct. Cobham 3 When sense subsides, and fancy sports in sleep.
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the First 7 For human weal, Heaven..Dull Sleep instructs, nor sport vain Dreams in vain.
1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 54. 427 I..shall..study to surprise her in those moments when she is sporting it with Zephyr and Flora.
1818 La Belle Assemblée Jan. 40/2 A few ringlets that are made to sport round the face.
1873 W. Davies Shepherd's Garden 36 The time doth challenge every care..To come and sport it in the air.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 39 Knowledge stands on my experience: all outside its narrow hem, Free surmise may sport and welcome!
1939 Times 31 Oct. 7/4 Science forbids such indulgence of the imagination sporting in the bliss of ignorance.
3. † a. intransitive. To make fun of or ridicule a person or thing. With at, over, upon. Also occasionally transitive with it. Obsolete.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > banter [verb (transitive)] > make fun of
to have (also i-do) (something) to gameeOE
to make (a) game of (also at, on)?c1250
overmirtha1400
sporta1533
to make a sport of1535
to make (up) a lip1546
to give one a (or the) gleek1567
to make a May game of1569
to play with a person's nose1579
to make merry over (also with)1621
game1699
to make fun of1732
hit1843
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. N.iiijv I find there simple folke, at whom I maie sport.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Lipsius Compar. Rom. Manner Warre in tr. Xenophon Hist. 4 I come to Darts, which they likewise sport at.
1684 A. Wood Life 6 Aug. Dr. George Reynell..thrust in among them, upon whome some of the company sported.
1719 C. Beckingham Henry IV (ed. 2) ii. iv. 25 Does she come here to sport upon my Pains?
1785 B. Bidwell Mercenary Match iv. 38 Can he, with pleasure, sport at my distress?
1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas II. 135 A barbarian truly Art thou, if o'er the Greek to sport it thus The fancy tempts thee.
1858 C. Clive Year after Year xiii. 319 The man who to-day could do some good for once in his life, is this very day sported at by the Ruler of things.
b. intransitive. With with. To treat lightly or frivolously for one's own amusement. Cf. to play with —— 1 at play v. Phrasal verbs 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrespect > [verb (transitive)] > by trifling with
trifle with1523
sport1533
twaddle1797
palter1814
project1828
trivialize1846
1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere viii. p. ccccxxv How be it as for crownys, and gownys, and rochettes, and vycyouse lyuynge, all these thynges he but playeth & sporteth wyth.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 10 Salust did but dally with Tully: Demades but toy with Demosthenes: Pericles but sporte with Thucydides.
1630 E. Pagitt Christianogr. (1636) i. iii. 137 They sport after the same manner, with by-past offenses, forgiving the sinnes of dayes, monthes, or yeeres.
1663 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim (1687) xxix. 349 You could not have well gratified me more than you do, in sporting with that which others more morose would have taken for a reproach.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xxix. 203 To sport with the reputation..of another, is something worse than weakness.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 678 The opinions of the People should not be sported with.
1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous vii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. IV. 182 In irritating a madman you do but sport with your own life.
1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire IV. xxxvii. 256 Although he had allowed himself to sport with her feelings for the furtherance of his settled policy.
1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth lxxviii. 203/2 My misery is too great to be sported with.
1969 G. Friel Grace & Miss Partridge vi. 91 To entertain us Angus sported with big Lizzie Graham.
1992 B. Unsworth Sacred Hunger xxii. 176 He knew cases of ships drawn into the shallows, sported with by fickle breezes for days or weeks or grounded in the shoals.
4. † a. transitive. To play or toy with (something). Obsolete.† c. transitive. To swim or play in (a body of water). Obsolete. rare.† d. transitive. To read (an author) for pleasure or amusement. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > do for mere amusement [verb (transitive)] > toy or trifle with
toddle?a1513
sport?1545
finger1587
quiddlea1652
flirt1859
trick1881
?1545 J. Bale 2nd Pt. Image Both Churches ii. sig. Oijv The greate headed Rabynes of the Iewes ded..sporte the consciences of the Israelytes their owne natyue contre menne.
