bone

en-noun

bone (countable and uncountable, plural bones)

bones (plural)
bane (alternative dialectal)
byen (alternative dialectal)

From Middle English bon, from Old English bān (“bone, tusk; the bone of a limb”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone”), from *bainaz (“straight”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike, beat”).
Cognate with Scots bane, been, bean, bein, bain (“bone”), North Frisian bien (“bone”), West Frisian bien (“bone”), Dutch been (“bone; leg”), German Low German Been, Bein (“bone”), German Bein (“leg”), German Gebein (“bones”), Swedish ben (“bone; leg”), Norwegian and Icelandic bein (“bone”), Breton benañ (“to cut, hew”), Latin perfinēs (“break through, break into pieces, shatter”), Avestan 𐬠𐬫𐬈𐬥𐬙𐬈 (byente, “they fight, hit”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

cog

sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh

(American football, informal) The wishbone formation.


quarter

en-noun

quarter (countable and uncountable, plural quarters)

From Middle English quarter, from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartarius, from quartus. Compare Spanish cuarto (“room, quarters; quarter”). Doublet of quartier.

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-quarter.wav

(now rare, rugby, American football) A quarterback.


six

PIE word
 *swéḱs
From Middle English six, from Old English six, from Proto-West Germanic *sehs, from Proto-Germanic *sehs, from Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs. Compare West Frisian seis, Dutch zes, Low German söss, sess, German sechs, Norwegian and Danish seks, also Latin sex, Ancient Greek ἕξ (héx), Sanskrit षष् (ṣaṣ). Doublet of sice. Toilet sense predates military usage.

Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages


scrimmage

/ˈskɹɪmɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈskɹɪməd͡ʒ/

(athletics, American football) In American football or Canadian football, a play that begins with a snap from the center while opposing teams are on either side of a line of scrimmage.


defer

en-verb

defer (third-person singular simple present defers, present participle deferring, simple past and past participle deferred)

defers (present singular third-person)
deferring (participle present)
deferred (participle past)
deferred (past)

Originally a variant of (and hence a doublet of) differ; from Middle English differren (“to postpone”), from Old French differer, from Latin differō. Doublet of differ and dilate. See also infer, collate and confer, delate and defer, relate and refer as well as prelate and prefer among others.

տարկետել

(transitive) to delay — see also delay, postpone, put off

(American football) After winning the opening coin toss, to postpone until the start of the second half a team's choice of whether to kick off or receive (and to allow the opposing team to make this choice at the start of the first half).


bomb

From French bombe, from Italian bomba, from Latin bombus (“a booming sound”), from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming, buzzing”), imitative of the sound itself. Doublet of bombe. Compare boom.

onomatopoeic

imitative

(social) Something highly effective or attractive.

(American football, slang) A long forward pass.


tempo

Borrowed from Italian tempo, from Latin tempus (“time”). Doublet of tense.
(truck or cargo van): A genericized trademark, originally associated with the manufacturer Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werke GmbH.

(American football) A rapid rate of play by the offense resulting from reducing the amount of time which elapses after one play ends and the next starts.


nickel

en-noun

nickel (countable and uncountable, plural nickels)

Borrowed from German Nickel, first used in a text by the Swedish mineralogist Axel F. Cronstedt as an abbreviation of Kupfernickel (“a mineral containing copper and nickel”), from Kupfer (“copper”) + Nickel (“insignificant person, goblin”), originally nickname of Nikolaus (“Nicholas”), due to the deceptive silver colour of the relatively valueless ore. Compare cobalt as related to kobolds.

that and a nickel will buy you a cup of coffee

that and a nickel will get you on the subway

you pays your nickel and you takes your chances

you pays your nickel and you takes your choice

(American football) A defensive formation with five defensive backs, one of whom is a nickelback, instead of the more-common four.


pit

From Middle English pit, pet, püt, from Old English pytt, from Proto-West Germanic *puti, from Latin puteus (“trench, pit, well”), although there are phonetic difficulties.

he who digs a pit for others falls in himself

The ball carrier can be with or without a football. For the “Head-On” tackle have the “Ball Carrier” stand right in front of the pit and face the tackler.

2007, Bob Swope, Youth Football Drills and Plays Handbook, page 29:

“They don't call the middle of the line The Pit for nothing. We really do get like animals, trying to claw one another apart in there. It is very hard in The Pit. No matter how it seems, no matter what the score shows, it's always hard. […]

2018, Paul Zimmerman, The New Thinking Man's Guide to Professional Football:

(American football) The center of the line.


laundry

laundry (countable and uncountable, plural laundries)

dialectal, obsolete, distinct from the cot–caught merger

From Middle English lavendrie, from Old French lavanderie, from Latin lavandaria. See launder.

(slang, American football) A penalty flag.


hut

A short, sharp sound of command. Compare hey, hup, etc.

(American football) Called by the quarterback to prepare the team for a play.


PA

PA (countable and uncountable, plural PAs)

Coordinate term: PF

The Giants and Commanders have the same record after 13 games each. However, Washington has control of third place in the NFC East due to a better PF/PA record in comparison to the Giants.

2022 December 14, “NFL Playoff picture Week 15: Are the New York Giants still in contention for the postseason?”, in Sportskeeda, archived from the original on 2022-12-17:

(American football, fantasy football) Initialism of points against.


heel

en-verb

heel (third-person singular simple present heels, present participle heeling, simple past and past participle heeled)

heels (present singular third-person)
heeling (participle present)
heeled (participle past)
heeled (past)

From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock.
Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl.

(American football, transitive) To make (a fair catch) standing with one foot forward, the heel on the ground and the toe up.


down

down (third-person singular simple present downs, present participle downing, simple past and past participle downed)

downs (present singular third-person)
downing (participle present)
downed (participle past)
downed (past)

From Middle English doun, doune, from Old English dūne (“down”), aphetic form of adūne (“down, downward”), from earlier ofdūne (“down”, literally “off the hill”), from of (“of, off of”) + dūn (“hill, mount, dune, down”). More at Etymology 2 below. For the development from directional phrases to prepositions, compare Middle Low German dāle (“down, downwards”, literally “(in/to the) dale/valley”), whence German Low German dal (“down”). Compare also Saterland Frisian deel (“down”, literally “to/into the dale”).

ncog

He downed it at the seven-yard line.

(transitive, American football, Canadian football) To render (the ball) dead, typically by touching the ground while in possession.


down

I bet after the third down, the kicker will replace the quarterback on the field.

