▪ I. sport, n.1
(spɔət)
Also 5 spoort, 5–6 sporte.
[Aphetic form of disport n.]
I. 1. a. Pleasant pastime; entertainment or amusement; recreation, diversion.
| c 1440 Ipomydon 601 Whan they had take hyr sporte in halle, The kynge to counselle gan hyr calle. 1472–5 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 156/1 Lordes,..Yomen, and other Comyners, have used the occupation of shotyng for their myrthes and sportes with Bowes of Ewe. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 3 To searche theyr bodyes fayre and clere, Therof they had good sporte. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 69 The Ladies had good sporte to se these auncient persones maskers. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 91, I haue some sport in hand, Wherein your cunning can assist me much. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. i. i. 116 But to the sport abroad, are you bound thither? 1648 Gage West Ind. 193 The good Master thought it bad sport to see Swords at his breast. 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxii. (1687) 232 Let them see that you can rest from your labours, and yet not spend your whole time in sport and play. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 850 Aside, sequester'd from the vast resort, Antinous sate spectator of the sport. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas v. i. ¶28 If I come across them tomorrow..they shall see such sport as will be no sport to them. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. (1823) I. 42 Great sport to them was jumping in a sack. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xv, ‘I'm glad you think it good sport, brother,’ she continued. |
| personif. 1590 Spenser Muiopotmos 290 Before the Bull she pictur'd winged Loue, with his yong brother Sport. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 31 Sport that wrincled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides. |
† b. Amorous dalliance or intercourse.
Obs.| ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 170 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 291 Than in hett luve thay talkit vderis till. Thus at thair sport now will I leif thame still. 1570 in Farmer & Henley Dict. Slang. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 230 When the Blood is made dull with the Act of Sport. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 48 Italians love a fearefull wench, that often flies from Venus sport. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 197 When now the Nuptial time Approaches for the stately Steed to climb; Distend his Chine, and pamper him for Sport. 1700–c 1796 in Farmer & Henley Dict. Slang. |
c. spec. Pastime afforded by the endeavour to take or kill wild animals, game, or fish. Freq. with
adjs. referring to the result achieved.
| (a) 1653 Walton Angler ii, I am..glad to have so fair an entrance to this day's sport. 1772–84 Cook's Voy. ii. i. iv. (1842) 371 Some hours after we got on board, the other party returned, having had but indifferent sport. 1787 Best 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. 1838 James Robber ii, Sir Walter desired me to compliment you, sir, and to wish good sport. 1875 Hayward Love agst. World 5 Smoking and discussing the probability of sport. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iv, Pressing Glynn to come down..for the twelfth of August, promising him good sport. |
| transf. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. iii. 114 The Scots lords were grieved..that these should return without having any sport..which the Border wars afforded. |
| (b) 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 141 A chosen few Alone the Sport enjoy, nor droop beneath Their pleasing Toils. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth viii, I was thinking to see my hawks fly, and your company will make the sport more pleasant. 1860 Mayne Reid Hunters' Feast xxiii, The American deer is hunted for its flesh, its hide, and ‘the sport’. |
d. Participation in games or exercises,
esp. those of an athletic character or pursued in the open air; such games or amusements collectively.
| 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. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iii, I..found he was well up in sporting, or rather turf, matters. There is very little sport in them. |
e. In proverbial
phr. the sport of kings (latterly, influenced by sense 5),
orig. applied to war-making, but later extended to hunting and horse-racing (also surf-riding).
| [a 1668 Davenant Soldier going to Field in Works (1673) 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. 1691 Dryden King Arthur ii. 19, I count not War a Wrong: War is the Trade of Kings, that fight for Empire; And better be a Lyon, than a Sheep.] 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. 1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. xiii. 253 'Untin', as I have often said, is the sport of kings—the image of war without its guilt, and only five-and-twenty per cent. of its danger. 1918 G. Frankau Poet. Works (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 History 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’. 1978 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. b4/7 The track plans to feature rhinoceroses thundering down the homestretch in the next novelty of the sport of kings. |
2. a. in sport, in jest or joke; by way of fun or diversion; not seriously or in earnest.
| c 1440 Alph. Tales 141 And he knew sho was bod a symple thyng & ansswerd halfe in sporte & said [etc.]. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxvi. 19, I dyd it but in sporte. 1576 Ferrers in Gascoigne Kenelworth Castle G.'s Wks. 1910 II. 94 And as my love to Arthure dyd appeere, so shal't to you in earnest and in sport. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 30 Loue no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neyther, then [etc.]. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 369 He doubtless is in sport, and does but droll. 1829 Chapters Phys. Sci. 317 The inexhaustible variety of shades which nature, as in sport, has diffused over the surface of different bodies. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 210, I have assumed that the name was given by Gentiles, and given more or less in sport. |
b. Jest, jesting; mirth or merriment.
| 1671 Milton Samson 396 Thrice I deluded her, and turn'd to sport Her importunity. 1778 F. Burney Diary 26 Aug., Dr. Johnson..in the evening..was as lively and full of wit and sport as I have ever seen him. 1827 Carlyle Misc. (1840) I. 18 He thinks as a humorist, he feels, imagines, acts as a humorist; Sport is the element in which his nature lives and works. |
3. to make sport:
a. To provide entertainment or diversion. (Chiefly with
dat. of person.)
| 1481 Cely Papers (Camden) 74 Ȝe have a fayre hawke... I trwste to God sche schall make yow and me ryught grehyt sporte. ? a 1500 Chester Plays i. 1 Interminglinge therewith, onely to make sporte, Some thinges not warranted by any writt. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 101 This Armado is..one that makes sport To the Prince and his Booke-mates. 1592 Arden of Feversham iii. i. 85 He will murther me to make him sport. 1616 Lane Contin. Sqr.'s T. xi. 196 Hee that makes them sport shall have their hartes. 1663 Cowley Cutter Coleman St. ii. ii, 'Twill make us excellent sport at night. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 386 To make him sport..are causes good And just, in his account, why bird and beast Should suffer torture. 1909 Mrs. H. Ward Daphne ii. 47 That little Yankee girl had really made good sport all the way home. |
b. To engage in, furnish oneself with, or find, recreation or diversion. Chiefly with preps., as
at,
of,
with.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. ii. 30 When the sunne shines, let foolish gnats make sport. 1598 ― Merry W. iii. iii. 160 If I suspect without cause, Why then make sport at me, then let me be your iest. 1667 Pepys Diary 28 June, How sad a thing it is, when we come to make sport of proclaiming men traitors. 1699 T. Brown Let. to Dr. Brown at Tunbridge Wks. 1711 IV. 129, I..leave the Dr. and you to make what Sport you shall think fit with me. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. i. i. 28 The energy of these wild warriors made sport of walled cities. |
c. to show sport, to provide pastime by exhibiting spirit and courage in attack or defence.