1710 D. Manley Mem. Europe II. ii. 109 She wou'd..sport his Lips with her Fingers!
1755 M. Browne Percy-Lodge 23 Soft Zephyrs sport the Boughs between.
a1810 R. Tannahill Poems (1846) 29 He baits the trap—catches a mouse—He sports it round the floor.
b. transitive. To pass or spend (time) playing or having fun. Frequently with away. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > pleasantly
short1449
shorten1579
deceive1591
sport1593
delude1615
entreata1616
while1635
elude1660
divert1707
dangle1727
wile1796
smile1803
to round off1824
society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (transitive)] > spend or pass in amusement
sport1593
pleasant1631
1593 J. Eliot Ortho-epia Gallica 54/3 Are you disposed to be merrie and sport the time away alittle?
1606 J. Ford Honor Triumphant 34 A goodly view of majestie it was To see such intimated league betwixt them: They striv'd in kindnesse how they might surpasse, Sporting the season which the tide prefixt them.
1653 N. Hookes Amanda 47 They wait to see thee, sport the time away.
1760 F. Fawkes tr. Anacreon Odes in tr. Anacreon Wks. xlix. 6 First draw a Nation blithe and gay, Laughing and sporting Life away.
1793 R. Burns in G. Thomson Sel. Coll. Orig. Sc. Airs I. i. 22 At length I reach'd the bonny glen, Where early life I sported.
1823 S. L. Fairfield Poems 152 Like the light deer, that sports the summer day Beneath the shade nemoral, ere the steel Rives her full heart.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxviii. 16 Whiles in jollity life sported a spring holiday.
1916 Harvard Stud. Classical Philol. 27 120 By the bank of a river or brook, they had played and sported the day away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > move in or on water [verb (transitive)] > swim (a distance or a stroke)
swimc1000
sport1654
1654 Psalmes of David lxxiv. 135 Leviathan that sports the flood, Thou gavest for Thy peoples food.
1669 E. Howard Brit. Princes ii. iv. 140 With num'rous Monsters shown, that sport the Flood.
1791 S. T. Coleridge Music 23 And oft where Otter sports his stream, I hear thy banded offspring scream.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > [verb (transitive)] > read for amusement
sport1676
1676 T. Shadwell Virtuoso i. 8 My noble Friend Sir Nicholas Gimcrack does by me invite you..to come to his house this fore-noon,..to sport an Author over a Glass of Wine.
1693 Humours & Conversat. Town 16 Then for Books, 'tis only to sport an Author in a Bookseller's Shop.
a1704 T. Brown London & Lacedemonian Oracles in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) iii. 122 Last Night being very restless in my Bed, I thought fit to divert the time with Sporting an Author.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (transitive)]
skenta1250
solace1297
comfort1303
gamec1330
disportc1374
mirtha1400
solancea1400
playa1450
recreate1531
pastime1577
sport1577
entertain1593
to take a person out of himself (herself, etc.)1631
divertise1651
to take the fancy of1653
divert1662
amuse1667
tickle1682
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. viii. xxiv. 163 He beyng brought out of prison and linked with malefactors to pastime and sport the people.
1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 14 Yet will they seeke when they neede not, to bee sported abrode at playes and pageantes.
1612 J. Davies Muses Sacrifice in Wks. (Grosart) II. 25/2 There's nought hath being got On, or in Earth, in Water, or in Aire, That eyther feedes, or heales, or sports me not.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 13 We..were sported all the way (till we dropt anchor) by Whales.
a1763 W. Shenstone Oeconomy ii, in Wks. Verse & Prose (1764) I. 295 Nor grove nor stream Invites thee forth, to sport thy drooping muse.
6. intransitive. To engage in amorous behaviour or sexual activity. Also transitive with it. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity [verb (intransitive)]
togglea1250
touse1542
sport1577
pet1921
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)]
nighc1175
to come at ——a1398
sport1577
lumber1938
1577 T. Kendall tr. Politianus et al. Flowers of Epigrammes f. 106v It ill beseemeth preistes to wed... What well beseemes them (then declare) with whores to sport and play?
