sportiveadj.n.¹

Brit.

/ˈspɔːtɪv/, U.S.

/ˈspɔrdɪv/

Forms: 1500s–1600s sportiue, 1600s– sportive.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sport n.¹, sport v., -ive suffix.

Etymology: < either sport n.¹ or sport v. + -ive suffix. Compare earlier sporting adj.

A. adj.

1. Of a person or mental faculty: inclined to jesting or levity; light-hearted or playful in temperament, thought, or manner of expression; (also) capricious, fanciful.In quot. 1601 in a personification.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > lack of seriousness > [adjective]

gamelike1592

sportive1593

badine1685

galliardizing1695

flippant1724

unsedate1823

flip1847

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 90^v They are nought els but cleanly coyned lyes, which some pleasant sportiue wittes haue deuised, to gull them most groselie.

1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 19 Her land of Grace, Where honest sportiue Mirth did alwaies dwell.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. ii. 58 I am not in a sportiue humor now: Tell me, and dally not, where is the monie?

1676 J. Glanvill Seasonable Refl. 31 'Tis equally absurd to be sportive about affairs that are serious.

1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage vi. 278 The Tunes are generally Airy and Gailliardizing: They are contriv'd on purpose to excite a sportive Humour, and spread a Gaity upon the Spirits.

1736 S. Duck Poems Several Occasions 76 I, o'er the Park, thro' Wilds of Beauty, stray; Where sportive Nature wantons at her Will, And lavishes her Bloom, uncheck'd by Skill.

1778 F. Burney Let. 27 Aug. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 106 2 little productions..full of sportive humour.

1782 V. Knox Ess. (new ed.) II. clxviii. 341 With a rich and sportive fancy he combined a solid judgment.

1801 J. W. Croker Amazoniad ii. 20 That they are two, by sportive Chance was done, For Nature had design'd to make them one.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 541 Three generations of serious and of sportive writers wept and laughed over the venality of the senate.

a1876 T. Aird Poet. Wks. (1878) 295 The dignity sedate Of orphanhood, a law unto itself, Fell on the sportive girl.

1931 R. A. Firor Folkways in T. Hardy iii. 56 The jack-o'-lantern is..a sportive creature whose innate love of mischief causes him to lead travelers astray.

1989 A. Habegger Henry James & ‘Woman Business’ (2004) 143 The voice we hear in this sentence is not that of a bereaved friend but of an already sportive imagination.

1992 C. Nicholson I. C. Smith: Crit. Ess. xv. 195 Stories..in which a sportive God portrays irrational existence.

2. Of speech, etc.: characterized by lightness or levity; humorous, witty; mischievous, playful.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > lack of seriousness > [adjective] > characterized by lack of seriousness

sportive1593

ludicrous1619

subrisive1819

subrisory1861

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 34 The young-men in their merry-running Madrigals, and sportiue Base-bidding Rundelayes.

1655 J. Mennes & J. Smith Musarum Deliciæ (title page) Conteining severall select Pieces of sportive Wit.

1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. ii. xii. 17 In raillery the sportive jest.

1826 F. Reynolds Life & Times II. 166 The ensuing sportive anecdotes may appear frivolous.

1864 Brit. Millennial Harbinger 1 Jan. 15/2 In speaking evil of any man, or in jesting and sportive speech.

1945 H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. Suppl. I. 637 The Negroes use various other sportive terms for whites, e.g., pale-face, chalk and milk.

2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 5 Oct. ii. 11/2 The sportive Albee play..comes as a welcome break, the actors agreed... It's frothy and meringuey and absolutely delicious and funny.

a. Disposed to be playful or lively in movement; frisky, frolicsome. Frequently in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > playfulness > [adjective]

gamingOE

playfulc1225

gamefulc1275

gamelya1350

gamesomea1375

playable?c1475

frisky?a1500

sporting1549

sportful1577

toyish1577

toyful1580

sportive1593

gambol1600

sportly1600

sporting1607

playsome1612

jiggish1635

toysome1638

ludible1656

ludibund1668

good-humoured1682

flippant1711

lusory1711

gamp1737

kittenish1753

sportable1767

disportive1773

whisky1782

playward1878

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares Ep. Ded. Giue mee leaue with the Sportiue Sea Porposes, preludiatelie a little to play before the storme of my Teares.

1651 Bp. J. Taylor XXVIII Serm. x. 129 The bait is in their mouths, and they are sportive; but the hook hath strook their nostrils, and they shall never escape the ruine.

1658 T. Bancroft Heroical Lover v. 44 Viewing the motions of the sportive Floud.

a1721 M. Prior To Madam K. P. in Wks. (1907) 7 Lively the Nymphs and sportive are their Swains.