| 1834 Lytton Pompeii v. ii, Eumolpus is a good second-rate swordsman;..doubtless they will shew sport. But I have no heart for the game. 1846 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. |
II. 4. a. A matter affording entertainment, diversion, or mirth; a jest or joke.
| 1450 Paston Lett. Suppl. 31 If ther myt ben purveyd any mene that it myt ben dasched,..it wer a good sport; for than he wold ben wode. 1515 Barclay Egloges i. (1570) A vj, Lo here is a sport, our bottell is contrary To a Cowes vtter [etc.]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 119 b, It is a sporte and a pleasaunt syght to see, howe the Ravens wyll stryve amonges them selves for the carion. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 146 In a merrie sport..let the forfeite Be nominated for an equall pound Of your faire flesh. 1625 Bacon Ess., Boldness (Arb.) 519 Especially, it is a Sport to see, when a Bold Fellow is out of Countenance. 1671 Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 391 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. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxix, I was the same David Deans of whom there was a sport at the Revolution. |
† b. to make a sport of, to make a jest of.
Obs.| 1535 Coverdale Prov. x. 23 A foole doth wickedly & maketh but a sporte of it. ― 1 Esdras i. 51 Loke what God spake vnto them by his prophetes, they made but a sporte of it. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 163 He would but make a sport of it, and torment the poore Lady worse. |
5. a. An occupation or proceeding of the nature of a pastime or diversion.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 88 Myrth and sportes maketh the soule remysse, slacke, and neglygent. 1608 Shakes. Per. v. iii. 41 Your present kindness Makes my past miseries sports. 1678 Yng. Man's Call. 71 They are too commonly seeming sports, real vexations. 1780 Johnson Lett. (1892) II. 172 The high sport was to burn the jails. This was a good rabble trick. 1790 Cowper Let. J. Hill 2 May, I am still at the old sport—Homer all the morning, and Homer all the evening. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. ii, But I will settle this sport presently. |
b. spec. A game, or particular form of pastime,
esp. one played or carried on in the open air and involving some amount of bodily exercise.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §153 If they played smalle games,..than myght it be called a good game, a good playe, a good sporte, and a pastyme. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 7 The fry of children young Their wanton sports and childish mirth did play. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's 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 Pepys Diary 18 Sept., Here some of us fell to handycapp, a sport that I never knew before. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. x. 86, I..bend the Parthian Bow: As if with Sports my Sufferings I could ease. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Art of Poetry 546 Monarchs were courted in Pierian Strain, And comic Sports reliev'd the wearied Swain. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 154 The sports of children satisfy the child. 1800 Windham Sp. (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. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vii, I am delighted to view any sports which may be safely indulged in. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xx. 606 In such a state of things hunting might be a sport, as war might be a sport. |
c. pl. A series of athletic contests engaged in or held at one time and forming a spectacle or social event. (
Cf. game n. 4 b.)
| 1594 Kyd 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. 1697 Dryden æneid v. 84 That day with solemn sports I mean to grace. 1736 Gray Statius i. 35 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. |
† d. A theatrical performance or show; a play.
| 1571 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 129 In sundry Tragedies, Playes, Maskes and Sportes. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 14 The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort, Who Piramus presented, in their sport, Forsooke his Scene. 1593 ― Rich. II, iv. i. 290 Marke..the Morall of this sport. |
e. a sport of terms,
wit,
words, a playing upon, trifling with, or fantastical use of terms, etc.; a passage or piece of writing characterized by this. ?
Obs.| 1685 Stillingfl. Orig. Brit. 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 Notes Pope's Odyss. ix. II. 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 Mythol. II. 282 Clemens speaks of this Ogdoas, as the νοητος κοσµος: which is certainly a sport of terms. 1830 Sir J. Mackintosh Life More Wks. 1846 I. 423 Enabling the writer to call the whole a mere sport of wit. |
6. a. sport of nature,
= lusus naturæ. ?
Obs. (
Cf. sporting vbl. n. 2.)
| 1635 Hakewill Apol. (ed. 3) 230 Cockles, periwinkles and oysters of solid stone:..whither they have bin shell⁓fish and living creatures, or else the sports of nature in her works. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xxvii. 64 Spigelius, because he could not somtimes find it, did count it a sport of Nature. 1756–9 A. Butler Lives Saints, St. Keyna (1821) X. 164 They seem either petrifactions or sports of nature in uncommon crystallizations in a mineral soil. 1773 Langhorne Fables of Flora ix. 9 Thus Nature with the fabled elves We rank, and these her Sports we call. 1804 Parkinson Organic Rem. i. 31 They described their peculiar forms as the sports of nature. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) V. 241 It is in this organ more especially, that rudimental attempts at fetal organization, the mere sports of nature, are frequently found produced without impregnation. |
b. A plant (or part of a plant), animal, etc., which exhibits abnormal variation or departure from the parent stock or type in some respect,
esp. in form or colour; a spontaneous mutation; a new variety produced in this way.
| (a) 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 405 Selecting from accidental variations, or as they are technically termed, sports. 1870 Henfrey's Bot. 620 What are termed ‘sports’ by gardeners, i.e. shoots differing in character from those on the other portions of the plant. 1890 Science-Gossip XXVI. 32 The nectarine, which is usually regarded as only a sport from the peach. |
| (b) 1854 Poultry Chron. I. 282 The common variety [of Pea fowl] 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. |
| fig. 1889 Daily News 14 Feb. 4/8 That grotesque ‘sport’ of scientific development, Professor Tyndall. 1893 Nation LVI. 66/1 They belong with Emily Dickinson's verses—the ‘sports’ of literary decadence. 1954 N. R. Ker in R. M. Wilson Ancr. 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. |
7. That with which one plays or sports; that which forms the sport
of some thing or person.