1591 T. Lodge Famous Life Duke of Normandy f. 19v Sport it freelie one to one, After death is pleasure none.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Biij For my sake [he] hath learnd to sport,..Making my armes his field, his tent my bed. View more context for this quotation
1626 H. Parrot Cures for Itch sig. C6 Th'art a secret Letcher, And with thy Trull hast oft bin seen to sport it.
1682 Fortunatus xxix. 68 Andolocia..led to the Bed, and there pulling off his Cloaths in he went, and imbraced the Gentlewoman with abundance of kindness, sporting it by times till it was almost day.
1720 E. F. Haywood Love in Excess: 3rd Pt. 65 Tapestry, in which, most artificially were woven..a great number of amorous Stories; in one Place he beheld a Naked Venus sporting with Adonis.
1828 E. Atherstone Fall of Nineveh I. iv. 84 Fitter..to sport With painted concubines, than head the fight.
1971 National Geographic Oct. 547/2 Sailors come to sport with Suzie Wong.
7. transitive. With away. To remove or waste idly or recklessly; to squander. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (transitive)] > waste
spilla1000
scatter1154
aspilla1250
rospa1325
waste1340
spend1390
consumec1425
waste1474
miswenda1500
forsumea1510
to cast away1530
to throw away1561
embezzle1578
squander1593
palter1595
profuse1611
squander1611
ravel1614
sport1622
to fool away1628
to stream out1628
to fribble away1633
sweal1655
frisk1665
to fiddle away1667
wantonize1673
slattera1681
swattle1681
drivel1686
swatter1690
to muddle away1707
squander1717
sot1746
slattern1747
meisle1808
fritter1820
waster1821
slobber1837
to cut to waste1863
fringe1863
potter1883
putter1911
profligate1938
to piddle away1942
haemorrhage1978
spaff2002
1622 R. Aylett Thrifts Equipage 4 Like many youthfull Gallants, who their gold, In summer of their youth do sport away.
1646 T. Jordan Love's Dial. 30 Thus Virgins sport away their loves.
1713 R. Steele in Guardian 3 June 2/1 Let him who wantonly sports away the Peace of a poor Lady, consider what Discord he sows in Families.
1763 J. Wilkes in North Briton (1772) III. 17 The liberty of an English subject is not to be sported away with impunity.
1779 Ann. Reg. 1778 136/1 He had sported away thirty thousand lives.
1798 Geraldina I. 76 Since we could find money to sport away at this rate, he would wait no longer.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1875) III. 39 The wealth of Eadward's shrine was borne away to be sported broadcast among the minions of Henry's court.
1881 E. Pfeiffer Wynnes of Wynhavod v. i, in Under Aspens (1882) 311 Grown men sport away their lives unblushing.
a1967 L. Hughes Coll. Poems (1995) 386 Consider me, Colored boy, Downtown at eight, Sometimes working late, Overtime pay To sport away, Or save.
8.
a. intransitive and (formerly) †transitive (reflexive). Of nature (originally, personified): to ‘amuse herself’ or delight in producing the variety of things in existence, especially abnormal or striking living forms; to produce such forms. Now rare.Cf. sport of nature at sport n.1 Phrases 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [verb (intransitive)] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation > produce mutations
sport1624
1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) i. ii. 42 These [fairies] leaue that greene circle, which wee commonly finde in plaine fields,..which others hold to proceede from..some accidentall ranknesse of the ground, so Nature sports her selfe.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iii. ix. 149 Nature variously sporting her self in the Muscles of the Ear.
1744 Philos. Trans. 1740–41 (Royal Soc.) 41 812 In the fleshy Part of his Thighs and Buttocks Nature seems to have sported herself.
1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana 23 The surrounding forests, where Nature sports in primaeval rudeness.