1728 J. Thomson Spring 42 His sportive Lambs..in friskful Glee, Their..Frolicks play.

1769 W. Falconer Shipwreck (ed. 3) ii. 50 Near the lofty stern, A shoal of sportive dolphins they discern.

1785 W. Cowper Task i. 567 The sportive wind blows wide Their flutt'ring rags.

1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. ii, in Poems 86 There, Werter sees the sportive Children fed.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 332 This sportive band of Satyrs near the caves.

1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 135 Its breath was cold, and made the sportive blood, Stagnant, and dull, and heavy.

1927 A. C. Parker Indian How Bk. v. lvii. 250 Wolf cubs were sportive little villains.

1995 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 5 Feb. 10/3 The Atlantic coastal waters, where humpback whales and sportive dolphins frolic and blow.

b. Of a quality or sentiment: characterized by liveliness.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective]

jollyc1325

kedgec1440

fledge?1461

frisky?a1500

sprightya1522

frisk1528

sprightful1550

quick-spirited1552

lively1567

quick-sprighted1579

alive-like1582

aleger1590

firking1594

sprightly1594

sportive1595

mettled1599

alives-like1601

spirited1601

spirituous1601

mettle1606

great-stomached1607

free-spirited1613

spirity1615

spiritous1628

vivacious1645

rattlingc1650

sportful1650

airy1654

animated1660

racy1671

mettlesome1673

sparklinga1704

raffing?1719

bob1721

vivace1721

alive1748

lifey1793

spunky1831

gilpie1835

bubbling1860

chippy1865

bubblesome1879

colourful1882

sparky1883

bubbly1912

jazzy1917

spritzy1973

sparkly1979

kicking1983

1595 G. Markham Most Honorable Trag. Sir R. Grinuile sig. B4^v The sea, which then was heauie, sad, and still, Dull, vnapplyd to sportiue wantonnesse,..Had crownd with griefe, the worlds wet wildernesse.

1722 R. Blackmore Redemption i. 6 To him the floods their flowing chrystal bring, Where fish with sportive races please their King.

1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes II. iii. xviii. 13 See my flocks in sportive vein Frisk it o'er the verdant plain.

1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 450 A gaudy flag..Hung up in sportive joy by those Whose sports and joys are past.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 222 Exhibiting a kind of dance,..performed with the most sportive vivacity.

1867 N.Y. Times 15 Sept. 8/3 Gossips never weary of telling of the sportive gaiety and youthful vivacity of the Empress Eugenie.

1912 Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star 22 Apr. b5/1 As if the elves of the north had, in sportive playfulness, thrown a veil about our eyes and enticed us to the very ‘seat eternal of the gods’.

1996 New Yorker 21 Oct. 200/1 Brown has long had about him a sportive, Cyrano-esque panache not unlike the raffish flair of the Bay City itself.

a. Engaging in or inclined to amorous dalliance or sexual play; (in later use also) devoted to pleasure; inclined to indulge in pursuits regarded as dissolute or immoral; fast-living, dissolute.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective]

golec888

canga1225

light?c1225

wooinga1382

nicea1387

riota1400

wantonc1400

wrenec1400

lachesc1450

loose?a1500

licentious1555

libertine1560

prostitute1569

riggish1569

wide1574

slipper1581

slippery1586

sportive1595

gay1597

Cyprian1598

suburb1598

waggish1600

smicker1606

suburbian1606

loose-living1607

wantona1627

free-living1632

libertinous1632

loose-lived1641

Corinthian1642

akolastic1656

slight1685

fast1699

freea1731

brisk1740

shy1787

slang1818

randomc1825

fastish1832

loosish1846

slummya1860

velocious1872

fly1880

slack1951

the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [adjective] > amorously sportive

toying1549

toyish1563

toyous1592

sportive1595

toysome1638

1595 F. Sabie Flora's Fortune sig. C2^v Twice..Did Cinthia see Agenors sportiue sonne, Courting Iulina his new-wedded wife, And froliking in olde Tuistons Court.

1649 R. Baron Apol. for Paris 30 Hither will I send a wanton Bevie of sportive waggish Nymphs to attend thee.

1791 H. Downman Poems to Thespia 39 Nor could I, to the joys of sense resign'd, The sportive wanton to my bosom press.

1801 J. B. Burges Richard the First I. xv. 215 Say why, my hero! are our joys delay'd? Mark how the sportive songsters of the glade Nature's blest law with ecstasy pursue.