a. That which is driven or whirled about by the wind or waves as in sport.
| 1667 Milton P.L. 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. 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 117 But, oh! commit not thy prophetic mind To flitting leaves, the sport of ev'ry wind. 1705 Addison 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 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iii. viii, Blown, like a kindled rag, the sport of winds. 1887 Bowen æneid i. 442 Long tossed on the waves, and a sport by the hurricanes made. |
b. An object or subject of amusement, diversion, jesting, mirth, etc.; a laughing-stock, plaything, toy.
| 1693 Humours Town 80 They cannot see how they are the Sport and Laughter of ev'ry Company they come into. 1694 Southerne Fatal Marr. ii, Am I then the sport, The Game of Fortune, and her laughing Fools? 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 517 And while self-love each jealous writer rules, Contending wits become the sport of fools. 1746 Francis tr. Hor., Sat. ii. v. 91 Thus foil'd, Nasica shall become the sport Of old Coranus, while he pays his court. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 330 Rhode Island was doomed to be the sport of a blind and singular policy. 1853 Maurice Prophets & Kings xii. 205 Those who treated the divine covenant as a fantasy and a fiction, became themselves the sports of every fantasy and fiction. 1898 Watts-Dunton Aylwin xi. iii, You, whom Destiny..has taken in hand as a special sport. |
8. One concerned with or interested in sport:
a. U.S. (See first two
quots. and
sportsman 2.)
| 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 Slang Dict. 305 Sport, an American term for a gambler or turfite—more akin to our sporting man than to our sportsman. 1892 Welsh Rev. I. 689 ‘Unhappy Mr. Collings, the victim of a thousand sports,’ I murmured, americanising my language for the nonce. |
b. One who follows or participates in sport or a particular sport; a sportsman.
| 1873 Leland Egypt. Sketch-Bk. 69 Such hardened sinners as old pigeon-shooting sports. 1890 Pall Mall G. 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 Sir J. D. Astley 50 Yrs. Life II. 93 There was a houseful of ‘sports’ of both sexes. |
c. U.S. A young man; a fellow.
| 1897 Flandrau Harvard Episodes 215 ‘I don't suppose they're {oqq}cheap{cqq} sports,..not the way you mean.’ ‘Expensive sports, then?’ 1901 D. B. Hall & Ld. 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. |
d. A good fellow, a lively, sociable person (applied to men or women); one who behaves in a ‘sportsmanlike’ fashion. Also
good sport;
old sport (
freq. as a familiar term of address, more usually of men than women);
be a sport, act in a generous and sportsmanlike spirit.
| 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. 1905 Punch 22 Mar. 199, I shouldn't mind, Old Sport. 1913 Ibid. 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? 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. 1917 M. B. Owen Secret of Typewriting Speed 85 It is better to be known by everyone as a ‘fine girl’ than a ‘good sport’. 1918 C. Mackenzie Sylvia Scarlett i. ii. 64 You're no sport, Maudie. You've got the chance of your life and you're turning it down. 1920 W. J. Locke House of Baltazar xvii. 208 The old man must be a good sport. a 1922 T. S. Eliot Waste Land Drafts (1971) 5 Myrtle was always a good sport. 1923 Galsworthy Captures 145 ‘Let me go, mister!’ came the hoarse voice again. ‘Be a sport!’ 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby iii. 57 Want to go with me, old sport? 1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary vi. 57 ‘Come on,’ Temple said. ‘Be a sport. It wont take you any time in that Packard.’ 1932 J. Farrell Young Lonigan ii. 65 He told himself Bertha was a pretty good sport, all things considered. 1933 E. O'Neill Ah, Wilderness! iii. i. 83 He's a hot sport, can't you tell it? 1942 A. Christie Body in Library ix. 85, I did like her. I thought she was a good sport. 1952 M. Laski Village ii. 48 People turned to slap Roy on the back and say ‘Well done, old sport.’ 1973 Guardian 2 Mar. 15/8 The North Vietnamese..walked out of a drafting committee in protest against..one of Waldheim's men... Waldheim is being a good sport and going round explaining that he is not the least offended. 1982 P. McGinley Goosefoot viii. 114 Will you come out..this evening?.. Come on, be a sport. |
e. Chiefly
Austral. A familiar form of address,
esp. used to a stranger.
Occas. sports.
| 1935 [see jolt n. 4 a]. 1943 K. Tennant Ride on Stranger v. 48 The small boy rose and said rapidly: ‘Fair go, sports.’ 1952 E. Lambert Twenty Thousand Thieves 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. 1962 L. Davidson Rose of Tibet ii. 48 Houston introduced himself. ‘Glad to know you, sport. You've caught me at a busy moment.’ 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.’ |
9. colloq. † a. A film about athletic sports (
obs.).
b. ellipt. or in
pl. The sports section of a newspaper.
U.S.| 1913 [see feature picture s.v. feature n. 4 c]. 1923 Nation (N.Y.) 17 Oct. 25/1 Crime and comic strips, sports and ‘columns’—the Leader provides them all. 1955 W. Tucker Wild Talent v. 65 He asked, ‘Can I have the sports?’ Conklin pulled the section from the paper. |
c. A sports car; a sports model of a motor car.