(American football) A single play, from the time the ball is snapped (the start) to the time the whistle is blown (the end) when the ball is down, or is downed.


drive

en-verb

drive (third-person singular simple present drives, present participle driving, simple past drove or (archaic) drave or (dialectal) driv, past participle driven or (dialectal) druv or (dialectal) drove)

drives (present singular third-person)
driving (participle present)
drove (past)
drave (archaic past)
driv (dialectal past)
driven (participle past)
druv (dialectal participle past)
drove (dialectal participle past)
drive (infinitive)
drive (first-person present singular)
drove (first-person past singular)
driv (dialectal first-person past singular)
drave (archaic first-person past singular)
drive (present second-person singular)
drivest (archaic present second-person singular)
drove (past second-person singular)
driv (dialectal past second-person singular)
drovest (archaic past second-person singular)
drave (archaic past second-person singular)
dravest (archaic past second-person singular)
drives (present singular third-person)
driveth (archaic present singular third-person)
drove (past singular third-person)
driv (dialectal past singular third-person)
drave (archaic past singular third-person)
drive (plural present)
drove (past plural)
driv (dialectal past plural)
drave (archaic past plural)
drive (present subjunctive)
drove (past subjunctive)
driv (dialectal past subjunctive)
drave (archaic past subjunctive)
drive (imperative present)
driving (participle present)
driven (participle past)
druv (dialectal participle past)
drove (dialectal participle past)
Dr. (alternative)

→ Russian: драйв (drajv)

→ Scottish Gaelic: draibh

→ Ukrainian: драйв (drajv)

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driwe (“to drive”), Saterland Frisian drieuwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to chase, drive, impel”), Dutch drijven (“to drive”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Norwegian Bokmål drive, Danish drive (“to drive, run, force”), Norwegian Nynorsk driva, Swedish driva (“to drive, power, drift, push, force”), Icelandic drífa (“to drive, hurry, rush”).

cog

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

(American football) To put together a drive (n.): to string together offensive plays and advance the ball down the field.


drive

en-noun

drive (countable and uncountable, plural drives)

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

(American football) An offensive possession, generally one consisting of several plays and/ or first downs, often leading to a scoring opportunity.


fly

From Middle English flye (“flying, flight”), from Old English flyge (“flying, flight”), from Proto-Germanic *flugiz.

дюкян

strip that hides the opening of trousers/pants or underpants

(American football) Ellipsis of fly route.


run

en-verb

run (third-person singular simple present runs, present participle running, simple past ran, past participle run or (nonstandard, colloquial) ran)

runs (present singular third-person)
running (participle present)
ran (past)
run (participle past)
ran (colloquial nonstandard participle past)
run (infinitive)
run (first-person present singular)
ran (first-person past singular)
run (present second-person singular)
runnest (archaic present second-person singular)
ran (past second-person singular)
ranst (archaic past second-person singular)
rannest (archaic past second-person singular)
runs (present singular third-person)
runneth (archaic present singular third-person)
ran (past singular third-person)
run (plural present)
ran (past plural)
run (present subjunctive)
ran (past subjunctive)
run (imperative present)
running (participle present)
run (participle past)
rin (alternative dialectal)
ren (alternative dialectal)

From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen,
yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”) (compare also *rannijaną (“to make run”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”).
Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), Dutch rennen (“to run, race”), Alemannic German ränne (“to run”), German rennen (“to run, race”), rinnen (“to flow”), Danish rende (“to run”), Swedish ränna (“to run”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), Icelandic renna (“to flow”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”). See random.

purjehtia myötätuuleen

to sail a boat with the wind coming from behind

a lie can run around the world before the truth can get its boots on

hold with the hare and run with the hounds

run around like a chicken with its head cut off

the course of true love never did run smooth

you can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

you don't miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water till the well runs dry

you never miss the water until the well runs dry

Then, on their second possession, Isaiah Ford ran for 11 yards after abandoning a flea flicker. [...] The Patriots ran the ball just 27 times despite averaging 5 yards per carry.

2019 December 29, Chad Finn, “24 thoughts on the Patriots’ loss to the Dolphins”, in Boston Globe:

(American football, transitive or intransitive) To carry (a football) down the field, as opposed to passing or kicking.

kuljettaa

soccer: to carry a football down the field


run

runs (plural)
rin (alternative dialectal)
ren (alternative dialectal)

rise

antonym(s) of “horizontal part of a step”

rise

antonym(s) of “horizontal distance of a set of stairs”

… one of the greatest runs of all time.

Aaron Roberts added an insurance touchdown on a one-yard run.

2003, Jack Seibold, Spartan Sports Encyclopedia, page 592:

In sports
(American football) A running play.


throw

en-verb

throw (third-person singular simple present throws, present participle throwing, simple past threw or (nonstandard) throwed, past participle thrown or (nonstandard) throwed or (nonstandard) threw)

throws (present singular third-person)
throwing (participle present)
threw (past)
throwed (nonstandard past)
thrown (participle past)
throwed (nonstandard participle past)
threw (nonstandard participle past)
throw (infinitive)
throw (first-person present singular)
threw (first-person past singular)
throw (present second-person singular)
throwest (archaic present second-person singular)
threw (past second-person singular)
threwst (archaic past second-person singular)
throws (present singular third-person)
throweth (archaic present singular third-person)
threw (past singular third-person)
throw (plural present)
threw (past plural)
throw (present subjunctive)
threw (past subjunctive)
throw (imperative present)
throwing (participle present)
thrown (participle past)
thrun (dialectal participle past)

From Middle English throwen, thrawen, from Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to twist, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn”).
Cognate with Scots thraw (“to twist, turn, throw”), West Frisian triuwe (“to push”), Dutch draaien (“to turn”), Low German draien, dreien (“to turn (in a lathe)”), German drehen (“to turn”).
Displaced warp as the word for hurling and was displaced by warp as the word for twisting.

der

dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians

people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick

throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick

throw nickels around like manhole covers

throw oneself on someone's mercy not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of

throw one's hotdog down someone's hallway

throw things at the wall and see what sticks

trust someone as far as one could throw them


decline

en-verb

decline (third-person singular simple present declines, present participle declining, simple past and past participle declined)

declines (present singular third-person)
declining (participle present)
declined (participle past)
declined (past)
decline (infinitive)
decline (first-person present singular)
declined (first-person past singular)
decline (present second-person singular)
declinest (archaic present second-person singular)
declined (past second-person singular)
declinedst (archaic past second-person singular)
declines (present singular third-person)
declineth (archaic present singular third-person)
declined (past singular third-person)
decline (plural present)
declined (past plural)
decline (present subjunctive)
declined (past subjunctive)
decline (imperative present)
declining (participle present)
declined (participle past)

From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”, from de (“down”) + clīnō (“I bend, I incline”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean). The senses arrived from two separate pathways in Middle English:
* The grammatical sense came from Old English declīnian, which was borrowed directly from the Latin etymon.
* All senses except the grammatical sense were derived from those of Old French decliner. Old French itself borrowed the verb from Latin.

der

The team chose to decline the fifteen-yard penalty because their receiver had caught the ball for a thirty-yard gain.