1855 R. Browning Fra Lippo Lippi in Men & Women I. 35 Where sportive ladies leave their doors ajar.

1996 A. Wightman Karlowicz iv. 53 It is only by concentrating his mind on his ‘dear Edyta’ back home that Plum is able to resist the temptation to tweak the cheeks of a ‘sportive’ blonde.

b. Of the nature of, relating to, or characterized by (esp. amorous) pleasure, or the pursuit of this; wanton, dissipated. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > profligacy, dissoluteness, or debauchery > [adjective]

wild13..

desolatec1386

unthrifty1388

riotousc1405

resolute?a1475

palliard1484

dissolutea1513

royetous1526

sluttishc1555

rakehell1556

dissolutious1560

rakehelly1579

hell-raking1593

sportive1597

low1599

lavish1600

rakellyc1600

profligate1627

profligated1652

rantipole1660

abandoned1690

raking1696

rakish1696

dissipated1744

dissipating1818

outward1875

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 14 I that am not shapte for sportiue trickes, Nor made to court an amorous looking glasse.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxi. sig. H2 For why should others false adulterat eyes Giue salutation to my sportiue blood?

1613 T. Heywood Brazen Age sig. I2^v Whilst the Cuckold Vulcan blowes the fire, Our amorous soules their sportiue blisse conspire.

1773 Orange-girl at Foote's to Sally Harris 4 My timorous Steps with soft Persuasion led, Where sportive Love had rais'd the Wanton Bed.

1799 A. Kessell Two Adams 15 Hence sportive chambering, and wanton lust, With beastial scenes, too black to be exprest.

1807 T. Dibdin Two Faces under Hood i. ii. 10 In sportive glee pass'd every day, Till one false youth came in my way, And now I'm left to sigh and say, Heigho! heigho!

1849 H. A. Wise Los Gringos xlix. 404 She neither assumes any of their virtues, but leads a rollicking, sportive life.

1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xxiv. 280 Vere was apt to lead a sportive life of pleasures and palaces, yachts and private planes.

†a. Affording or providing amusement or entertainment; relating to, characterized by, or of the nature of recreation or diversion. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > [adjective]

bourdfula1425

sportive1613

ludicrous1619

lusorious1619

lusory1653

recreational1656

society > leisure > entertainment > [adjective] > produced in, or as in, amusement or entertainment

sportive1774

1613 I. F. Christes Bloodie Sweat 41 How much more better were it to forgoe A life so grieuous, and a death so sportiue?

1705 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft 45 They go to Bowls, and other sportive Exercises every Sunday.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 358 He then placed them in a cage at his chamber window, to be amused by their sportive flutterings.

1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 22 The sportive toil..Had dyed her glowing hue so bright.

1839 T. Mitchell in Aristophanes Frogs 148 (note) A die (the sportive instrument of playful youth).

1874 J. P. Mahaffy Social Life Greece xi. 351 The Greeks made their serious pursuits, especially their religion, sportive.

b. Of an action or activity: devised or undertaken for the purposes of entertainment; amusing, diverting; recreational, fun.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > [adjective]

sportful1609

sportive1616

sported1687

1616 T. Scot 2nd Pt. Philomythie sig. C2^v Thus in sportiue war, and warlike sport, You doe your rider from himselfe transport.

1639 T. Bancroft Two Bks. Epigrammes & Epit. ii. sig. L3^v Thus who doth allay His mirth.., May (Cocke-sure) take his pleasure; and delight (With peace of Conscience with) a sportive fight.

1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. i. viii. 16 Where are now the livid scars Of sportive, nor inglorious, wars?

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho IV. ix. 163 The apparition of the dead comes not on light, or sportive errands.

1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville II. 105 Quickened by a sportive volley which the Indians rattled after him.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 400 It was now not a sportive combat, but a war to the death.

1986 C. R. Forker Skull beneath Skin 386 Crispiano's..view of getting and spending as a sportive contest between two different forms of personal gratification.

2000 H. Simpson Hey Yeah Right (2001) 151 Possibly she was proactive in her rapprochement with her husband.., bearhugging him, exchanging sportive punches.

a. Engaging or inclined to participate in physical forms of recreation; active or interested in games, field sports, or athletic activities; sporting, sporty.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [adjective]

sporting1679

sportive1713

sportsmanly1778

sportsmanlike1816

reserve1869

sporty1889

sportif1953

1713 A. Pope Windsor Forest 3 No wonder Savages or Subjects slain Were equal Crimes in a Despotick Reign; Both doom'd alike for sportive Tyrants bled, But Subjects starv'd while Savages were fed.

a1843 J. Nicholson Poems (1859) 49 The hounds into the valley ran; The fox his cover broke; The sounds cheer'd every sportive man—The hills—the valleys spoke.

1893 C. G. Leland Memoirs I. 37 Uncle William was a kind-hearted ‘sportive’ man, who took Bell's Life.

1969 Daily Tel. 13 Mar. 18 Sportive readers of this paper's report yesterday on the pay talks of 90 Tonbridge cricket ball makers.