| 1948 M. Laski Tory Heaven ix. 123 Rupert..was driving her down in his own super-charged super-sports Bentley. 1952 A. R. D. Fairburn Strange Rendezvous 50 Epicene Sir Giles..plays at Walton Heath, and drives a sports. 1974 R. Rendell Face of Trespass xviii. 168 The powerful purr of a Jaguar sports. |
III. 10. attrib. and
Comb., as
sport breeder,
sport-lover,
sport-maker,
sport-meeting;
sport-affording,
sport-giving,
sport-hindering,
sport-loving,
sport-minded,
sport-starved adjs.| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 119 When she the weeds Troian dyd marck, and sporte breder old bed. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1622) 401 Such a sport-meeting, when rather some song of loue, or matter for ioyful melody was to be brought forth. 1611 Cotgr., Badin,..a Iugler, Tumbler, or any such sport-maker. a 1625 Fletcher Woman's Prize i. ii, What a grief of heart is't?..to lie and tell The clock o'th lungs, to rise sport starv'd? 1631 Mabbe Celestina xii. 137 O troublesome and sport-hindring doores. 1860 G. H. Kingsley Vac. Tour 124 Two or three birds,..affording no sport themselves, and not permitting any sport-affording bird to approach their haunts. 1895 Daily News 21 Jan. 7/7 Five dozen..of these sport-giving fish [i.e. perch]. 1897 Outing XXIX. 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. |
b. In plural, as
sports centre,
sports club,
sports complex,
sports day,
sports deck,
sports department,
sports desk,
sports edition,
sports editor,
sports equipment,
sports field,
sports girl,
sports ground,
sports hall,
sports news,
sports outfitter,
sports page,
sports pavilion,
sports programme,
sports section,
sports shop,
sports stadium,
sports-writer;
sports-holding,
sports-mad,
sports-minded adjs.| 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. |
| 1965 ‘J. le Carré’ Looking-Glass War xii. 145, I got the knife at cost..through the sports club. |
| 1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 30 Jan. 4 (caption) Metro says university to pay 50%-plus to use sports complex. |
| 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. |
| a 1936 Kipling Something of Myself (1937) viii. 229 The new three-deckers..hellishly noisy from the sports' deck to the barber's shop. 1981 J. M. Brinnin Beau Voyage (1982) 59 The sports deck echoing with the click of the discs used in shuffleboard. |
| 1975 G. Howell In Vogue 80/1 Jean Patou's new sports department sells jersey and marocain bathing suits. |
| 1968 D. Francis Forfeit viii. 101 The sports desk is a big asset to the paper. |
| 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. |
| 1902 E. Banks Newspaper Girl 237 The sports-editor devoted his hitherto undiscovered talents to evolving alliterative headlines. 1969 Sports editor [see night-editor s.v. night n. 13 c]. |
| 1969 H. MacInnes Salzburg Connection iv. 50 He had opened a sports-equipment shop in Salzburg. |
| 1931 What is Fascism & Why? 174 You must give houses, schools, baths, gardens, and sports fields to the working Fascist people. |
| 1938 J. Betjeman in New Statesman 12 Nov. 777/1, I adore you, Pam, you great big mountainous sports girl. |
| 1933 J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iv. i. 325 The aeroplane..had landed in the sports ground of the factory. 1972 G. Bromley In Absence of Body ix. 119 ‘Where's the match played?’ ‘At their sports ground.’ |
| 1943 Sports hall [see Siporex]. 1976 Dumfries & Galloway Standard 25 Dec. 18/6 (Advt.), Sports Hall Area {pstlg}3.00 per hour. |
| 1895 Westm. Gaz. 29 Apr. 7/2 So now sixteen sports-holding clubs have resolved to form a Scottish Amateur Athletic Union. |
| 1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 May 370/2 Australians..are sports-mad. |
| 1960 I. Cross Backward Sex iii. 76 She was not exactly sports-minded. |
| 1928 Radio Times 27 Apr. 149/2 (caption) Bert simply puts up with [the radio set]..for the sake of the sports news. 1967 Sports news [see city page s.v. city 9]. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 30 Apr. 5/2 An employé of [a] sports outfitter. |
| 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 Enquiry ii. 11 Milton glanced only briefly at the headlines of the newspaper before he turned to the sports pages. |
| 1931 ‘G. Trevor’ Murder at School ii. 42 The pair had reached the sports pavilion. |
| 1938 J. Joyce Let. 6 June (1966) iii. 424 The director who has charge of the singing almost resents even a friendly introduction from the director, say, who controls the sports programme. 1973 J. Porter It's Murder with Dover vi. 60 He sat in front of the television watching that sports programme. |
| 1940 G. Marx Let. in Groucho Lett. (1967) 46, I picked up the paper Tuesday morning, nervously turned to the sports section. |
| 1926 S. Lewis Mantrap xxv. 288 Joe and he would..found a sports-shop of their own. 1971 C. Whitman Death Suspended iv. 80 Alec was at his sports shop. |
| 1973 Times 5 Dec. 16/3 Those responsible for the conduct and management of any designated sports stadium. |
| 1932 Sportswriter [see quarterback n. 2 b]. 1972 J. Mosedale Football ii. 21 The principal address at the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association banquet. |
c. Used (chiefly
pl. in
U.K. and
sing. in
U.S.) to designate articles of attire suitable for outdoor sports or for informal wear, as
sport(s) clothes,
sports coat,
sports jacket,
sports shirt,
sports shoe,
sports skirt,
sports suit,
sports wear, etc.; also
sport(s)-coated,
sport-jacketed,
sport-shirted adjs.| (a) 1912 Sphere 17 Aug. p. ii/1 The shirts I can also specially commend for holiday as well as for..sports wear. 1914 Queen 4 July 15 (Advt.), Smart fitting mercerised Sports Coat. 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. 1925 Eaton's News Weekly 2 May 10 The sports shirt above, of fine white Oxford material. 1927 ‘C. Barry’ Mouls House Mystery xx. 178 In an hour, Gilmartin was at his home, clad in an old sports jacket. 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. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair x. 110 The male with the sports jacket and the pin-striped trousers. 1952 B. Hamilton So Sad, so Fresh ii. 22 These sports-coated, bepiped, sophisticated young bloods. 1955 N. Fitzgerald House is Falling vii. 107 Brigadier Poodle Poole-Casey, hatless and sports-jacketed. 1962 J. D. Salinger Franny & Zooey 132 And there was old Dick..Sitting at a table in blue jeans and a gruesome sports jacket. 1967 N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 70 She was the kind of woman that would not look her best in sports clothes. 1973 ‘S. Harvester’ Corner of Playground iii. i. 173 The sports-shirted wrestler. 1975 G. V. Higgins City on Hill ii. 34 His silver-blue double-knit sportscoat was too large. 1982 ‘M. Innes’ Sheiks & Adders vii. 61 An English youth..in a very commonplace sports-shirt and dark trousers. |
