football English · revision 3425

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1409|origins=en foot}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈfʊt.bɔːl/, US /ˈfʊt.bɔːl/, /ˈfʊt.bɑːl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound, Middle English fotbal, of [[foot]] and [[ball]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A game with an inflated ball kicked by two sides: 1409,^(HTOED) or about 1400;^(Etymonline) the inflated ball itself is mentioned in the mid-14th century, in ''Octavian''.^(Etymonline) The OED's earliest quotations are from 1424 for the game and 1486 for the ball.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The game was forbidden in a Scottish statute of 1424,^(Etymonline) and Shakespeare has the insult “you base foot-ball player” in ''King Lear''.^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that it first became a national obsession in England about 1630.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense “something kicked around” is by the 1530s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Rules were first regularized at Cambridge in 1848, and soccer split off in 1863;^(Etymonline) football meaning [[soccer]] specifically is from 1863, and Australian football from 1859.^(HTOED) American football developed through the 19th century, and the first collegiate game, between Princeton and Rutgers, was played on 6 November 1869;^(Etymonline) ''football'' for the American game is from 1881.^(OED 1989) Word Origins notes that the word means different games in Britain, the United States and Australia.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-14th century – the ball.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1409 – the game.^(HTOED)

+ * 1424 – banned in Scotland.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530s – something kicked around.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – Cambridge rules.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1863 – soccer splits off.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+ * 1869 – first American collegiate game.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – American football.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' [[soccer|alt=Soccer]]: a game in which two teams of eleven try to kick or head a ball into the opposing goal.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(US)'' A game played by two teams of eleven in which a ball is carried, passed or kicked across the opponents' goal line.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Any of several similar games, such as [[rugby]] or Australian football.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED)

+ # The ball used in any of these games.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Something kicked around or treated roughly: ''a political football''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[footballer]]

+ * [[footer]]

+ * [[footy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foosball]]

+ * [[foot]]

+ * [[ball]]

+ * [[soccer]]

+ * [[rugby]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}