1998 I. de la Bere Last Deception Palliser Wentwood i. 18 Hand-coloured engravings showing sportive English chaps.

2000 A. S. R. Riepma Fire & Fiction 176 This..heroine is also a sportive woman; a friend of the family describes Eglah as follows: ‘in her physique, gymnastic training leaves nothing to be improved.’

b. Of clothes: suitable for sporting or informal wear, sporty. Cf. sportif adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > for specific purpose > informal wear > informal or sports wear

sporty1895

sportive1935

sportif1953

1935 Amer. Speech 10 193/2 Combinations like smoothly sportive, fetchingly feminine..are numberless.

1963 C. Beaton Diary 15 Feb. in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) 358 In his yachting jacket and sportive shoes, he has something about his swash-buckling style that reminds me of Douglas Fairbanks, Senior.

2004 Drapers Rec. & Menswear 24 Apr. (verso front cover) This theme is super chic, full of lightness and joie de vivre blended with a hint of sportive.

a. Of a living organism, esp. a plant: liable to sport or vary unusually from the true type or usual appearance; characterized by sporting. Now rare.Relating to the conventional depiction of nature (personified) as a playful or capricious entity; cf. 1736 at sense A. 1 and sport v. 8.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > variety or species > [adjective] > producing mutations

sportive?1734

sporting1850

?1734 Pract. Husbandman & Planter II. i. 106 The Walnut-Tree is a most sportive Plant, or, in other Words, the most apt to degenerate from the Kind that was sow'd.

1793 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 282 It [sc. the fungus Merulius Cantharellus] is very apt to be sportive and monstrous in its growth.

1868 C. Darwin Variation Animals & Plants I. 315 [He] was forced to reject some of his new sub-varieties, which he suspected had been produced from a cross, as incorrigibly sportive.

1891 W. Allan Dis. Skin (ed. 3) iv. 52 It is this sportive tendency manifested by skin diseases which adds so much to the difficulty of their diagnosis.

1922 Rose Ann. 98 The sportive tendency of the moss Rose—the original moss is said to be a sport from the Provence—is remarkable.

1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 130/2 It is the tendency of the pansy tribe to be naturally ‘sportive’ that spurred the early cultivators into action in the mid-nineteenth century.

†b. Having the character of a sport, natural curiosity, or anomaly (cf. sport n.¹ 6). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [adjective] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation

sportive1796

mutating1877

mutant1903

mutational1904

mutated1919

macromutational1952

saltational1963

macromutationist1988

1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature I. vi. 341 Examine, on their gowns and handkerchiefs, the sportive productions of their imagination: there you have the flower of the pink, on the foliage of the myrtle.

1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 73 The mineral kingdom, with all the riches, beauties, and sportive productions it contains.

1804 J. Parkinson Org. Remains Former World I. 24 The vis plastica, the vis formativa, and the sportive creations of nature, were terms yet in frequent use.

1825 J. M. Good Study Med. (ed. 2) I. 427 By what means they are rendered subservient to such an infinite variety of sportive and anomalous effects.

1884 D. Stewart Law Marriage & Divorce xl. 269 A natural variation from the original type without any apparent cause; a sportive fancy of the plant.

†B. n.¹

Something which is merely amusing or diverting and not of a serious character. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > [noun]

playeOE

gameOE

sportive?c1622

?c1622 E. Bolton Hypercritica (1722) 237 If they have seen that incomparable Earl of Surrey his English Translation of Virgil's Æneids.., [they] will bear me witness that those other were Foils and Sportives.

Compounds

sportive lemur n. any of various lemurs of the Madagascan genus Lepilemur (the sole extant genus in the family Lepilemuridae), which are nocturnal and herbivorous with grey-brown to reddish fur; frequently with distinguishing word or words.

ΚΠ

1897 H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates I. 89 The round-headed sportive-lemur.

1967 Jrnl. Confl. Resol. 11 369/2 Most of the species [of lemur] are diurnal and have normal societies of mutual aid and cooperation, but the nocturnal ‘sportive lemur’ is interestingly different.