| (b) 1916 H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap v. 188 Beryl Mae Macomber in her sport shirt. 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. 1946 Reader's Digest July 85/1 Found in addition were an Army blouse..and a sport jacket. 1946 Chicago Daily News 17 May 35/8 And to think I've been afraid to be seen outside in my new sport coat! 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. 1966 H. Kemelman Saturday Rabbi went Hungry (1967) xiv. 89 The local chief of police was wearing a sport shirt and chinos. 1972 J. Mosedale Football ii. 21 He arrived resplendent in a new sport jacket. 1977 R. E. Harrington Quintain xi. 120 Atlas had changed from his plaid dinner jacket into a sport coat. |
d. pl. Applied to fast, low-built motor cars of a racing type. Freq. as
sports car. Also
transf. and
occas. in
sing.| (a) 1925 Correct Lubrication 52 Lea-Francis (sports models). 1928 Proc. Inst. Automobile Engineers XXII. 316 With regard to the acceleration of ‘sports’ cars, I agree that rough running and noise are taken for power development. 1932 G. Winn Unequal Conflict xviii. 350 She nourished a wild hope that..she would find Derek's silver sports car standing outside. 1936 ‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death iii. 46 A Lagonda sports-tourer. 1955 E. Pound Classic Anthol. i. 60 His sports-car leads with the iron-grays, Six reins are in his hand. 1963 Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 73 One of the pleasantest sports-touring cars of the pre-war era. 1967 N. Freeling Strike out where not Applicable 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. 1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds xviii. 484 He pushed on, gunned the red sports car up..the Domokos Pass. |
| (b) 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’. 1927 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 159/1 Laban, furious, mounts his Sport-model Camel and takes after the elopers. 1955 Amer. Speech XXX. 238 The best known writer on the subject, Tom McCahill, calls his most recent book The Modern Sports Car (New York, 1954); but a volume by Raymond F. Yates and Brock W. Yates..is named Sport and Racing Cars (New York, 1954). Of the two, sports car is unquestionably the more commonly used. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xiv. 280 The man's sport car still chugged like an animal. |
11. a. Special
Combs., as
sportcast(er,
sportcasting = sportscaster, etc., sense 11 b below;
† sport-earnest, something which partakes of the nature of both sport and earnest;
sportfest [
fest], a festival of sport; a meeting for athletics or other competitive sports;
sport-fisherman, a sea-going boat equipped for sportfishing;
sportfishery;
sportfishing orig. U.S., fishing by rod and line for sport or recreation; hence (as a back-formation)
sportfish, a fish caught thus for sport rather than (primarily) for eating;
† sport-staff Sc., a quarter-staff.
| 1939 Amer. Speech XIV. 6 Newspaper and magazine columns..‘Sportorial’, ‘Sportcast’, ‘Sportlight’. |
| 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. 1941 Time 31 Mar. 50/1 Adam has sponsored the sportcasting of big-time bouts. |
| 1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy Ep. Ded., I have put up the wolfe, tho' not hunted him, judging myselfe too weake for that sport-earnest. |
| 1937 Auden in Auden & MacNeice Lett. from Iceland xi. 147 The sport-fest was a primitive affair. Some part singing..and a swimming race. 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. |
| 1954 Field & Stream Jan. 72 (caption) Miss Chevy IV, unique 34-foot, V-bottom, twin-engine sport fisherman. 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 107/2 Sportfisherman is a luxury fishing yacht with living and sleeping accommodation for four. |
| 1955 (title) Sport fishery abstracts. I. i. |
| 1910 C. G. Holder in Proc. 4th International Fishery Congress i. 201 (heading) Sport fishing in California and Florida. 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 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. |
| 1634 Burgh Rec. Stirling (1887) 172 In hambringing and taking agane to Edinburgh the sport stafes and gownes. |
b. pl. sportscaster N. Amer. [after
broadcaster:
cf. newscaster, etc.], one who presents a sports broadcast on radio or television; a broadcasting sports commentator; hence
sportscasting; also
sportscast, a sports broadcast;
sportsfest = sportfest, sense 11 a above;
sports finder Photogr., a direct-vision viewfinder
usu. 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;
sports medicine, the branch of medicine dealing especially with the consequences of engaging in sports.
| 1961 Webster, Sportscast. 1976 N. Nielsen Brink of Murder i. 11 The sportscast on the portable TV was in progress. |
| 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 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. |
| 1969 C. Armstrong Seven Seats to Moon xii. 125 J sat all the way through the sportscasting. |
| 1976 Listener 5 Aug. 151/1 Television caught both aspects of this mammoth sports⁓fest [sc. The Olympic Games] very well. |
| 1953 A. Matheson Leica Way 100 The sports finders are an earlier version of the brilliant finders. 1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 165 Most twin lens reflexes have a ‘sports finder’ which folds out of the hood. |
| 1961 (title) Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 1973 Times 13 Dec. 7/2 Britain is far behind some European countries, America and Australia in her attitude to sports medicine, Dr Ian Adams, medical officer to Leeds United Football Club, said. 1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running xxii. 248 The general physician is not interested in sportsmedicine. |
Add:
[III.] [11.] [b.] sportsdrome [
-drome], a sports complex.
| 1964 Punch 6 May 655/2, I wouldn't mind a whoppin' *Sportsdrome. Ice skatin', greyhound racin', the lot. 1980 R. Mabey Common Ground ii. iii. 161 The conversion of a derelict market garden to a swimming pool or a sportsdrome represents a conversion of countryside into ‘occupied’ land. |
▸
sport climb n. a route prepared for or used in sport climbing; an act of climbing such a route.
| 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, Utah) (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.
| 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.
| 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 drink n. = sports drink n. at Compounds 4b.
| 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. |
▸
sport-fucking n. U.S. coarse slang copulation engaged in solely for sport or recreation; casual sex.
| 1968P. Newman in Playboy July 69 There was *sport fucking. There was mercy fucking. 1993 Wired Sept.–Oct. 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 psychologist n. = sports psychologist n. at Compounds 4b.