1840 Phrenol. Jrnl. 8 232 It is impracticable to mark a bust or a skull, that shall give a tolerably accurate view of the immense variety in which nature sports, in the formation of the human head.
1989 M. H. Kingston Tripmaster Monkey (1990) iii. 96 We're going to have a mutating generation. Nature will sport at an accelerated rate.
b. intransitive. Of a living organism, esp. a plant: to deviate or vary abnormally from the parent type, or vary in a specific characteristic; to exhibit or undergo spontaneous mutation. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [verb (intransitive)] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation
sport1712
mutate1913
1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 378 Dr. Sloane..observed it to sport very much in the shape of its Leaves, Flowers, and Stature.
1768 R. Dossie Mem. Agric. I. 444 Seminal varieties [of cabbage] sport, to use the gardener's phrase.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 164/2 In the Malay Archipelago it acquires an enormous size, and sports into a variety called the double pine-apple.
1854 Poultry Chron. 2 23 The silver spangles ‘sport’ less frequently than any variety I have met with.
1882 G. Allen in Nature 27 July 302 All flowers, as we know, easily sport a little in colour.
1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 362 The Black Oak hybridizes, sports, and generally conducts itself so as to make it the despair of the amateur who wishes to know his trees ‘on sight’.
1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) I. 398/2 Some seedlings appear to be very apt to sport.
c. transitive. Of a living organism, esp. a plant: to produce (variations) by mutation. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > variety or species > produce varieties or mutations [verb (transitive)]
sport1841
1841 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) 2 89 Even in the garden, the Pansy retains its tendency to sport varieties of bloom.
1933 Science June 7/2 The long-known but little understood tendency of wild plants to ‘sport’ new varieties freely when introduced into cultivation.
1994 R. Stephenson Sedum ii.xi. 272/2 Its bright pink anthers and carpels are an improvement on the type species, but it often sports light colored flowers.
9. intransitive. To take part in sport, esp. field sports; to hunt, shoot, or fish for recreation. Frequently with after in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (intransitive)]
huntc1000
chasec1320
sporta1635
to go out1749
shikar1872
society > leisure > sport > [verb (intransitive)]
playOE
to play at ——c1300
sporta1635
sport1793
a1635 T. Randolph Poems (1652) 18 Go hunt the Butter-flies, and if you can But catch 'em, make their wings into a fan. Wee'l give you leave to hunt, and sport at them.
1678 E. Howard Man of Newmarket iii. 39 A man would think that Jockeys were begotten in haste, yet act with so many dilatory circumstances: well, give me the merry Huntsman that sports apace daily.
1778 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry II. x. 221 Falconry, or a right to sport with falcons, is mentioned so early as the year 986.
1789 Loiterer 20 June 9 The Squire of the Parish..will..give him unlimited leave to sport over his Manor.
1812 in Col. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 42 Any fellow who has sported on the estate at Bradford Wood.
1860 G. Bennett Gatherings of Naturalist in Austral. v. 75 Our sporting after these noble birds commenced by observing two specimens sweep close to the ship in majestic and graceful flight.
?1860 C. Darwin More Lett. (1903) I. 143 I should think no one beside yourself has ever sported in Spitzbergen and Southern Africa.
1890 Spectator 13 Dec. The ‘sporting’ section of society was anxious to be sure whether it could ‘sport’ in buildings of its own without interference from the police.
1950 S. Smith Harold's Leap in Coll. Poems (1975) 242 He is a colonel in the Indian Army—Sporting upon a tiger's spoor And with him goes his faithful escort, Harmi.
1988 Times 19 Oct. 1/5 They [sc. deer] were animals fit for food and usually sported after.
10. colloquial. To display publicly. (In senses 10b and 10d now the principal meaning.)Common from the last third of the 18th cent.† c. transitive. colloquial and slang. In various idiomatic phrases (see quots.) Obsolete. to sport blubber: (of a woman) to show one's bosom.
a. transitive. To utter in public, express or expound upon publicly; to make publicly known. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > showing to the sight > exposure to public view > expose to public view [verb (transitive)] > display in public
sport1684
publish1839
1684 T. Creech tr. Horace Odes i. xii, in tr. Horace Odes, Satyrs, & Epist. (new ed.) 17 What Man, what Hero, stately Muse, Wilt thou deliver down to Fame? What God for thy great Subject choose? And make the wanton Echo sport his Name O're Helicon's resounding Grove?