2004 G. Pitcher & P. Wright Madagascar & Comoros 51 Long, powerful back legs enable the various species of sportive lemurs to make prodigious leaps from tree to tree.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	sportive
释义	sportiven.² Brit. /spɔːˈtiːv/, U.S. /spɔrˈtiv/ Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: cyclosportive n. Etymology: Shortened < cyclosportive n. A long-distance road cycling event of a type originating in France, in which a large number of participants ride a marked route. ΚΠ 2005 Re: Training for L'Etape 2006 in uk.rec.cycling (Usenet newsgroup) 7 Sept. I..did a mountainous French sportive this year, the only thing I could think to add to the good advice here is; Drink, drink lots. 2010 Ultra Fit 768/2 If you're committing yourself to training for a challenge such as a marathon, triathlon, or sportive, book some time in a sports science lab and get tested properly. 2013 R. Charlton et al. Fitter, Further, Faster 189/1 We're pretty sure that once you've ridden your first sportive you'll soon be filling in your next entry form. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022). sportiveadj.n.¹ Brit. /ˈspɔːtɪv/, U.S. /ˈspɔrdɪv/ Forms: 1500s–1600s sportiue, 1600s– sportive. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: sport n.¹, sport v., -ive suffix. Etymology: < either sport n.¹ or sport v. + -ive suffix. Compare earlier sporting adj. A. adj. 1. Of a person or mental faculty: inclined to jesting or levity; light-hearted or playful in temperament, thought, or manner of expression; (also) capricious, fanciful.In quot. 1601 in a personification. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > lack of seriousness > [adjective] gamelike1592 sportive1593 badine1685 galliardizing1695 flippant1724 unsedate1823 flip1847 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 90^v They are nought els but cleanly coyned lyes, which some pleasant sportiue wittes haue deuised, to gull them most groselie. 1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 19 Her land of Grace, Where honest sportiue Mirth did alwaies dwell. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. ii. 58 I am not in a sportiue humor now: Tell me, and dally not, where is the monie? View more context for this quotation 1676 J. Glanvill Seasonable Refl. 31 'Tis equally absurd to be sportive about affairs that are serious. 1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage vi. 278 The Tunes are generally Airy and Gailliardizing: They are contriv'd on purpose to excite a sportive Humour, and spread a Gaity upon the Spirits. 1736 S. Duck Poems Several Occasions 76 I, o'er the Park, thro' Wilds of Beauty, stray; Where sportive Nature wantons at her Will, And lavishes her Bloom, uncheck'd by Skill. 1778 F. Burney Let. 27 Aug. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 106 2 little productions..full of sportive humour. 1782 V. Knox Ess. (new ed.) II. clxviii. 341 With a rich and sportive fancy he combined a solid judgment. 1801 J. W. Croker Amazoniad ii. 20 That they are two, by sportive Chance was done, For Nature had design'd to make them one. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 541 Three generations of serious and of sportive writers wept and laughed over the venality of the senate. a1876 T. Aird Poet. Wks. (1878) 295 The dignity sedate Of orphanhood, a law unto itself, Fell on the sportive girl. 1931 R. A. Firor Folkways in T. Hardy iii. 56 The jack-o'-lantern is..a sportive creature whose innate love of mischief causes him to lead travelers astray. 1989 A. Habegger Henry James & ‘Woman Business’ (2004) 143 The voice we hear in this sentence is not that of a bereaved friend but of an already sportive imagination. 1992 C. Nicholson I. C. Smith: Crit. Ess. xv. 195 Stories..in which a sportive God portrays irrational existence. 2. Of speech, etc.: characterized by lightness or levity; humorous, witty; mischievous, playful. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > lack of seriousness > [adjective] > characterized by lack of seriousness sportive1593 ludicrous1619 subrisive1819 subrisory1861 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 34 The young-men in their merry-running Madrigals, and sportiue Base-bidding Rundelayes. 1655 J. Mennes & J. Smith Musarum Deliciæ (title page) Conteining severall select Pieces of sportive Wit. 1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. ii. xii. 17 In raillery the sportive jest. 1826 F. Reynolds Life & Times II. 166 The ensuing sportive anecdotes may appear frivolous. 1864 Brit. Millennial Harbinger 1 Jan. 15/2 In speaking evil of any man, or in jesting and sportive speech. 1945 H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. Suppl. I. 637 The Negroes use various other sportive terms for whites, e.g., pale-face, chalk and milk. 2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 5 Oct. ii. 11/2 The sportive Albee play..comes as a welcome break, the actors agreed... It's frothy and meringuey and absolutely delicious and funny. 3. a. Disposed to be playful or lively in movement; frisky, frolicsome. Frequently in extended use. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > playfulness > [adjective] gamingOE playfulc1225 gamefulc1275 gamelya1350 gamesomea1375 playable?c1475 frisky?a1500 sporting1549 sportful1577 toyish1577 toyful1580 sportive1593 gambol1600 sportly1600 sporting1607 playsome1612 jiggish1635 toysome1638 ludible1656 ludibund1668 good-humoured1682 flippant1711 lusory1711 gamp1737 kittenish1753 sportable1767 disportive1773 whisky1782 playward1878 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares Ep. Ded. Giue mee leaue with the Sportiue Sea Porposes, preludiatelie a little to play before the storme of my Teares. 1651 Bp. J. Taylor XXVIII Serm. x. 129 The bait is in their mouths, and they are sportive; but the hook hath strook their nostrils, and they shall never escape the ruine. 1658 T. Bancroft Heroical Lover v. 44 Viewing the motions of the sportive Floud. a1721 M. Prior To Madam K. P. in Wks. (1907) 7 Lively the Nymphs and sportive are their Swains. 1728 J. Thomson Spring 42 His sportive Lambs..in friskful Glee, Their..Frolicks play. 1769 W. Falconer Shipwreck (ed. 3) ii. 50 Near the lofty stern, A shoal of sportive dolphins they discern. 1785 W. Cowper Task i. 567 The sportive wind blows wide Their flutt'ring rags. 1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. ii, in Poems 86 There, Werter sees the sportive Children fed. a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 332 This sportive band of Satyrs near the caves. 1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. iii. 135 Its breath was cold, and made the sportive blood, Stagnant, and dull, and heavy. 1927 A. C. Parker Indian How Bk. v. lvii. 250 Wolf cubs were sportive little villains. 1995 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 5 Feb. 10/3 The Atlantic coastal waters, where humpback whales and sportive dolphins frolic and blow. b. Of a quality or sentiment: characterized by liveliness. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective] jollyc1325 kedgec1440 fledge?1461 frisky?a1500 sprightya1522 frisk1528 sprightful1550 quick-spirited1552 lively1567 quick-sprighted1579 alive-like1582 aleger1590 firking1594 sprightly1594 sportive1595 mettled1599 alives-like1601 spirited1601 spirituous1601 mettle1606 great-stomached1607 free-spirited1613 spirity1615 spiritous1628 vivacious1645 rattlingc1650 sportful1650 airy1654 animated1660 racy1671 mettlesome1673 sparklinga1704 raffing?1719 bob1721 vivace1721 alive1748 lifey1793 spunky1831 gilpie1835 bubbling1860 chippy1865 bubblesome1879 colourful1882 sparky1883 bubbly1912 jazzy1917 spritzy1973 sparkly1979 kicking1983 1595 G. Markham Most Honorable Trag. Sir R. Grinuile sig. B4^v The sea, which then was heauie, sad, and still, Dull, vnapplyd to sportiue wantonnesse,..Had crownd with griefe, the worlds wet wildernesse. 1722 R. Blackmore Redemption i. 6 To him the floods their flowing chrystal bring, Where fish with sportive races please their King. 1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes II. iii. xviii. 13 See my flocks in sportive vein Frisk it o'er the verdant plain. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 450 A gaudy flag..Hung up in sportive joy by those Whose sports and joys are past. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 222 Exhibiting a kind of dance,..performed with the most sportive vivacity. 1867 N.Y. Times 15 Sept. 8/3 Gossips never weary of telling of the sportive gaiety and youthful vivacity of the Empress Eugenie. 1912 Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star 22 Apr. b5/1 As if the elves of the north had, in sportive playfulness, thrown a veil about our eyes and enticed us to the very ‘seat eternal of the gods’. 1996 New Yorker 21 Oct. 200/1 Brown has long had about him a sportive, Cyrano-esque panache not unlike the raffish flair of the Bay City itself. 4. a. Engaging in or inclined to amorous dalliance or sexual play; (in later use also) devoted to pleasure; inclined to indulge in pursuits regarded as dissolute or immoral; fast-living, dissolute. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective] golec888 canga1225 light?c1225 wooinga1382 nicea1387 riota1400 wantonc1400 wrenec1400 lachesc1450 loose?a1500 licentious1555 libertine1560 prostitute1569 riggish1569 wide1574 slipper1581 slippery1586 sportive1595 gay1597 Cyprian1598 suburb1598 waggish1600 smicker1606 suburbian1606 loose-living1607 wantona1627 free-living1632 libertinous1632 loose-lived1641 Corinthian1642 akolastic1656 slight1685 fast1699 freea1731 brisk1740 shy1787 slang1818 randomc1825 fastish1832 loosish1846 slummya1860 velocious1872 fly1880 slack1951 the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > [adjective] > amorously sportive toying1549 toyish1563 toyous1592 sportive1595 toysome1638 1595 F. Sabie Flora's Fortune sig. C2^v Twice..Did Cinthia see Agenors sportiue sonne, Courting Iulina his new-wedded wife, And froliking in olde Tuistons Court. 1649 R. Baron Apol. for Paris 30 Hither will I send a wanton Bevie of sportive waggish Nymphs to attend thee. 1791 H. Downman Poems to Thespia 39 Nor could I, to the joys of sense resign'd, The sportive wanton to my bosom press. 1801 J. B. Burges Richard the First I. xv. 215 Say why, my hero! are our joys delay'd? Mark how the sportive songsters of the glade Nature's blest law with ecstasy pursue. 