| 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.
| 1929 School Rev. 37 91 This new science of *sport psychology. 1966A. 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 ute n. N. Amer. = sport utility vehicle n.| 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. orig. and chiefly
N. Amer. (a) attrib. 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
attrib.).
| 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{p}×5{p} 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. orig. and chiefly
N. Amer. a four-wheel drive motor vehicle that can be used for recreational off-road driving (abbreviated
SUV).
| 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. |
▸
sports bar n. orig. U.S. a bar with a sporting theme;
esp. one where non-stop televised sport is shown.
| 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 channel n. a (satellite or cable) television channel which is devoted to sport and coverage of sporting events.
| 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 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.
| 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. |
▸
sports massage n. a type of massage (
esp. a deep-tissue massage), often used to relieve pain in or relax muscles after sporting activity.
| 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 psychologist n. a practitioner or student of sports psychology.
| 1947 Chicago Daily 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.
| 1932 Chicago Daily Tribune 14 Oct. 28/3 Charles Dorais, football coach at the University of Detroit, has sounded a new note in *sports psychology. 1966A. 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 utility n. orig. and chiefly
N. Amer. (a) = sport utility n. (a) at Compounds 4a (now
rare);
(b) = sport utility n. (b) at Compounds 4a.
| 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. orig. and chiefly
N. Amer. = sport utility vehicle n. at Compounds 4a (abbreviated
SUV).
| 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 (Friends of the Earth) 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’. |
▪ II. † sport, n.2 Obs.—1 [ad. OF. esporte, sporte (= Sp. espuerta, Pg. esporta, It. sporta):—L. sporta basket. Cf. sportlet.] (See
quot.)
| 1656 Act Commw. c. 20 Rates (1658) 459 Baskets called Hand-baskets or Sports the dozen,..04[s.] 00. |
▪ III. sport, v. (
spɔət)
Also 5–6
sporte.
[Aphetic form of disport v., or f. sport n.1] I. † 1. refl. a. To amuse, divert, recreate (oneself); to take one's pleasure.
Obs. Fairly common down to the end of the 17th c.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7909 Ector..went Fro the burghe to þe batells of þe bold grekes, For to sport hym a space. 1483 Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) p. xlvi, Rydyng a hontyng, hym silff to sporte & playe. 1530 Palsgr. 729, I wyll go sporte me in this gardayne for an houre or twayne. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 58 Many of you whiche were wont to sporte your selues at Theaters. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 144 Bupalus and Anthermus, to sport themselves,..made the statue of Hipponactes the Poet, who was halfe a Dwarfe. 1653 Walton Angler iv. 63 Some [lambs] leaping securely in the cool shade, whilst others sported themselves in the cheerful sun. 1712 Pope Ep. to Miss Blount 14 Cheerful he play'd the trifle, Life, away; Till fate scarce felt his gentle breath supprest, As smiling Infants sport themselves to rest. 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. |
† b. Const.
with (
= in the company of) some person,
by,
in, or
with some action, proceeding, or thing.
Obs.| (a) c 1400 Destr. Troy 9103 The grekes agayne [might] go to the toune, To sporte hom with speciall, & a space lenge. 1478 Paston Lett. III. 237 If it lyke yow that I may come..and sporte me with yow at London a day or ij. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon liii. 180 Let youre doughter go in to her chambre & sporte her with her damselles. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 490 Whereas he in the meane while skorned hir, sporting himselfe with Cleopatra in the sight and knowledge of all men. |
| (b) 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 69 Whan ye shal be wery of studyng, sporte you in redyng goode stories. 1547 Baldwin Mor. Philos. 92 When thou art weary of study, sport thy selfe with reading of good stories. c 1590 Greene Fr. Bacon vii, Seeing I have sported me with laughing at these mad and merry wags. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 60 Let her sport her selfe With that shee's big with. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iii. v. 59 Our Captaine sporting himselfe by nayling them [fish] to the grownd with his sword. 1670 Covel in Early Voy. Levant (Hakluyt Soc.) 134 After we had sported our selves a while with shooting in these thickets and Plashes. 1733 Neal Hist. Purit. II. 200 The ministers of state sported themselves in the most wanton acts of arbitrary power. 1756 W. Law Coll. Lett. xi. (1760) 161 Pleasing himself with supposed deep Enquiries after strict Truth, whilst he is only sporting himself with lively, wandering Images of This and That. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 18 So language..Too often proves..A toy to sport with and pass time away. |
c. transf. Of things.
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 203 Ex growing bigger, and sporting himselfe, as it were, with spreading into many streames. 1668 Culpepper & Cole tr. Barthol. Anat. iii. ix. 149 Nature variously sporting her self in the Muscles of the Ear. 1720 Lett. Lond. Jrnl. (1721) 50 Imagination,..roaming casually from Object to Object, and sporting it self with Phantoms and Non-entities. 1723 P. Blair Pharmaco-Bot. i. 16 These [varieties] may justly be called sporters.., so many Lusus Naturæ sporting themselves from more simple colours. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 127 Here, she [i.e. beauty] indulges a thousand freaks, and sports herself in the most charming diversity of colours. |
2. a. intr. To amuse, entertain, or recreate oneself,
esp. by active exercise in the open air; to take part in some game or play; to frolic or gambol.
| c 1483 Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 290 When I wolde sporte with company also, I dare not out I am so sore agast. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 80 [If] you haue not your owne fre lyberte To sporte at your pleasure, to ryn and to ryde. c 1590 Marlowe Faustus 3 Not marching now in fields of Thracimene,..Nor sporting in the dalliance of loue. 1645 Harwood Loyal Subj. Retiring-room 29 Doe you not see the Keeper sport with his Lion, when the Spectatour will scarce trust his chaine? 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 54 Having sported two or three Hours, we were treated with a Collation. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. i. 200 As the Year brought back the Jovial Day, Freely they sported, innocently gay. 1803–6 Wordsw. Intimat. Immortality ix, See the Children sport upon the shore. 1856 N. Brit. Rev. XXVI. 133 The Iobajjy..dance and sing and sport whenever they have a moment's leisure. 1882 Ouida Maremma I. 147 Cupa and Horta sported amidst the flowers. |
b. Of animals, insects, etc.
| 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 343 Sporting the Lion rampd, and in his paw Dandl'd the Kid. Ibid. vii. 405 Of Fish that..sporting with quick glance Show to the Sun thir wav'd coats dropt with Gold. 1735 Somerville Chase iv. 115 Alone to range the Woods, or haunt the Brakes where dodging Conies sport. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 20 These little animals, which thus appear swimming, and sporting, in almost every fluid we examine. 1826 G. Samouelle Direct. Collect. Insects & Crust. 27 Numbers [of these insects] will be seen sporting in the noontide sun. 1889 Science-Gossip XXV. 197 The winged atoms sporting in the golden beams. |
c. transf. and
fig. Of things.