(American football, Canadian football) To reject a penalty against the opposing team, usually because the result of accepting it would benefit the non-penalized team less than the preceding play.

refuser

American football or Canadian football: reject a penalty against an opposing team


deep

en-adj

deep (comparative deeper or more deep, superlative deepest or most deep)

deeper (comparative)
more deep (comparative)
deepest (superlative)
most deep (superlative)
deepe (alternative obsolete)

shallow

antonym(s) of “in extent in a direction away from the observer”

shallow

antonym(s) of “thick in a vertical direction”

light

antonym(s) of “of a color, dark and highly saturated”

From Middle English depe, deep, dep, deop, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-nós, from *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Low German deep (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål dyp (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish djup (“deep”), Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).

inh

Our defensive live is too deep. We need to move further up the field.

She returns serve from a very deep position.

(of distance or position; also figurative) Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

(sports such as soccer, American football, tennis) Positioned back, or downfield, towards one's own goal, or towards or behind one's baseline or similar reference point.


end

ends (plural)
ende (alternative obsolete)

beginning

antonym(s) of “final point of something”

→ Japanese: エンド

From Middle English ende, from Old English ende, from Proto-West Germanic *andī, from Proto-Germanic *andijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂entíos, from *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”).
See also Dutch einde, German Ende, Norwegian ende, Swedish ände; also Old Irish ét (“end, point”), Latin antiae (“forelock”), Albanian anë (“side”), Ancient Greek ἀντίος (antíos, “opposite”), Sanskrit अन्त्य (antya, “last”). More at and and anti-.
The verb is from Middle English enden, endien, from Old English endian (“to end, to make an end of, complete, finish, abolish, destroy, come to an end, die”), from Proto-Germanic *andijōną (“to finish, end”), denominative from *andijaz.

der

snitches get stitches and end up in ditches

Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven […].

1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(American football) The position at the end of either the offensive or defensive line, a tight end, a split end, a defensive end.


flat

From Middle English flat, a borrowing from Old Norse flatr (compare Norwegian and Swedish flat, Danish flad), from Proto-Germanic *flataz, from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat”); akin to Saterland Frisian flot (“smooth”), German Flöz (“a geological layer”), Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús), Latvian plats, Sanskrit प्रथस् (prathas, “extension”). Doublet of plat and pleyt.
The noun is from Middle English flat (“level piece of ground, flat edge of a weapon”), from the adjective.
The algebraic sense was coined by Serre in a 1956 paper, originally as French plat.

inh

An area of level ground (sometimes covered with shallow or tidal water).

(American football) The areas behind the line of scrimmage to either side of an offensive football formation.


wildcat

wildcats (plural)
wild-cat (alternative)
wild cat (alternative)

From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes.

John Audubon
bobcat
wildcat
wildcat (disambiguation)
wildcat cartridge

(American football) An offensive formation with an unbalanced line and a snap directly to the running back rather than the quarterback.


house

en-noun

house (countable and uncountable, plural houses or (dialectal) housen or (chiefly humorous) hice)

houses (plural)
housen (dialectal plural)
hice (humorous plural)
howse (alternative obsolete)

Chinese Pidgin English: houso

Nigerian Pidgin: haus

Tok Pisin: haus

Sranan Tongo: oso
→ Dutch: osso

→ Cantonese: house (hau¹ si²)

→ Japanese: ハウス (hausu)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-der.?
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs
Middle English hous
English house
From Middle English hous, hus, from Old English hūs (“dwelling, shelter, house”), from Proto-West Germanic *hūs, from Proto-Germanic *hūsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kews-, from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”).
See also Scots hoose, West Frisian hûs, Dutch huis, German Haus, German Low German Huus, Danish hus, Faroese hús, Icelandic hús, Norwegian Bokmål hus, Norwegian Nynorsk hus and Swedish hus.
Eclipsed non-native Middle English meson, measoun (“house”), borrowed from Old French maison (“house”). More at hose. The uncommon plural form housen is from Middle English husen, housen. (The Old English nominative plural was simply hūs.)

huis

debating chamber for government politicians

a house divided against itself cannot stand

it takes a heap of living to make a house a home

it takes a heap o' livin' to make a house a home

it takes a lot of living to make a house a home

the call is coming from inside the house

use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house

(American football, slang, with “the”) The end zone.


dagger

From Middle English daggere, daggare, dagard, probably adapted from Old French dague (1229), related to Occitan, Italian, Spanish daga, Dutch dagge, German Degen, Middle Low German dagge (“knife's point”), Old Norse daggarðr, Danish daggert, Faroese daggari, Welsh dager, dagr, Breton dac, Albanian thikë (“a knife, dagger”), thek (“to stab, to pierce with a sharp object”).
In English attested from the 1380s.
The ultimate origin of the word is unclear. Grimm suspects Celtic origin.
Others have suggested derivation from an unattested Vulgar Latin *daca "Dacian [knife]", from the Latin adjective dācus. Chastelain (Dictionaire etymologique, 1750) thought that French dague was a derivation from German dagge, dagen, although not attested until a much later date).
The knightly dagger evolves from the 12th century. Guillaume le Breton (died 1226) uses daca in his Philippide. Other Middle Latin forms include daga, dagga, dagha, dagger, daggerius, daggerium, dagarium, dagarius, diga; the forms with -r- are late 14th century adoptions of the English word).
OED points out that there is also an English verb dag (“to stab”) from which this could be a derivation, but the verb is attested only from about 1400.
Relation to Old Armenian դակու (daku, “adze, axe”) has also been suggested. Alternatively, a connection from Proto-Indo-European *dʰāg-u- and cognate with Ancient Greek θήγω (thḗgō, “to sharpen, whet”).

cog

His last-minute 3-point dagger silenced the criticism for his so-called failure to come up big in big moments.

