sport - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Italic *-āō

English sport

From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”, verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun), from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), etymologically meaning "to carry away (the mind from serious matters)," from des- +‎ porter, from Latin dis- + Latin portāre, ultimately from Latin deportāre, from de- +‎ portāre, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to lead, pass over”)). Replaced native English laik, lake (“sport, fun, amusement”), and Middle English spile, spyl (“fun, sport, play”). More at disport. Doublet of disport and deport.

sport (countable and uncountable, plural sports)

  1. (countable, uncountable) Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
    Basketball is her favorite sport, and she also enjoys various other sports as well.
    Sport can be an excellent form of exercise because the competition and sense of achievement can help with both motivation and pleasure.
  2. (countable) A person who exhibits either good or bad sportsmanship.
    Jen may have won, but she was sure a poor sport; she laughed at the loser.
    The loser was a good sport, and congratulated Jen on her performance.
  3. (countable) Somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirably good-natured manner, e.g. to being teased or to losing a game; a good sport.
    You're such a sport! You never get upset when we tease you.
  4. (archaic) Something fun, pastime; amusement.
  5. (archaic) Mockery, making fun; derision.
  6. (countable) A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery.
    • 1697, Virgil, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      flitting leaves, the sport of every wind
    • a. 1676, John Clarke, On Governing the Temper:
      Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he is the sport of his own ungoverned passions.
  7. (uncountable) Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, or fishing.
  8. (biology, botany, zoology, countable) A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. The term encompasses both mutants and organisms with non-genetic developmental abnormalities such as birth defects.
    • 2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)‎[1]:
      At Hortus Bulborum you will find heirloom narcissi that date back at least to the 15th century and famous old tulips like 'Duc van Tol' (1595) and its sports.
  9. (slang, countable) A sportsman; a gambler.
  10. (slang, countable) One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes.
  11. (obsolete, uncountable) An amorous dalliance.
  12. (informal, usually singular) A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question)
  1. Term of endearment used by an adult for a child, usually a boy.
    Hey, sport! You've gotten so big since I saw you last! Give me five.
  2. (archaic) Play; idle jingle.

From plural sports:

any athletic activity that uses physical skills

somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirable manner

gaming for money as in racing, hunting, fishing

sport (third-person singular simple present sports, present participle sporting, simple past and past participle sported)

  1. (intransitive) To amuse oneself, to play.
    children sporting on the green
  2. (intransitive) To mock or tease, treat lightly, toy with.
    Jen sports with Bill's emotions.
    • 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious:
      He sports with his own life.
  3. (transitive) To display; to have as a notable feature.
    Jen's sporting a new pair of shoes; he was sporting a new wound from the combat
    • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 704:
      But despite its plague of tunnels, the run-in on this route is of unusual interest to the locomotive enthusiast: besides the hordes of self-important saddle-tanks shunting in the extensive yards, there was at one time the chance of seeing those slender little North London engines, with their large outside cylinders and no visible storage place for coal, and also an occasional South Eastern locomotive sporting a lot of polished brass.
    • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      [The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].
    • 2023 June 3, Carl Zimmer, “How Did Birds First Take Off?”, in The New York Times‎[5]:
      He was especially happy to see one of the most important discoveries make it to the screen: dinosaurs that sported feathers. But judging from the emails he has been receiving, some moviegoers did not share his excitement.
  4. (reflexive) To divert; to amuse; to make merry.
  5. (transitive) To represent by any kind of play.
  6. To practise the diversions of the field or the turf; to be given to betting, as upon races.
  7. To assume suddenly a new and different character from the rest of the plant or from the type of the species; said of a bud, shoot, plant, or animal.
    • 1860, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication:
      more than one kind of rose has sported into a moss
  8. (transitive, archaic) To close (a door).
    • 1904, M. R. James, The Mezzotint:
      There he locked it up in a drawer, sported the doors of both sets of rooms, and retired to bed.

display, have as feature

sport m inan

  1. sport

From English sport.

sport c (singular definite sporten, not used in plural form)

  1. sport
    Synonym: idræt

Borrowed from English sport, from Middle English sport, from Middle English sport, from older disport, from Old French desport. First attested in the 19th century. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

sport f (plural sporten, diminutive sportje n)

  1. (countable) a sport; (uncountable) sports
    Mijn buurman is dol op sport. ― My neighbour is keen on sports.
    Darts is de gezondste sport op aarde. ― Darts is the most healthy sport on Earth.

From Middle Dutch sporte, metathesised form of sprote. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

sport f (plural sporten, diminutive sportje n)

  1. rung, step on a ladder

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

sport

  1. inflection of sporten:
    1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

From German Sport, from English sport.

sport (genitive spordi, partitive sporti)

  1. sport, sports
Declension of sport (ÕS type 22e/riik, t-d gradation)
singular plural
nominative sport spordid
accusative nom.
gen. spordi
genitive sportide
partitive sporti sportesportisid
illative sportispordisse sportidessespordesse
inessive spordis sportidesspordes
elative spordist sportidestspordest
allative spordile sportidelespordele
adessive spordil sportidelspordel
ablative spordilt sportideltspordelt
translative spordiks sportideksspordeks
terminative spordini sportideni
essive spordina sportidena
abessive spordita sportideta
comitative spordiga sportidega

Earlier 19th century, borrowed from English sport. At first also pronounced with a final /t/.

sport m (plural sports)

  1. sport

sport (plural sportok)

  1. sport

Borrowed from Dutch sport, from English sport, from English sport, from Middle English sport, from Middle English sport, from older disport, from Old French desport.

sport (plural **sport-sport)

  1. sport
    Synonym: olahraga

Unadapted borrowing from English sport. Doublet of diporto.

sport m (invariable)

  1. sport (activity that uses physical skills, often competitive)
  2. hobby, pastime
    fare qualcosa per sport ― to do something for fun

Borrowed from English sport.

sport m inan

  1. sport (athletic activity that uses physical skills)

sport m (plural sports)

  1. (Jersey) sport (physical activity pitting two or more opponents against each other)

From English sport.

sport m (definite singular sporten, uncountable)

  1. sport
    Synonym: idrett

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

sport

  1. past participle of spore

From English sport.

sport m (definite singular sporten, uncountable)

  1. sport
    Synonym: idrett

Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Italic *-āō

Polish sport

Borrowed from English sport.

sport m inan

  1. sport

Borrowed from French sport.

sport n (plural sporturi)

  1. sport

Borrowed from English sport.

spȍrt m inan (Cyrillic spelling спо̏рт)

  1. sport

Borrowed from English sport, first used in 1857.

sport c

  1. (uncountable) sports
  2. (countable) a sport

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

sport

  1. supine of spörja

Borrowed from Dutch sport, from English sport.

sport c (plural sporten)

  1. sport (physical activity)