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 907 Advice is sporting while infection breeds. 1641 Suckling Poems (1709) 24 Her Beams..Part with her Cheek, part with her Lips did sport. 1732 Pope Ep. Cobham 46 When Sense subsides, and Fancy sports in sleep. 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 105 For human weal, heav'n..Dull sleep instructs, nor sport vain dreams in vain. 1818 La Belle Assemblée XVII. 40/6 A few ringlets that are made to sport round the face. a 1864 Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1879) II. 101 The wind sported with her gown. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 39 Knowledge stands on my experience: all outside its narrow hem, Free surmise may sport and welcome! |
d. With
it.
| 1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 57 (1794) II. 355, I..shall..study to surprise her in those moments when she is sporting it with Zephyr and Flora. 1837 Tait's Mag. IV. 492 I'll foot it and sport it by fountain and rill. |
e. To engage in, follow, or practise sport,
esp. field-sport; to hunt or shoot for sport or amusement.
| 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. 1850 Bigsby Shoe & Canoe II. 130 In summer my friends performed the functions of country gentlemen. They farmed, fished, and sported. ? 1860 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. |
3. a. To indulge in sport, fun, or ridicule,
at,
over, or
upon a person or thing. Also with
it.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) N iiij b, I find there simple folke, at whom I maie sport. 1623 Bingham Xenophon, Lipsius' Compar. Wars 4, I come to Darts, which they likewise sport at. 1684 Wood Life 6 Aug., Dr. George Reynell..thrust in among them, upon whome some of the company sported. 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 135 A barbarian truly Art thou, if o'er the Greek to sport it thus The fancy tempts thee. |
b. To deal
with in a light or trifling way; to trifle, dally, or play
with something.
| 1630 E. Pagitt Christianogr. i. iii. (1636) 137 They sport after the same manner, with by-past offenses, forgiving the sinnes of dayes, monthes, or yeeres. 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgrim xxix. (1687) 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 Lett. xxix. (1788) 152 To sport with the reputation..of another, is something worse than weakness. 1796 Hunter St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 678 The opinions of the People should not be sported with. 1831 Scott Cast. Dang. xiii, In irritating a madman you do but sport with your own life. 1850 Merivale Rom. Emp. xxxvii. (1865) IV. 267 Though he had sported with her feelings for the furtherance of his settled policy. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. lxxx, My misery is too great to be sported with. |
4. † a. Of Nature: To produce or develop abnormal or irregular forms or growths as if in sport.
| 1760 Sterne Tr. Shandy iv. (1903) 234 Nature, though she sported.—she sported within a certain circle. 1769 E. Bancroft Guiana 23 The surrounding forests, where Nature sports in primaeval rudeness. Ibid. 227 It seems as if Nature sported in variety. |
b. Of plants, animals, etc.: To deviate or vary abnormally from the parent stock or specific type; to exhibit or undergo spontaneous mutation.
Cf. the early reflexive use in 1 c,
quot. 1723.
| 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. II. 23 The silver spangles ‘sport’ less frequently than any variety I have met with. 1882 Grant Allen in Nature 27 July 302 All flowers, as we know, easily sport a little in colour. |
c. trans. Of a plant: To produce (variations) by mutation.
rare—1.
| 1841 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) II. 89 Even in the garden, the Pansy retains its tendency to sport varieties of bloom. |
† 5. trans. To amuse or divert (a person); to provide with sport or amusement; to cheer, enliven.
Obs.| 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist., Euseb. viii. xxiv, He beeing brought out of prison, and linked with malefactors to pastime and sport the people. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 31 Yet will they seeke when they neede not, to bee sported abrode at playes and Pageauntes. 1612 J. Davies (Heref.) Muse's Sacr. 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 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 13 We..were sported all the way (till we dropt anchor) by Whales. a 1763 Shenstone Economy ii. 4 Nor grove nor stream Invites thee forth to sport thy drooping Muse. |
6. † a. To express or represent in music or poetry.
Obs.—1| 1693 Dryden Persius vi. 9 Now, sporting on thy Lyre the Loves of Youth, Now Virtuous Age, and venerable Truth. |
† b. To play or toy with (something).
Obs. rare.
| 1709 Mrs. Manley Secr. Mem. (1736) IV. 106 She would..sport his Lips with her Fingers. 1807–10 Tannahill Poems (1846) 29 He baits the trap—catches a mouse—He sports it round the floor. |
c. To pass, spend, or enjoy (time) in sport or amusement. Also with
away.
| 1760 Fawkes, etc. Anacreon. Odes xlix. 6 First draw a Nation blithe and gay, Laughing and sporting Life away. 1793 Burns ‘When wild war's deadly blast was blawn’ iii At length I reach'd the bonie glen, Where early life I sported. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxviii. 16 Whiles in jollity life sported a spring holiday. |
7. To take or cast
away in or as in sport; to throw
away wantonly or recklessly; to scatter or squander. Now
rare.
| 1713 Guardian No. 72, Let him who wantonly sports away the peace of a poor lady, consider what discord he sows in families. 1763 Wilkes in N. Briton (1772) III. 17 The liberty of an English subject is not to be sported away with impunity. 1778 Ann. Reg., Hist. Eur. 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 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. 39 The wealth of Eadward's shrine was borne away to be sported broadcast among the minions of Henry's court. |
II. In slang or colloquial uses.
† 8. To read (an author) for sport or amusement.