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 366. ⁋3 The Numbers..are as loose and unequal, as those in which the British Ladies sport their Pindaricks.
1768 W. Donaldson Life Sir Bartholomew Sapskull I. iv. 31 My grandfather [might have] missed the opportunity of sporting his historical abilities.
1784 New Spectator No. 22. 3 The consequence of Miss Pedant's so universally sporting her knowledge is, that she is forsaken by all the world.
1800 S. T. Coleridge Lett. (1895) 323 He sported of his own account a theologico-astronomical hypothesis.
1844 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 145 Don't suppose I think it good philosophy in myself to keep here out of the world, and sport a gentle Epicurism.
1867 J. A. Froude Short Stud. 1st Ser. I. 199 If a man..sports loose views on morals at a decent dinner party,..he is not invited again.
1989 I. Murdoch Message to Planet (1990) iv. 206 ‘Mr Luddens?’ said the publican. ‘Dr Ludens,’ said Ludens. He did not usually sport his doctorate but now it might count as a tiny advantage in the battle which lay ahead.
1998 C. Trebilcock Phoenix Assurance II. i. 2 They sported their defence on this point.
b. transitive. To display or exhibit publicly, esp. in an ostentatious way; (now) esp. to possess (a distinctive visual feature).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > make ostentatious display of [verb (transitive)]
flourishc1380
show1509
ostent1531
ostentatec1540
to ruffle it1551
to brave out1581
vaunt1590
boasta1592
venditate1600
to make the most ofa1627
display1628
to make (a) parade of1656
pride1667
sport1684
to show off1750
flash1785
afficher1814
affiche1817
parade1818
flaunt1822
air1867
showboat1937
ponce1953
rock1987
a1658 J. Cleveland Wks. (1687) 260 Whiles a soft Gale of wanton Wind that blew Did sport her willing Glories into view.]
1684 T. Creech tr. Theocritus Idylliums vii. 45 Then with Violets or with Roses crownd I'le sport a Glass, and see his Health go round.
1767 Adopted Daughter I. xxxix. 224 Repenting his presumption that tempted him to single you out of the croud to sport his figure with.
1768 W. Donaldson Life Sir Bartholomew Sapskull II. xx. 158 [He] bought a set of horses..and sported the gayest equipage at all public places.
1785 J. Trusler Mod. Times I. 146 Here's Parson Rawbones... I shall sport him..at a day lecture, or an early sacrament.
1819 Metropolis (ed. 2) III. 132 She may be seen, when highly dressed, sporting her fine figure at her balcony.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxiii. 223 A pilot, who sported a boat-green door, with window-frames of the same colour.
1868 M. E. Braddon Run to Earth i You sported your pocket-book too freely last night.
1946 B. MacDonald Egg & I iii. viii. 95 The pig house roof sported an arterial highway sign.
1962 S. Wynter Hills of Hebron ix. 107 The fireflies hummed and sang and sported their wings.
2004 High Country News 21 June 11/2 Each truck sported a high orange flag so that from a great distance it could be seen through the gauze of heat and windsand.
ΚΠ
1770 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 560 It is said by the sons of science at Oxford, of a man in ebrious circumstances, That he cannot sport a right line.
1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) To sport or flash one's ivory, to shew one's teeth.
1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) at Blubber To sport blubber, said of a large coarse woman, who exposes her bosom.
1829 P. Egan Boxiana New Ser. II. 127 Maurice, who had previously attained a small share of milling notoriety among the Fancy,..offered..to sport his canvass for the amusement of the Amateurs.
