sport definition

English sport definition

Etymology

From Middle English sporten (verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun). More at disport.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /spɔːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /spɔɹt/
• (Tasmanian) IPA^(key): /spɔː/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /spo(ː)ɹt/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /spoət/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t

Noun

sport (countable and uncountable, plural sports)

1. (countable) Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
2. (countable) Something done for fun, regardless of its design or intended purpose.

   Joe was banned from getting legal help. He seemed to view lawsuits as a sport.

3. (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.

4. (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.

5. (obsolete) That which diverts, and makes mirth; pastime; amusement.
   • 1591, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Think it but a minute spent in sport.

   • c. 1580 (date written)​, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “[The Second Booke] Chapter 21”, in Fulke Greville, Matthew Gwinne, and John Florio, editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, OCLC 801077108; republished in Albert Feuillerat, editor, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia (Cambridge English Classics: The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; I), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1912, OCLC 318419127, page 283:

     Her sports were such as carried riches of knowledge upon the stream of delight.

   • a. 1765, year of origin unknown, Hey Diddle Diddle (traditional rhyme)

     The little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hobby

6. (obsolete) Mockery, making fun; derision.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene iii]:

     Then make sport at me; then let me be your jest.

7. (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 403869432:

     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.

8. (uncountable) Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, fishing.
9. (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.
   • 1887, H. Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure‎^[1]:

     We never shot another like it, so I do not know if it was a `sport' or a distinct species.

   • 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)‎^[2]:

     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.

10. (slang, countable) A sportsman; a gambler.
11. (slang, countable) One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes.
12. (obsolete, uncountable) An amorous dalliance.

    Charlie and Lisa enjoyed a bit of sport after their hike.

13. (informal, usually singular) A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question)
    • 1924 July, Ellis Butler, “The Little Tin Godlets”, in The Rotarian‎^[3], volume 25, number 1, Rotary International, page 14:

      "Say, sport!" he would say briskly.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:friend

14. (obsolete) Play; idle jingle.
    • 1725-1726, William Broome, The Odyssey

      An author who should introduce such a sport of words upon our stage […] would meet with small applause.

Derived terms

Descendants

All are borrowed.

From plural sports:

• Japanese: スポーツ (supōtsu)
• Korean: 스포츠 (seupocheu)

Translations

Verb

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.
   • 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, […].

   Jen's sporting a new pair of shoes;  he was sporting a new wound from the combat

4. (reflexive) To divert; to amuse; to make merry.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Isaiah 57:4:

     Against whom do ye sport yourselves?

5. (transitive) To represent by any kind of play.
   • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis; John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Sixth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 80026745:

     Now sporting on thy lyre the loves of youth.

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) 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.

Translations

Anagrams

• -prost, -prost-, Ports, Prost, ports, strop, torps, trops.

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Czech sport definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsport]

Noun

sport m inan

1. sport

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• sportovat
• sportovec m

Further reading

• sport in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• sport in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

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Dutch sport definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sport
• Rhymes: -ɔrt

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

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.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Caribbean Javanese: sport
• → Papiamentu: spòrt
• → West Frisian: sport

Etymology 2

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

Noun

sport f (plural sporten, diminutive sportje n)

1. rung, step on a ladder

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: spor, sport

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sport

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of sporten
2. imperative of sporten

Anagrams

• sprot, strop

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Estonian sport definition

Etymology

From German Sport, from English sport.

Noun

sport (genitive spordi, partitive sporti)

1. sport, sports

Declension

References

• sport in Sõnaveeb

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French sport definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sport m (plural sports)

1. sport

Derived terms

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: espò
• → Romanian: sport
• → Turkish: spor
• → Walloon: spôrt

Further reading

• “sport”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Hungarian sport definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈʃport]
• Hyphenation: sport
• Rhymes: -ort

Noun

sport (plural sportok)

1. sport

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	sport	sportok
accusative	sportot	sportokat
dative	sportnak	sportoknak
instrumental	sporttal	sportokkal
causal-final	sportért	sportokért
translative	sporttá	sportokká
terminative	sportig	sportokig
essive-formal	sportként	sportokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	sportban	sportokban
superessive	sporton	sportokon
adessive	sportnál	sportoknál
illative	sportba	sportokba
sublative	sportra	sportokra
allative	sporthoz	sportokhoz
elative	sportból	sportokból
delative	sportról	sportokról
ablative	sporttól	sportoktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	sporté	sportoké
non-attributive possessive - plural	sportéi	sportokéi

Possessive forms of sport
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	sportom	sportjaim
2nd person sing.	sportod	sportjaid
3rd person sing.	sportja	sportjai
1st person plural	sportunk	sportjaink
2nd person plural	sportotok	sportjaitok
3rd person plural	sportjuk	sportjaik

Derived terms

Further reading

• sport in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (’The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

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Italian sport definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrt
• Hyphenation: spòrt

Noun

sport m (invariable)

1. sport (activity that uses physical skills, often competitive)
2. hobby, pastime

   fare qualcosa per sport ― to do something for fun

Derived terms

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Lower Sorbian sport definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔrt/

Noun

sport m

1. sport (athletic activity that uses physical skills)

Declension

References

• Starosta, Manfred (1999), “sport”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

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Norman sport definition

Noun

sport m (plural sports)

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

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Norwegian Bokmål sport definition

Etymology 1

From English sport.

Noun

sport m (definite singular sporten, uncountable)

1. sport

   Synonym: idrett

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

• spora, sporet

Verb

sport

1. past participle of spore

References

• “sport” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk sport definition

Etymology

From English sport.

Noun

sport m (definite singular sporten, uncountable)

1. sport

   Synonym: idrett

Derived terms

• hestesport
• kampsport

References

• “sport” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish sport definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔrt
• Syllabification: sport

Noun

sport m inan

1. sport

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• sport in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• sport in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romanian sport definition

Etymology

From French sport.

Noun

sport n (plural sporturi)

1. sport

Declension

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Serbo-Croatian sport definition

Alternative forms

• špȍrt (Croatia)

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spôrt/

Noun

spȍrt m (Cyrillic spelling спо̏рт)

1. sport

Declension

Derived terms

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Swedish sport definition

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English sport, first used in 1857.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɔʈ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: spott (southeastern Sweden)

Noun

sport c

1. sport

Declension

Declension of sport
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	sport	sporten	sporter	sporterna
Genitive	sports	sportens	sporters	sporternas

Derived terms

See also

• idrott

References

• sport in Nationalencyklopedin (needs an authorization fee).
• sport in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspʊʈ/

Verb

sport

1. supine of spörja.

Anagrams

• ports, prost, torps

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West Frisian sport definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch sport, from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔ(r)t/

Noun

sport c (plural sporten)

1. sport (physical activity)

Further reading

• “sport”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011