Obs. rare.
| 1693 Humours Town 16 Then for Books, 'tis only to sport an Author in a Bookseller's Shop. a 1704 T. Brown Lond. & Lacedem. Oracles Wks. 1709 III. iii. 122 Last Night being very restless in my Bed, I thought fit to divert the Time with Sporting an Author. |
† 9. a. To invest or stake (money) in some sport or in a highly speculative undertaking; to bet or wager. Also, to lay or make a (bet).
Obs.| 1707 Refl. upon Ridicule 386 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. 1802 Spirit Publ. Jrnls. VI. 333 During the time allowed before starting,..great clamour ensued, and much money was sported. 1806 Ibid. X. 60 Not a few bets were sported on the occasion. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis xix, The chaps will win your money as sure as you sport it. |
| fig. 1826 Hood Backing the Favourite ii, At dear O'Neil's first start, I sported all my heart. |
† b. absol. To engage in betting; to speculate.
| 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) I. iv. 29 Sporting upon private adventures, taking in unwary confidence, flinging the fair trader,..were now too small a game for me. 1813 Ann. Reg., Chron. 44 He..for some years had sported considerably on the turf. |
c. To spend (money) freely or extravagantly and with ostentation.
| 1859 H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xxxi, I took him for a flash overseer, sporting his salary, and I was as thick as you like with him. 1896 Farjeon J. Fordham iii. 279 Louis had plenty of money to sport; e'd been backin' winners. |
10. a. To display or exhibit,
esp. in public or company. Freq. with implication of some degree of parade, ostentation, or show.
Very common from
c 1770 to
c 1830. The groups of quotations illustrate variation in the object.
| (a) 1712 Steele Spect. 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 B. 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 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 Froude Short Stud. I. 138 If a man..sports loose views on morals at a decent dinner party,..he is not invited again. |
| (b) 1768 [W. Donaldson] Life Sir B. 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 Crabbe T. Hall xv. 206 Then I shall hear what Envy will remark When I shall sport the ponies in the park. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxiii, 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. |
| (c) 1784 New Spectator No. 22. 4 Mamma, and a Constant Admirer, sported their conspicuous..presence in the upper⁓boxes. 1819 Metropolis III. 132 She may be seen, when highly dressed, sporting her fine figure at her balcony. |
b. To display on the person; to wear.
Very common from
c 1780.
| 1778 The Love Feast 30 Some macaroni Barristers have presumed to sport Bags and Pig-Tails. 1786 A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. 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. 1849 P. Hawker Diary (1893) Sported my Peninsular medal this day at the Queen's Levée. a 1868 M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 161 His ostensible luggage is small, yet he sports a wonderful variety of garments. 1893 Vizetelly Glances Back I. i. 6 A country gentleman, sporting the orthodox blue coat,..and top-boots. |
c. To set up, go in for, keep, support, or use (a carriage, etc.).
| 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London I. 24 To retain the coach and black geldings which old Sawyer had sported before him. 1813 Hor. Smith Horace in London 127 With a low bow I'll quit the stage, And sport a villa near Parnassus. 1819 Metropolis III. 124 She is not, however, the only one..who sports her wax-lights from the retrenchment in coals. 1858 E. B. Ramsay Remin. v. (1867) 119 We hope some day to sport buttons. |
d. In other uses (see
quots.).
| 1770 Gentl. Mag. XL. 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 Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 2), To sport or flash one's ivory, to shew one's teeth. 1794 Gentl. Mag. LXIV. 1085/2 They sported knowing, and they sported ignorant; they sported an ægrotat... They sported an exeat, they sported a dormiat. 1877 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. |
11. (Chiefly
University slang.)
a. to sport † timber, or (usu. one's or the) oak, to keep one's door shut. Also
fig.| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v. Oak. 1788 Ibid. (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 Hum. Life vi. xxxv, Seeing the sun quietly slink behind a mass of black clouds, where he sports oak for the rest of the day. 1828 [H. D. Beste] Italy 275 There was no need, in the college phrase, to sport oak. 1911 Beerbohm Zuleika D. xii. 187 The man who now occupied my room had sported his oak—my oak. 1932 R. Aldington Soft Answers 72 My bell rang again... Had they come back to make my flat the battleground for another Idiot scene? It was no use sporting the oak with the lights in my windows. 1951 S. Spender World within World ii. 50 If one arrived early one was liable to find the heavy outer door of his room, called ‘the oak’, sported as a sign that he was not to be disturbed. 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. |
b. To close or shut (a door),
esp. from the inside and as a sign that one is engaged.
| c 1803– [see oak n. 4 c]. 1824 Blackw. Mag. Oct. 460 note, The door being sported, simply means that it was shut. 1850 Kingsley A. Locke xiii, Stop that till I see whether the door is sported. 1889 Gretton Memory's Harkback 59 His door was always sported; he had but little intercourse with the other Fellows. |
c. To shut (a person)
in by closing the door.
| 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 291 Shutting my room door, as if I was ‘sported in’. 1852 Bristed Five Yrs. Eng. Univ. (ed. 2) 336 Generally..your Cantab takes care to guard against such a surprise by ‘sporting’ himself in. |
† 12. To open (a door) with some force or violence; to force open.
Obs.| 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life xiv. vi, Your half-fastened door is unceremoniously sported by a billow, which completely swamps your dressing-room. 1815 Scott Guy M. xlviii, Gae down and let loose the dog;..they're sporting the door of the Custom-house. |
13. To entertain or treat (a person) with food or drink by way of compliment or hospitality. Also with double object.
rare.
| 1828 Lytton Pelham III. xvi. 277 He kept his horses, and sported the set to champagne and venison. 1830 ― P. Clifford iv, I doesn't care if I sports you a glass of port. 1894 A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets 41 There was a milliner's window, with a show of..hats... ‘Which d'yer like, Lizer?—.. I'll sport yer one.’ |
Hence
ˈsported ppl. a. (in sense 11 b).
| 1872 ‘A. Merion’ Odd Echoes Oxf. 38 No more buttery, beer, and grub, No more rows with sported oak! 1887 Jessopp Arcady 171 Outside the ‘sported door’ of some college magnate. |