sportswear

Etymology

It is formed from English sport + wear, with the first element in the plural form.^[2][3][4] Etymonline also records a hyphenated spelling.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Clothes worn for sport or for casual outdoor use: 1903, in an advertisement in the Ruston (Louisiana) Daily Leader.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged date the word to 1912,^[3][5] and Dictionary.com to 1910–15.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Clothing made for outdoor sports was also suitable for informal wear, and the word came to cover casual clothes in general.^[3][5] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records it for the wearing of such clothes, or an occasion when they are worn.^[5]

Timeline

• 1903 – clothes for sport or casual outdoor use.^[2]
• 1912 – clothing suitable for active sports such as tennis or golf, in Merriam-Webster Unabridged's dating.^[5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Clothes made for sport or active outdoor leisure: The shop on the corner sells sportswear and running shoes.^[5][6][2]
2. Casual or informal clothing in general.^[5][2]
3. The wearing of such clothes, or an occasion that suits them.^[5]

Related words

• sport
• wear

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins