Etymologically
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basketball

Etymology and origin of the English word basketball

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1892

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈbɑː.skɪt.bɔːl/, US /ˈbæs.kət.bɔːl/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of basket and ball,[2] coined in American English after the game was invented in 1891 by James A. Naismith, a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

1892, in American English, also written basket-ball.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The name describes the object of the game, to throw the ball into one of the two baskets at opposite ends of the court.[2] The word also names the ball itself.[5]

Timeline

  • 1891 – the game invented by Naismith.[2][3]
  • 1892 – the word first recorded.[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A game between two teams of five players in which points are scored by throwing a ball through a raised hoop or basket on the opponents' side of a rectangular court.
  2. The ball used in this game.

Word family

  • basketballer

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Basketball.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/basketball. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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