(American football, basketball) A point scored near the end of the game (clutch time) to take or increase the scorer's team lead, so that they are likely to win.


pass

en-verb

pass (third-person singular simple present passes, present participle passing, simple past and past participle passed)

passes (present singular third-person)
passing (participle present)
passed (participle past)
passed (past)
passe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom.
Displaced native Old English genġan.

مَرَّ

medicine: to eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes; to go through the intestines

اِجْتَازَ

to go through any inspection or test successfully

The Patriots passed on third and long.

(sports) To make various kinds of movement.

(intransitive, American football) To throw the ball, generally downfield, towards a teammate.


NFL

Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate who gained national acclaim at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, will recite an original poem before Super Bowl LV, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on Wednesday.

2021 January 27, Wayne Sterling, “Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman to recite poem before Super Bowl LV”, in CNN:

National Football League
w:National Football League

(American football) Initialism of National Football League.


safety

en-noun

safety (countable and uncountable, plural safeties)

Inherited from Middle English savete, from Old French sauveté, from earlier salvetet, from Medieval Latin salvitās, salvitātem, from Latin salvus.

He sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a safety.

(American football) An instance of a player being sacked or tackled in the end zone, or stepping out of the end zone and off the field, resulting in two points to the opposite team.

safety

American football: instance of a player being sacked or tackled in the end zone

The free safety made a game-saving tackle on the runner who had broken past the linebackers.

(American football) Any of the defensive players who are in position furthest from the line of scrimmage and whose responsibility is to defend against passes as well as to be the tacklers of last resort.


center

centers (plural)
centre (alternative Australia Canada Commonwealth Ireland New-Zealand South-Africa UK including usually)

From Middle English center, centre, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron), from κεντεῖν (kenteîn, “to prick, goad”). Doublet of centrum.
* (group theory): In the notation Z(G), the letter Z derives from the German Zentrum (“center”).

sentrum

point equidistant from all points on the perimeter of a circle

مَرْكَز

point in the interior of figure with mean coordinates

(sports) A player in the middle of a playing area.

(American football, Canadian football) The person who holds the ball at the beginning of each play.


reception

reception (countable and uncountable, plural receptions)

/ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/

Borrowed from Middle French reception, from Latin recipiō(n) (“the act of receiving; reception”), from recipiō (“receive”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“I hold”).

der

Henderson can play multiple techniques, man and off, and over the last two seasons, he yielded just 20 receptions, on 44 targets, in single coverage on the boundary, according to Pro Football Focus, making him a prime candidate to start there as a rookie.

2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Time:

(American football) The act of catching a pass.


minor

minors (plural)
miner (alternative)
maner (alternative)
minore (alternative)
minour (alternative)
mynor (alternative)
mynour (alternative)
mynowr (alternative)
mi (alternative)

From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

Brown from a mark on the magazine wing put up the first minor.

1903 May 16, Sporting News, Tasmania, page 4:

(Australian football) Synonym of behind: a one-point kick.


major

majors (plural)
majour (alternative obsolete)

[ˈmeɪ̯d͡ʒɚ(ɹ)]

[ˈmeɪ̯d͡ʒə(ɹ)]

[ˈmæɪ̯d͡ʒə(ɹ)]

From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs (“greater”), comparative of *meǵh₂- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor.

pääaineopiskelija

student specializing in a specified subject

(Canadian football) A touchdown, or major score.


Eskimo

en-noun

Eskimo (plural Eskimo or Eskimos or Eskimoes)

Eskimo (plural)
Eskimos (plural)
Eskimoes (plural)
Eskimau (alternative)
Esquimau (alternative)
Esquimaux (alternative)
Esquimo (alternative)

Attested since 1584, from French Esquimau, ultimately from an Old Montagnais term. Ives Goddard's theory, accepted by most linguists today, is that it derives from Montagnais ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”). An older theory, defended by John Steckley due to its greater acceptance in Native oral traditions, but discredited by linguists, is that it derives from a term meaning "eater(s) of raw meat".
Details.
* The theory most accepted among linguists today is that it derives from ayaškimew (“snowshoe-netter”) (compare Montagnais assime·w (“she laces a snowshoe”), Ojibwe ashkime (“s/he nets snowshoes”)), a term applied to the Mi'kmaq and apparently later transferred to the Labrador Inuit.
* An older theory derives it from a term meaning "eaters of raw meat"; compare Cree askamiciw (“s/he eats it raw”) (Inuit are referred to in some Cree texts as askipiw, "eats something raw"). John Steckley argues in favor of this theory because of its greater acceptance in native oral traditions, and because the Huron, historical allies and trading partners of the Montagnais who loan-translated many names, also denote the Inuit using terms (e.g. Lorette Huron ok8ch iechronnon, Wyandot ok8chtronnon, both including -ok8ch- "to be raw") meaning "people of the raw", "people who eat something raw".
In 1978, Montagnais-speaking Quebec anthropologist Jose Mailhot alternatively suggested Eskimo meant "people who speak a different language", but Steckley considers her theory unlikely.
The term may have entered English via Spanish esquimao, esquimal (used by Basque fishermen in Labrador).

cog

(Canadian football, historical) A team member of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. (Obsolete as of 2020 with the team dropping this name in favour of Elks in 2021.)


passer

(sports) Someone who passes, someone who makes a pass.

(American football) A football player who makes a forward pass, who may be (but not limited to) the quarterback.


guard

guards (plural)
gard (alternative obsolete)
garde (alternative obsolete)
guarde (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish.

der

(American football) Either of two offensive positions between the centre and each of the offensive tackles, whose main responsibilities are to protect the quarterback, and open up "holes" through which offensive players can run.


iso

en-noun

iso (countable and uncountable, plural isos)

“I can remember lining up against them and saying, ‘This is the 15th iso that you’re going to get.’ ”

2007 January 5, Pete Thamel, quoting Greg Mattison, “Scoreboard Shows This Isn't the Same Old Ohio State”, in New York Times:

(American football, basketball) An isolation play in basketball or American football.


rouge

rouge (countable and uncountable, plural rouges)

Borrowed from French rouge, from Latin rubeus. Compare rare Middle English rouge, rouȝ (“red”); later borrowed again, as it is not attested until c. 1750. The game senses are of unknown origin according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

(Canadian football) A single point awarded when a team kicks the ball out of its opponent's end zone, or when a kicked ball becomes dead within the non-kicking team's end zone. Etymology uncertain; it is thought that in the early years of the sport, a red flag indicated that a single had been scored.


hurry

hurry (countable and uncountable, plural hurries)

From Middle English horien (“to rush, impel”), probably a variation of hurren (“to vibrate rapidly, buzz”), from Proto-Germanic *hurzaną (“to rush”) (compare Middle High German hurren (“to hasten”), Norwegian hurre (“to whirl around”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”) (compare Latin currō (“I run”), Tocharian A kursär/Tocharian B kwarsär (“league; course”)). Related to hurr, horse, rush.
Alternative etymology derives hurry as a variant of harry.

inh

At Alabama, Jedrick Wills Jr. anchored the right side of the offensive line for two years, allowing only one sack and three-and-a-half quarterback hurries on 714 snaps last season.