1877 W. H. Thomson Five Years' Penal Servitude 82 If a man wishes to see the governor, the doctor, or the chaplain, he is to ‘sport the broom’, lay his little hairbroom on the floor at the door, directly the cell is opened in the morning.
1890 J. S. Farmer Slang I. 251/2 To sport blubber, (common) to show one's breasts, said of women, especially those with large and prominent breasts.
d. transitive. To display on the person; to wear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [verb (transitive)]
wearc893
weighc897
beareOE
haveOE
usea1382
to get on1679
sport1778
to stand up in1823
take1868
1778 Love-feast 30 Some macaroni Barristers have presumed to sport Bags and Pig-Tails.
1786 A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscretions I. 144 The regimentals,..stiff plaited chitterling, and silk stockings, were sported at church.
1805 T. Harral Scenes of Life III. 64 One of his fingers, however, sported a ring.
1846 Union Mag. Apr. 416 By the which letters patent it clearly appeared,To the hinds, that her majesty sported a beard!
1849 P. Hawker Diary (1893) Sported my Peninsular medal this day at the Queen's Levée.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back I. i. 6 A country gentleman, sporting the orthodox blue coat,..and top-boots.
1932 L. E. Lawes 20,000 Years in Sing Sing vii. 260 I've never seen you sportin' anything but that gray outfit. You're not such a fashion plate.
1967 G. Hills Franco 78 Franco, now sporting a moustache,..soon began to understand the facts of society.
1987 Sunday Sun (Brisbane) 1 Mar. (TV Suppl.) 9/1 Johnson..sported a new haircut when he returned.
2006 Total Film Feb. 116/1 The malnourished triple-jointed chap on the right is sporting a pair of unsexy knee-high woollen stockings.
e. transitive. To set up, keep, maintain, use (a carriage, a house, etc.). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > have or possess [verb (transitive)] > possess and use or enjoy > keep for use and enjoyment
keep1548
sport1791
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > have for use
wieldeOE
sport1791
1791 T. Mendham Wonder Working Water-mill Displayed iv. 23 He sported a variety of new carriages.
1813 H. Smith & J. Smith Horace in London ii. vi. 127 With a low bow I'll quit the stage, And sport a villa near Parnassus.
1819 Metropolis (ed. 2) III. 124 She is not, however, the only one..who sports her wax-lights from the retrenchment in coals.
1853 T. Hook Ned Musgrave (new ed.) iv. 19 An acquaintance of her father's, grown rich in trade, who sported a house at the West end of the town.
1885 Overland Monthly June 633/1 He turned to the pleasing stranger and said: ‘Shall I accompany you to the hotel? It is but a block away. We do not sport a carriage.’
1921 C. Kingston Remarkable Rogues v. 68 The money rolled in, and Madame Rachel..now sported a carriage and pair.
1962 R. Cary Sarah Orne Jewett vi. 135 Governor Chantrey..sported a coach, and gave regal entertainments.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [verb (transitive)] > express or represent
catch1658
sport1693
interpret1880
capture1901
1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires vi. 77 Now, sporting on thy Lyre, the Loves of Youth, Now Virtuous Age, and venerable Truth.
12. colloquial.† b. intransitive. To gamble, bet; to speculate. Obsolete.† c. transitive. To spend (money) freely, esp. in an extravagant or ostentatious manner. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To invest or stake (money) in a risky or highly speculative undertaking; to bet, wager. Also: to lay or make a (bet). Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > bet on [verb (transitive)] > bet (money, etc.)
laya1300
wed1362
to lay downc1430
setc1460
jeopardc1470
wage1484
holda1500
pary?a1505
to stake down1565
stake1591
gagec1598
bet?a1600
go1607
wagera1616
abet1617
impone1702
sport1706
stand1795
gamble1813
parlay1828
ante1846
to put on1890
plunge1919
1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde Refl. upon Ridicule 394 She mingles with the Rascality, to sport the little Money She has got.
1784 New Spectator No. 10. 2 The man who ventures to sport that money in a lottery which ought to be appropriated to other uses, is but too apt to fly to the private gaming table.
