sport

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /spɔɹt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /spɔːt/
• (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) 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 admirable manner, a good sport.
   • You're such a sport! You never get upset when we tease you.
4. (obsolete) That which diverts, and makes mirth; pastime; amusement.
   • Shakespeare

     Think it but a minute spent in sport.

   • Sir Philip Sidney

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

   • Hey Diddle Diddle (traditional rhyme)

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

5. (obsolete) Mockery; derision.
   • Shakespeare

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

6. (countable) A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery.
   • Dryden

     flitting leaves, the sport of every wind

   • John Clarke

     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, 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)‎:

     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.
    • Charlie and Lisa enjoyed a bit of sport after their hike.
12. (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, volume 25, number 1, Rotary International, page 14:

      "Say, sport!" he would say briskly.

13. (obsolete) Play; idle jingle.
    • Broome

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

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.

   • Tillotson

     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.
   • Bible, Isa. lvii. 4

     Against whom do ye sport yourselves?

5. (transitive) To represent by any kind of play.
   • John Dryden

     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.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Darwin to this entry?)

8. (transitive) To close (a door).
   • M. R. James

     There he locked it up in a drawer, sported the doors of both sets of rooms, and retired to bed.

Anagrams

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

Noun

sport m

1. sport

Further reading

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

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.

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.

Etymology 3

See etymology on the main entry.

Anagrams

• sprot, strop

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sport m (plural sports)

1. sport

Further reading

• “sport” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

sport (plural sportok)

1. sport

Noun

sport

1. sport

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)

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔrt/

Noun

sport m

1. sport (“athletic activity that uses physical skills”)

References

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

Noun

sport m (plural sports)

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

Etymology 1

From English sport

Etymology 2

References

• “sport” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Etymology

From English sport

Noun

sport m (definite singular sporten, uncountable)

1. sport

References

• “sport” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔrt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sport m inan

1. sport

Alternative forms

• (Croatia) špȍrt

Etymology

Borrowed from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spôrt/

Noun

spȍrt m (Cyrillic spelling спо̏рт)

1. sport

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

sport

1. supine of spörja.

Noun

sport c

1. sport

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch sport, from English sport.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔ(r)t/

Noun

sport c (plural sporten)

1. sport (physical activity)