(American football) an incidence of a defensive player forcing the quarterback to act faster than the quarterback was prepared to, resulting in a failed offensive play.

press

American football: incidence of a defensive player forcing the quarterback to act faster than the quarterback was prepared to


drop

From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic *dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrewb- (“to crumble, grind”).

nb...

dropan, droupe, (Northern England) droipe

afval

small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension

piisk

very small quantity of liquid, or of anything

piisk

that which hangs or resembles a liquid globule

langemine

decline in degree, quality, quantity, or rate

afgrond

distance through which something drops, or falls below a certain level

Yet another drop for the Tiger tight end.

A thing which drops or hangs down.
(American football) A dropped pass.

A thing which drops or hangs down.
A dropped pass.

The Tiger quarterback took a one-step drop, expecting his tight end to be open.

An act or instance of dropping (in all senses).

(American football) Ellipsis of drop-back.


AFC

We’ve already had north of 50 million watch the AFC and NFC Championship games at their peak.

2022 February 12, Harry Enten, “Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Rams: The unluckiest sports teams and other Super Bowl musings”, in CNN:

American Football Conference
w:American Football Conference

(American football) Initialism of American Football Conference.


single

→ Dutch: single

→ Finnish: sinkku

→ German: Single

→ Indonesian: singel

→ Japanese: シングル (shinguru)

→ Korean: 싱글 (singgeul)

→ Polish: singiel

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

(Canadian football) A score of one point, awarded when a kicked ball is dead within the non-kicking team's end zone or has exited that end zone.


combine

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combīnāre (“unite, yoke together”), from Latin con- (“together”) + bīnī (“two by two”).

If you purchased this book chances are that you are planning on participating in a football combine or pro-day test.

2008, Scott Shetler, Optimal Performance Techniques for the Football Combine, page 5:

In 2008, a study was published that examined the ability of the NFL combine to predict football playing performance in the NFL (Kuzmits and Adams, 2008).

2020, Jay R. Hoffman, The Science of American Football:

At the combine, Reagor compared himself to the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel or Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill — whom he said he watched “every day”

(American football) A test match in which applicants play in the hope of earning a position on a professional football team.


shotgun

en-noun

shotgun (countable and uncountable, plural shotguns)

shotguns (plural)
shot-gun (alternative)

desc

Japanese: → 散弾銃 (sandanjū) (calque), → ショットガン (shottogan)

→ Tok Pisin: sot gan

From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.

(American football) An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, often with a running back set to one or both sides of him.


try

tries (plural)
trie (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English trien (“to separate out, sift, choose, select, evaluate, try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier, triher, triere (“to divide, separate, choose, select, prove, determine, try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Occitan triar (“to choose, sort, scrutinise, peel”), Catalan triar (“to pick, choose, decide”). Suggested to be derived from Late Latin *trītāre (“to crush, grind, trample, wear out”), itself derived from Classical Latin trītus (“rubbed, worn down, pulverised”), the past participle of terō, terere (“to rub, wear down, trample”), though this derivation is incompatible with the Occitan form. Additionally, the shift in meaning from "rub, crush, trample" to "pick out, choose, cull" is difficult to explain. One suggestion is that the semantic shift might have originated from a Latin phrase *granum terere ("to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin trītūra (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)), which has a parallel in the modern French trier le grain (“to sort the grain”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from Vulgar Latin *trīāre, a metathetic alteration of *tīrāre (“to tear off, pull, draw”), whence also Old French tirer (“to draw, pull, pluck, tug, peck at, extract”), Occitan tirar (“to take, draw, retrieve, remove, extract”).
Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian).

gl

"to tread the corn (in threshing)"; compare Latin <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">trītūra</i> (“rubbing, chafing, friction" also "threshing”)

cog

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔aɪ̯]

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ̯]

(American football) A field goal or extra point


bowl

Bislama: bol

→ Esperanto: bovlo

desctree

→ French: bol
→ Catalan: bol
→ Greek: μπολ (bol)

→ German: Bowle, → Bowl

→ Hungarian: bólé

→ Ido: bolo

→ Irish: bolla

→ Japanese: ボール (bōru)

→ Latvian: bole (probably via German)

→ Korean: 볼 (bol)

→ Scottish Gaelic: bòl

→ Swedish: bål

From Middle English bolle, from Old English bolla, bolle (“bowl, cup, pot, beaker, measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bollā, from Proto-Germanic *bullǭ (“ball, round vessel, bowl”).
Cognate with North Frisian bol (“bun, bread roll”), Middle Low German bolle, bole (“round object”), Dutch bol (“ball, sphere, scoop, dot”), German Bolle (“bulb”), Danish bolle (“bowl, bread roll”), Icelandic bolli (“cup”). Doublet of boule and pulla.

inh

(American football) A postseason football competition, a bowl game (i.e. Rose Bowl, Super Bowl)


dime

From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) (“tenth (part)”). Doublet of decim, decima, and decime.

(American football) A defensive formation with six defensive backs, one of whom is a dimeback.


keeper

→ German: Keeper

From Middle English kepere, equivalent to keep + -er.

(American football) An offensive play in which the quarterback runs toward the goal with the ball after it is snapped.


pick

From Middle English piken, picken, pikken, from Old English *piccian, *pīcian (attested in pīcung (“a pricking”)), and pīcan, pȳcan (“to pick, prick, pluck”), both from Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew-, *bu- (“to make a dull, hollow sound”). Doublet of pitch and peck.
Cognate with Dutch pikken (“to pick”), German picken (“to pick, peck”), Old Norse pikka, pjakka (whence Icelandic pikka (“to pick, prick”), Swedish picka (“to pick, peck”)).


pick

en-verb

pick (third-person singular simple present picks, present participle picking, simple past and past participle picked)

picks (present singular third-person)
picking (participle present)
picked (participle past)
picked (past)

The pass was almost picked, but the tight end was able to hold on.