1806 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1807) 10 60 Not a few bets were sported on the occasion.
1826 T. Hood Backing Favourite ii At dear O'Neil's first start, I sported all my heart.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xix. 181 The chaps will win your money as sure as you sport it.
1851 G. Borrow Lavengro III. xxv. 298 ‘Suppose’, said I, ‘the party should lose, on whom you sport your money, even as the birds did?’
1916 J. London Little Lady of Big House xiii. 153 ‘Will you sport a bet, Evan?’ he queried. ‘I'd like to hear the terms of it first,’ was the answer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > bet [verb (intransitive)]
laya1300
to lay wedc1330
stake1530
wager1604
bet1609
gamble1757
sport1760
invest1852
punt1887
1760 C. Johnstone Chrysal I. i. iv. 22 Sporting upon private adventures, taking in unwary confidence, flinging the fair trader,..were now too small a game for me.
1791 T. Mortimer Every Man his own Broker (ed. 11) iv. 177 The opportunity every man has of sporting in the house with small sums.
1813 Ann. Reg., Chron. 44 He..for some years had sported considerably on the turf.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > waste of money or extravagance > spend extravagantly [verb (transitive)]
to piss (money, an opportunity, etc.) against the wall1540
lavish1542
melt1607
to piss away1628
unbowel1647
tap1712
sport1785
waster1821
blue1846
spree1859
to frivol away1866
blow1874
bust1878
skittle1883
to blow in1886
burst1892
bang1897
1785 R. Hunter Jrnl. 30 Oct. in Quebec to Carolina (1943) 168 All he spends is in clothes and wearing apparel, there being no public places of any consequence to induce you to sport your cash.
1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1855) II. ix. 66 The young fellows were making an ‘event’ out of Ethel's marriage, and sporting their money freely on it.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xxxi I took him for a flash overseer, sporting his salary, and I was as thick as you like with him.
1896 B. L. Farjeon Betrayal of John Fordham iii. 279 Louis had plenty of money to sport; e'd been backin' winners.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > open [verb (transitive)] > force or wrench open > a door
sport1767
to burst a door1847
1767 London Mag. May 242/2 Many of our academical youth, whose valour is often so inflamed with wine..that it displays itself, not only in sporting doors and breaking windows, but also sometimes in throwing tables.
1785 V. Knox Liberal Educ. (ed. 7) II. 226 To break the windows of a college, to disturb a peaceable student by what is called sporting his door at midnight..are often the methods which young men of spirit have adopted to display their fire.
1807 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life II. xiv. 16 Your half-fastened door is unceremoniously sported by a billow, which completely swamps your dressing-room.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. ix. 170 Gae down and let loose the dog..they're sporting the door of the custom-house.
14. Originally and chiefly British University slang.† c. transitive. To shut (a person) in by closing the door. Obsolete.
a. transitive. to sport (one's, the) oak: to shut the outer door of one's room as a sign that one does not wish to be disturbed. Formerly also (at the Inns of Court) †to sport timber. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > become closed or shut [verb (intransitive)] > become closed (of a door, window, etc.) > keep one's door shut
to sport (one's, the) oak1780
1780 ‘R. Wittol’ Incredible Bore 21 'Tis prudent at first coming down to sport oak.
1788 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 2) To sport timber, to keep one's outside door shut: this term is used in the inns of courts to signify denying one's self.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life (ed. 4) vi. 112 Seeing the sun quietly slink behind a mass of black clouds, where he sports oak for the rest of the day.
1862 E. Monro Pastoral Life iii. 76 The happy habit learnt and formed at the University of ‘sporting oak’, is never to be laid aside.
1911 M. Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson xii. 187 The man who now occupied my room had sported his oak—my oak.
1956 R. Robinson Landscape with Dead Dons (1963) xvi. 147 The scout departed, and Autumn opened the door, carefully sported the oak on the outer side, then closed the door and locked it.
