volleyball

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/^[1]

Etymology

It is from English volley + ball, volley in the sporting sense of a hit of the ball in flight,^[2][3] so called because the ball must be returned before it touches the ground.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

1896 in Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

According to Hendrickson, William Morgan, the YMCA director in Holyoke, Massachusetts, invented the game in 1895 and first called it mintonette.^[5]

Timeline

• 1895 – the game invented as mintonette.^[5]
• 1896 – volleyball.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A game in which two teams, usually of six players, hit a large ball by hand back and forth over a high net, trying to make it land on the other side.
2. The ball used in this game.

Word family

• volleyballer
• wallyball
• beach volleyball

Related words

• volley
• ball
• netball

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File