(American football, informal) To intercept a pass from the offense as a defensive player.


sack

→ Japanese: サック (sakku)

From Middle English sak, sek, sach, zech (“bag, sackcloth”), from Old English sacc (“sack, bag”) and sæċċ (“sackcloth, sacking”); both from Proto-West Germanic *sakku, from late Proto-Germanic *sakkuz (“sack”), borrowed from Latin saccus (“large bag”), from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “bag of coarse cloth”), from Semitic, possibly Phoenician or Hebrew.
Cognate with Dutch zak, German Sack, Swedish säck, Danish sæk, Hebrew שַׂק (śaq, “sack, sackcloth”), Aramaic סַקָּא, Classical Syriac ܣܩܐ, Ge'ez ሠቅ (śäḳ), Akkadian 𒆭𒊓 (saqqu), Egyptian sꜣgꜣ. Doublet of sac, saccus, saco, and sakkos.
Černý and Forbes suggest the word was originally Egyptian, a nominal derivative of sꜣq (“to gather or put together”) that also yielded Coptic ⲥⲟⲕ (sok, “sackcloth”) and was borrowed into Greek perhaps by way of a Semitic intermediary. However, Vycichl and Hoch reject this idea, noting that such an originally Egyptian word would be expected to yield Hebrew *סַק rather than שַׂק. Instead, they posit that the Coptic and Greek words are both borrowed from Semitic, with the Coptic word perhaps developing via Egyptian sꜣgꜣ.
Sense evolution
* “Pillage” senses from the use of sacks in carrying off plunder. From Middle French sac, shortened from the phrase mettre à sac (“put it in a bag”), a military command to pillage; also parallel meaning with Italian sacco (“plunder”), from Medieval Latin saccō (“pillage”). From Vulgar Latin saccare (“to plunder”), from saccus (“sack”). See also ransack. American football “tackle” sense from this “plunder, conquer” root.
* “Removal from employment” senses attested since 1825; the original formula was “to give (someone) the sack”, likely from the notion of a worker going off with his tools in a sack, or being given such a sack for his personal belongings as part of an expedient severance. Idiom exists earlier in French (on luy a donné son sac, 17c.) and Middle Dutch (iemand den zak geven). English verb in this sense recorded from 1841. Current verb, to sack (“to fire”) carries influence from the forceful nature of “plunder, tackle” verb senses.
* Slang meaning “bunk, bed” is attested since 1825, originally nautical, likely in reference to sleeping bags. The verb meaning “go to bed” is recorded from 1946.
* Slang meaning "scrotum" is an ellipsis of ballsack.

doublet

(American football) A successful tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.


sack

en-verb

sack (third-person singular simple present sacks, present participle sacking, simple past and past participle sacked)

sacks (present singular third-person)
sacking (participle present)
sacked (participle past)
sacked (past)

On third down, the rejuvenated Rickey Jackson stormed in over All-Pro left tackle Richmond Webb to sack Marino yet again for a 2-yard loss.

1995, John Crumpacker and Gwen Knapp, "Sack-happy defensive line stuns Dolphins", SFGate.com, November 21

(American football) To tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage, especially before he is able to throw a pass.


wishbone

(American football) A particular kind of offensive formation. See wishbone formation.


pocket

→ Japanese: ポケット

→ Welsh: poced

From Middle English pocket (“bag, sack”), from Anglo-Norman poket, Old Northern French poquet, poquete, diminutive of poque, poke (“bag, sack”) (compare modern Norman pouquette and modern French pochette from Old French pochete, from puche), from Frankish *pokō (“pouch”), from Proto-Germanic *pukkô, *pukô (“bag; pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Equivalent to poke + -et. Doublet of pochette. Cognate with Middle Dutch poke, Alemannic German Pfoch (“purse, bag”), Old English pocca, pohha (“poke, pouch, pocket, bag”), Old Norse poki (“bag, pocket”). Compare the related poke (“sack or bag”). See also Modern French pochette and Latin bucca.

der

is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me

For many years, the popular belief among NFL analysts was that the success of an NFL team comes with a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver the ball downfield. Members of the elite group of active quarterbacks, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, for instance, also earned their reputation by making plays almost exclusively from the pocket.

2014 June 20, Gregor Bozic, "Ramblings: Classic Pocket Passers versus Mobile Quarterbacks", Football Outsiders

With some notable exceptions, NFL teams that are successful on dropbacks outside the pocket have tended to win more games

2019 Dec. 6, Josh Hermsmeyer, "Teams Are Excelling when Their QBs Leave the Pocket. Can that Continue?", FiveThirtyEight

The Pocket Area is the area between the outside edges of the normal tackle positions on each side of the center extending backward to the offensive team's end line. After the ball leaves the pocket area, this area no longer exists.

2021, Official Playing Rules of the National Football League, §26: Pocket Area

intentional grounding
intentional grounding

(American football) The area behind the line of scrimmage subject to certain rules regarding intentional grounding, illegal contact, etc., formally extending to the end zone but more usually understood as the central area around the quarterback directly protected by the offensive line.


touchdown

en-noun

touchdown (countable and uncountable, plural touchdowns)

touchdowns (plural)
touch down (alternative)
touch-down (alternative)

Today I scored my first touchdown.

“I must have caught 45 or 50 touchdowns in that right corner,” he told The Baltimore Sun in 2009. “It was sloped some, a little downhill, which helped me speedwise. I wasn’t all that fast.”

2020 October 29, Richard Goldstein, “Jimmy Orr, a Favorite Target of the Colts’ Unitas, Dies at 85”, in The New York Times:

(American football, Canadian football) A six-point score occurring when the ball enters possession of a team's player in the opponent's end zone.