1855 R. Browning Fra Lippo Lippi in Men & Women I. 35 Where sportive ladies leave their doors ajar. 1996 A. Wightman Karlowicz iv. 53 It is only by concentrating his mind on his ‘dear Edyta’ back home that Plum is able to resist the temptation to tweak the cheeks of a ‘sportive’ blonde. b. Of the nature of, relating to, or characterized by (esp. amorous) pleasure, or the pursuit of this; wanton, dissipated. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > profligacy, dissoluteness, or debauchery > [adjective] wild13.. desolatec1386 unthrifty1388 riotousc1405 resolute?a1475 palliard1484 dissolutea1513 royetous1526 sluttishc1555 rakehell1556 dissolutious1560 rakehelly1579 hell-raking1593 sportive1597 low1599 lavish1600 rakellyc1600 profligate1627 profligated1652 rantipole1660 abandoned1690 raking1696 rakish1696 dissipated1744 dissipating1818 outward1875 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 14 I that am not shapte for sportiue trickes, Nor made to court an amorous looking glasse. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxi. sig. H2 For why should others false adulterat eyes Giue salutation to my sportiue blood? View more context for this quotation 1613 T. Heywood Brazen Age sig. I2^v Whilst the Cuckold Vulcan blowes the fire, Our amorous soules their sportiue blisse conspire. 1773 Orange-girl at Foote's to Sally Harris 4 My timorous Steps with soft Persuasion led, Where sportive Love had rais'd the Wanton Bed. 1799 A. Kessell Two Adams 15 Hence sportive chambering, and wanton lust, With beastial scenes, too black to be exprest. 1807 T. Dibdin Two Faces under Hood i. ii. 10 In sportive glee pass'd every day, Till one false youth came in my way, And now I'm left to sigh and say, Heigho! heigho! 1849 H. A. Wise Los Gringos xlix. 404 She neither assumes any of their virtues, but leads a rollicking, sportive life. 1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xxiv. 280 Vere was apt to lead a sportive life of pleasures and palaces, yachts and private planes. 5. †a. Affording or providing amusement or entertainment; relating to, characterized by, or of the nature of recreation or diversion. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > [adjective] bourdfula1425 sportive1613 ludicrous1619 lusorious1619 lusory1653 recreational1656 society > leisure > entertainment > [adjective] > produced in, or as in, amusement or entertainment sportive1774 1613 I. F. Christes Bloodie Sweat 41 How much more better were it to forgoe A life so grieuous, and a death so sportiue? 1705 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft 45 They go to Bowls, and other sportive Exercises every Sunday. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 358 He then placed them in a cage at his chamber window, to be amused by their sportive flutterings. 1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 22 The sportive toil..Had dyed her glowing hue so bright. 1839 T. Mitchell in Aristophanes Frogs 148 (note) A die (the sportive instrument of playful youth). 1874 J. P. Mahaffy Social Life Greece xi. 351 The Greeks made their serious pursuits, especially their religion, sportive. b. Of an action or activity: devised or undertaken for the purposes of entertainment; amusing, diverting; recreational, fun. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > [adjective] sportful1609 sportive1616 sported1687 1616 T. Scot 2nd Pt. Philomythie sig. C2^v Thus in sportiue war, and warlike sport, You doe your rider from himselfe transport. 1639 T. Bancroft Two Bks. Epigrammes & Epit. ii. sig. L3^v Thus who doth allay His mirth.., May (Cocke-sure) take his pleasure; and delight (With peace of Conscience with) a sportive fight. 1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. i. viii. 16 Where are now the livid scars Of sportive, nor inglorious, wars? 1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho IV. ix. 163 The apparition of the dead comes not on light, or sportive errands. 1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville II. 105 Quickened by a sportive volley which the Indians rattled after him. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 400 It was now not a sportive combat, but a war to the death. 1986 C. R. Forker Skull beneath Skin 386 Crispiano's..view of getting and spending as a sportive contest between two different forms of personal gratification. 2000 H. Simpson Hey Yeah Right (2001) 151 Possibly she was proactive in her rapprochement with her husband.., bearhugging him, exchanging sportive punches. 6. a. Engaging or inclined to participate in physical forms of recreation; active or interested in games, field sports, or athletic activities; sporting, sporty. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [adjective] sporting1679 sportive1713 sportsmanly1778 sportsmanlike1816 reserve1869 sporty1889 sportif1953 1713 A. Pope Windsor Forest 3 No wonder Savages or Subjects slain Were equal Crimes in a Despotick Reign; Both doom'd alike for sportive Tyrants bled, But Subjects starv'd while Savages were fed. a1843 J. Nicholson Poems (1859) 49 The hounds into the valley ran; The fox his cover broke; The sounds cheer'd every sportive man—The hills—the valleys spoke. 1893 C. G. Leland Memoirs I. 37 Uncle William was a kind-hearted ‘sportive’ man, who took Bell's Life. 1969 Daily Tel. 13 Mar. 18 Sportive readers of this paper's report yesterday on the pay talks of 90 Tonbridge cricket ball makers. 1998 I. de la Bere Last Deception Palliser Wentwood i. 18 Hand-coloured engravings showing sportive English chaps. 2000 A. S. R. Riepma Fire & Fiction 176 This..heroine is also a sportive woman; a friend of the family describes Eglah as follows: ‘in her physique, gymnastic training leaves nothing to be improved.’ b. Of clothes: suitable for sporting or informal wear, sporty. Cf. sportif adj. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > for specific purpose > informal wear > informal or sports wear sporty1895 sportive1935 sportif1953 1935 Amer. Speech 10 193/2 Combinations like smoothly sportive, fetchingly feminine..are numberless. 1963 C. Beaton Diary 15 Feb. in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) 358 In his yachting jacket and sportive shoes, he has something about his swash-buckling style that reminds me of Douglas Fairbanks, Senior. 2004 Drapers Rec. & Menswear 24 Apr. (verso front cover) This theme is super chic, full of lightness and joie de vivre blended with a hint of sportive. 7. a. Of a living organism, esp. a plant: liable to sport or vary unusually from the true type or usual appearance; characterized by sporting. Now rare.Relating to the conventional depiction of nature (personified) as a playful or capricious entity; cf. 1736 at sense A. 1 and sport v. 8. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > variety or species > [adjective] > producing mutations sportive?1734 sporting1850 ?1734 Pract. Husbandman & Planter II. i. 106 The Walnut-Tree is a most sportive Plant, or, in other Words, the most apt to degenerate from the Kind that was sow'd. 1793 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 282 It [sc. the fungus Merulius Cantharellus] is very apt to be sportive and monstrous in its growth. 1868 C. Darwin Variation Animals & Plants I. 315 [He] was forced to reject some of his new sub-varieties, which he suspected had been produced from a cross, as incorrigibly sportive. 1891 W. Allan Dis. Skin (ed. 3) iv. 52 It is this sportive tendency manifested by skin diseases which adds so much to the difficulty of their diagnosis. 1922 Rose Ann. 98 The sportive tendency of the moss Rose—the original moss is said to be a sport from the Provence—is remarkable. 1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 130/2 It is the tendency of the pansy tribe to be naturally ‘sportive’ that spurred the early cultivators into action in the mid-nineteenth century. †b. Having the character of a sport, natural curiosity, or anomaly (cf. sport n.¹ 6). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [adjective] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation sportive1796 mutating1877 mutant1903 mutational1904 mutated1919 macromutational1952 saltational1963 macromutationist1988 1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature I. vi. 341 Examine, on their gowns and handkerchiefs, the sportive productions of their imagination: there you have the flower of the pink, on the foliage of the myrtle. 1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 73 The mineral kingdom, with all the riches, beauties, and sportive productions it contains. 1804 J. Parkinson Org. Remains Former World I. 24 The vis plastica, the vis formativa, and the sportive creations of nature, were terms yet in frequent use. 1825 J. M. Good Study Med. (ed. 2) I. 427 By what means they are rendered subservient to such an infinite variety of sportive and anomalous effects. 1884 D. Stewart Law Marriage & Divorce xl. 269 A natural variation from the original type without any apparent cause; a sportive fancy of the plant. †B. n.¹ Something which is merely amusing or diverting and not of a serious character. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > [noun] playeOE gameOE sportive?c1622 ?c1622 E. Bolton Hypercritica (1722) 237 If they have seen that incomparable Earl of Surrey his English Translation of Virgil's Æneids.., [they] will bear me witness that those other were Foils and Sportives. Compounds sportive lemur n. any of various lemurs of the Madagascan genus Lepilemur (the sole extant genus in the family Lepilemuridae), which are nocturnal and herbivorous with grey-brown to reddish fur; frequently with distinguishing word or words. ΚΠ 1897 H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates I. 89 The round-headed sportive-lemur. 1967 Jrnl. Confl. Resol. 11 369/2 Most of the species [of lemur] are diurnal and have normal societies of mutual aid and cooperation, but the nocturnal ‘sportive lemur’ is interestingly different. 2004 G. Pitcher & P. Wright Madagascar & Comoros 51 Long, powerful back legs enable the various species of sportive lemurs to make prodigious leaps from tree to tree. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.²2005adj.n.¹1593
随便看	reed fescue grass reed flute reed ground reelers reelevate reelevation reelfed reelfooted reeligibilities reeligibility reeligible reeling reeling apparatus reeling arrangement reeling drive reeling drunk reeling establishment reeling machine reeling ripe reeling stick reelingly reelings reelland reelmaker reelout

sportiven.2

sportiveadj.n.1

Compounds

sportiven.²

sportiveadj.n.¹