1974 J. I. M. Stewart Gaudy viii. 145 The light on the little landing was extinguished, but Ivo Mumford's oak had not been sported.
2001 New Statesman (Nexis) 15 Jan. His Cabinet secretary..has been sporting the oak in his office, and virtually nobody sees the confidential papers that emerge from time to time.
b. transitive. To shut or close (a door), esp. to shut (the door of one's room) as a sign that one does not wish to be disturbed (cf. to sport oak at sense 14a). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > close or shut [verb (transitive)] > close (a door, window, etc.) > to indicate that one is engaged
sport1797
1797 P. Dodd Hints to Fresh-men (ed. 2) 27 The inhabitants of colleges exclude impertinent visitors by closing, or in the cant of Cambridge, sporting their outer doors.
1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 460 (note) The door being sported, simply means that it was shut.
1862 C. Kingsley Alton Locke (new ed.) xiii. 160 Stop that till I see whether the door is sported.
1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback 59 His door was always sported; he had but little intercourse with the other Fellows.
1910 Granta 11 June 10 His door was sported, but on a covered dish left outside by a kitchen-man I observed three slices of cold beef.
a1960 E. M. Forster Maurice (1972) xi. 60 If he went round, the door was sported, or else there were people inside.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > close or shut [verb (transitive)] > shut or lock (a person or thing) in or out
inseil?a1000
bespara1100
loukc1275
sparc1430
spare?c1450
to shut inc1460
to lock out1599
occlude1623
inbolt1632
to bolt out, in, upa1653
sneck1816
sport1825
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclosing or confining > enclose or confine [verb (transitive)] > a person, by closing the door
sport1825
1825 in W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 291 Shutting my [college] room door, as if I was ‘sported in’.
1852 C. A. Bristed Five Years Eng. University (ed. 2) 336 Generally..your Cantab takes care to guard against such a surprise by ‘sporting’ himself in.
15. transitive. colloquial. To buy (food or drink) by way of compliment or hospitality (usually with a person as indirect object). Also: to treat (a person) to something. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > hospitality > show hospitality to [verb (transitive)]
gestena1300
lodgec1325
cherishc1330
guestc1330
to give cheera1393
harbry14..
callc1430
uptakea1470
recueil1477
host1485
entertain1490
to set forth1526
harbour1534
retainc1540
treata1578
water1742
sport1826
have1868
hospitize1895
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > entertain with food
feasta1325
festya1382
rehetec1400
cheerc1425
table1457
treata1578
banquet1594
kitchena1616
junket1642
regale1656
collation1662
fete1812
sport1826
sock1842
blow1949
1826 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 318/1 I can see little harm in Glynne's sporting us a tot or two of his supernaculum.
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham III. xvi. 260 He kept his horses, and sported the set to champagne and venison.
1830 E. Bulwer-Lytton Paul Clifford I. iv. 79 I doesn't care if I sports you a glass of port.
1894 A. Morrison Tales Mean Streets 41 There was a milliner's window, with a show of..hats... ‘Which d'yer like, Lizer?—..I'll sport yer one.’
1995 Anthropologica 37 58 Often those with money sported drinks for those without, receiving the favour in return at a later date.
16. transitive. To comfort, console. Cf. sport n.1 11. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve
froverc900
hearteOE
lighteOE
onlightc1175
salvec1175
leathc1200
solace1297
stillc1315
to put in comfortc1320
easec1385
comfort1389
fordilla1400
recomforta1400
ronea1400
solancea1400
cheer?a1425
acheerc1450
consolate1477
repease1483
dilla1500
recreate?a1500
sporta1500
dulcerate?1586
comfit1598
comfortize1600
reassure1604
sweeten1647
console1693
re-establish1722
release1906
a1500 Disciplina Clericalis in Western Reserve Univ. Bull. (1919) 22 29 (MED) The husbond..made hym to sitte with hym And so with swete spechis sported hem [perh. read hym; L. dulcibus alloquis delinitum] and..leete hym go.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1a1425
n.21656
v.?a1425