touchdown

touchdown (nominative singular)
touchdownit (nominative plural)
touchdown (accusative nominative singular)
touchdownit (accusative nominative plural)
touchdownin (accusative genitive singular)
touchdownit (accusative genitive plural)
touchdownin (genitive singular)
touchdownien (genitive plural)
touchdownia (partitive singular)
touchdowneja (partitive plural)
touchdownissa (inessive singular)
touchdowneissa (inessive plural)
touchdownista (elative singular)
touchdowneista (elative plural)
touchdowniin (illative singular)
touchdowneihin (illative plural)
touchdownilla (adessive singular)
touchdowneilla (adessive plural)
touchdownilta (ablative singular)
touchdowneilta (ablative plural)
touchdownille (allative singular)
touchdowneille (allative plural)
touchdownina (essive singular)
touchdowneina (essive plural)
touchdowniksi (singular translative)
touchdowneiksi (plural translative)
touchdownitta (abessive singular)
touchdowneitta (abessive plural)
touchdownein (instructive plural)
See the possessive forms below. (comitative)
touchdownini (nominative singular)
touchdownini (nominative plural)
touchdownini (accusative nominative singular)
touchdownini (accusative nominative plural)
touchdownini (accusative genitive singular)
touchdownini (accusative genitive plural)
touchdownini (genitive singular)
touchdownieni (genitive plural)
touchdowniani (partitive singular)
touchdownejani (partitive plural)
touchdownissani (inessive singular)
touchdowneissani (inessive plural)
touchdownistani (elative singular)
touchdowneistani (elative plural)
touchdowniini (illative singular)
touchdowneihini (illative plural)
touchdownillani (adessive singular)
touchdowneillani (adessive plural)
touchdowniltani (ablative singular)
touchdowneiltani (ablative plural)
touchdownilleni (allative singular)
touchdowneilleni (allative plural)
touchdowninani (essive singular)
touchdowneinani (essive plural)
touchdownikseni (singular translative)
touchdowneikseni (plural translative)
touchdownittani (abessive singular)
touchdowneittani (abessive plural)
touchdowneineni (comitative plural)
touchdownisi (nominative singular)
touchdownisi (nominative plural)
touchdownisi (accusative nominative singular)
touchdownisi (accusative nominative plural)
touchdownisi (accusative genitive singular)
touchdownisi (accusative genitive plural)
touchdownisi (genitive singular)
touchdowniesi (genitive plural)
touchdowniasi (partitive singular)
touchdownejasi (partitive plural)
touchdownissasi (inessive singular)
touchdowneissasi (inessive plural)
touchdownistasi (elative singular)
touchdowneistasi (elative plural)
touchdowniisi (illative singular)
touchdowneihisi (illative plural)
touchdownillasi (adessive singular)
touchdowneillasi (adessive plural)
touchdowniltasi (ablative singular)
touchdowneiltasi (ablative plural)
touchdownillesi (allative singular)
touchdowneillesi (allative plural)
touchdowninasi (essive singular)
touchdowneinasi (essive plural)
touchdowniksesi (singular translative)
touchdowneiksesi (plural translative)
touchdownittasi (abessive singular)
touchdowneittasi (abessive plural)
touchdowneinesi (comitative plural)
touchdownimme (nominative singular)
touchdownimme (nominative plural)
touchdownimme (accusative nominative singular)
touchdownimme (accusative nominative plural)
touchdownimme (accusative genitive singular)
touchdownimme (accusative genitive plural)
touchdownimme (genitive singular)
touchdowniemme (genitive plural)
touchdowniamme (partitive singular)
touchdownejamme (partitive plural)
touchdownissamme (inessive singular)
touchdowneissamme (inessive plural)
touchdownistamme (elative singular)
touchdowneistamme (elative plural)
touchdowniimme (illative singular)
touchdowneihimme (illative plural)
touchdownillamme (adessive singular)
touchdowneillamme (adessive plural)
touchdowniltamme (ablative singular)
touchdowneiltamme (ablative plural)
touchdownillemme (allative singular)
touchdowneillemme (allative plural)
touchdowninamme (essive singular)
touchdowneinamme (essive plural)
touchdowniksemme (singular translative)
touchdowneiksemme (plural translative)
touchdownittamme (abessive singular)
touchdowneittamme (abessive plural)
touchdowneinemme (comitative plural)
touchdowninne (nominative singular)
touchdowninne (nominative plural)
touchdowninne (accusative nominative singular)
touchdowninne (accusative nominative plural)
touchdowninne (accusative genitive singular)
touchdowninne (accusative genitive plural)
touchdowninne (genitive singular)
touchdownienne (genitive plural)
touchdownianne (partitive singular)
touchdownejanne (partitive plural)
touchdownissanne (inessive singular)
touchdowneissanne (inessive plural)
touchdownistanne (elative singular)
touchdowneistanne (elative plural)
touchdowniinne (illative singular)
touchdowneihinne (illative plural)
touchdownillanne (adessive singular)
touchdowneillanne (adessive plural)
touchdowniltanne (ablative singular)
touchdowneiltanne (ablative plural)
touchdownillenne (allative singular)
touchdowneillenne (allative plural)
touchdowninanne (essive singular)
touchdowneinanne (essive plural)
touchdowniksenne (singular translative)
touchdowneiksenne (plural translative)
touchdownittanne (abessive singular)
touchdowneittanne (abessive plural)
touchdowneinenne (comitative plural)
touchdowninsa (nominative singular)
touchdowninsa (nominative plural)
touchdowninsa (accusative nominative singular)
touchdowninsa (accusative nominative plural)
touchdowninsa (accusative genitive singular)
touchdowninsa (accusative genitive plural)
touchdowninsa (genitive singular)
touchdowniensa (genitive plural)
touchdowniaan (partitive singular)
touchdowniansa (partitive singular)
touchdownejaan (partitive plural)
touchdownejansa (partitive plural)
touchdownissaan (inessive singular)
touchdownissansa (inessive singular)
touchdowneissaan (inessive plural)
touchdowneissansa (inessive plural)
touchdownistaan (elative singular)
touchdownistansa (elative singular)
touchdowneistaan (elative plural)
touchdowneistansa (elative plural)
touchdowniinsa (illative singular)
touchdowneihinsa (illative plural)
touchdownillaan (adessive singular)
touchdownillansa (adessive singular)
touchdowneillaan (adessive plural)
touchdowneillansa (adessive plural)
touchdowniltaan (ablative singular)
touchdowniltansa (ablative singular)
touchdowneiltaan (ablative plural)
touchdowneiltansa (ablative plural)
touchdownilleen (allative singular)
touchdownillensa (allative singular)
touchdowneilleen (allative plural)
touchdowneillensa (allative plural)
touchdowninaan (essive singular)
touchdowninansa (essive singular)
touchdowneinaan (essive plural)
touchdowneinansa (essive plural)
touchdownikseen (singular translative)
touchdowniksensa (singular translative)
touchdowneikseen (plural translative)
touchdowneiksensa (plural translative)
touchdownittaan (abessive singular)
touchdownittansa (abessive singular)
touchdowneittaan (abessive plural)
touchdowneittansa (abessive plural)
touchdowneineen (comitative plural)
touchdowneinensa (comitative plural)

[ˈt̪ɑ̝t̪ʃˌdɑ̝u̯n]

[ˈt̪ɑ̝ts̠ˌdɑ̝u̯n]

Unadapted borrowing from English touchdown.


slot

From Middle English slot, from Old French esclot, likely from Old Norse slóð (“track”). As a gambling machine, via clipping of slot machine. Compare sleuth. The scheduling (calendar) sense is by a metaphor whereby the time span is equated with the segment of a page or part of a device that represents it.

(American football) The area between the last offensive lineman on either side of the center and the wide receiver on that side.


scatback

(American football) A small lightweight running back valued for speed rather than power.


AQ

automatic qualifier
automatic qualifier#English

(American football) Initialism of automatic qualifier, referring to the NCAA Division I FBS conferences whose champions receive automatic bids to the Bowl Championship Series.


pylon

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πυλών (pulṓn, “gateway”).

стълб

a towerlike structure used to support high-voltage electricity cables

(American football) An orange marker designating one of the four corners of the end zone in American football.


sacker

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sacker.wav

The loss of last year’s leading sacker, Kerry Hyder Jr., for the season with an Achilles injury is still problematic.

2017 August 26, Bob Wojnowski, “Wojo: Patriots hand Lions cold glimpse of reality”, in The Detroit News:

line of scrimmage
line of scrimmage#English

(American football) A player who sacks (tackles the offensive quarterback behind the line of scrimmage before he is able to throw a pass).


spy

From Middle English spien, aphetic variant of earlier espien (“to espy”), from Old French espier (“to spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to see, look”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”). Akin to German spähen (“to spy”), Dutch spieden (“to spy”).
The noun displaced native Old English sċēawere (literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "mirror." In this sense, the verb displaced Old English sċēawian, which was also the word for "to watch" and became the Modern English word show.

ncog

(American football) A defensive player assigned to cover an offensive backfield player man-to-man when they are expected to engage in a running play, but the offensive player does not run with the ball immediately.


return

en-noun

return (countable and uncountable, plural returns)

returns (plural)
returne (alternative obsolete)
retvrn (alternative Internet)

From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare (“to turn back”), from re- + tornare (“to turn”). Compare beturn.

der

(American football) The act of catching a ball after a punt and running it back towards the opposing team.


receive

en-verb

receive (third-person singular simple present receives, present participle receiving, simple past and past participle received)

receives (present singular third-person)
receiving (participle present)
received (participle past)
received (past)
receave (alternative obsolete)
receyve (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English receiven, from Old French receivre, from Latin recipere (“take back, accept, etc.”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“to take”); see capacious. Compare conceive, deceive, perceive. Displaced native Middle English terms in -fon/-fangen (e.g. afon, anfon, afangen, underfangen, etc. "to receive" from Old English -fōn), native Middle English thiggen (“to receive”) (from Old English þiċġan), and non-native Middle English aquilen, enquilen (“to receive”) (from Old French aquillir, encueillir).

der

(sports) To be in a position to take possession, or hit back the ball.

(American football) To be in a position to catch a forward pass.


lateral

Borrowed from Latin laterālis (“belonging to the side”), from latus (“the side or flank”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).


lateral

en-verb

lateral (third-person singular simple present laterals, present participle lateralling or lateraling, simple past and past participle lateralled or lateraled)

laterals (present singular third-person)
lateralling (participle present)
lateraling (participle present)
lateralled (participle past)
lateralled (past)
lateraled (participle past)
lateraled (past)

(American football) To execute a lateral pass.


maali

maali (nominative singular)
maalit (nominative plural)
maali (accusative nominative singular)
maalit (accusative nominative plural)
maalin (accusative genitive singular)
maalit (accusative genitive plural)
maalin (genitive singular)
maalien (genitive plural)
maalia (partitive singular)
maaleja (partitive plural)
maalissa (inessive singular)
maaleissa (inessive plural)
maalista (elative singular)
maaleista (elative plural)
maaliin (illative singular)
maaleihin (illative plural)
maalilla (adessive singular)
maaleilla (adessive plural)
maalilta (ablative singular)
maaleilta (ablative plural)
maalille (allative singular)
maaleille (allative plural)
maalina (essive singular)
maaleina (essive plural)
maaliksi (singular translative)
maaleiksi (plural translative)
maalitta (abessive singular)
maaleitta (abessive plural)
maalein (instructive plural)
See the possessive forms below. (comitative)
maalini (nominative singular)
maalini (nominative plural)
maalini (accusative nominative singular)
maalini (accusative nominative plural)
maalini (accusative genitive singular)
maalini (accusative genitive plural)
maalini (genitive singular)
maalieni (genitive plural)
maaliani (partitive singular)
maalejani (partitive plural)
maalissani (inessive singular)
maaleissani (inessive plural)
maalistani (elative singular)
maaleistani (elative plural)
maaliini (illative singular)
maaleihini (illative plural)
maalillani (adessive singular)
maaleillani (adessive plural)
maaliltani (ablative singular)
maaleiltani (ablative plural)
maalilleni (allative singular)
maaleilleni (allative plural)
maalinani (essive singular)
maaleinani (essive plural)
maalikseni (singular translative)
maaleikseni (plural translative)
maalittani (abessive singular)
maaleittani (abessive plural)
maaleineni (comitative plural)
maalisi (nominative singular)
maalisi (nominative plural)
maalisi (accusative nominative singular)
maalisi (accusative nominative plural)
maalisi (accusative genitive singular)
maalisi (accusative genitive plural)
maalisi (genitive singular)
maaliesi (genitive plural)
maaliasi (partitive singular)
maalejasi (partitive plural)
maalissasi (inessive singular)
maaleissasi (inessive plural)
maalistasi (elative singular)
maaleistasi (elative plural)
maaliisi (illative singular)
maaleihisi (illative plural)
maalillasi (adessive singular)
maaleillasi (adessive plural)
maaliltasi (ablative singular)
maaleiltasi (ablative plural)
maalillesi (allative singular)
maaleillesi (allative plural)
maalinasi (essive singular)
maaleinasi (essive plural)
maaliksesi (singular translative)
maaleiksesi (plural translative)
maalittasi (abessive singular)
maaleittasi (abessive plural)
maaleinesi (comitative plural)
maalimme (nominative singular)
maalimme (nominative plural)
maalimme (accusative nominative singular)
maalimme (accusative nominative plural)
maalimme (accusative genitive singular)
maalimme (accusative genitive plural)
maalimme (genitive singular)
maaliemme (genitive plural)
maaliamme (partitive singular)
maalejamme (partitive plural)
maalissamme (inessive singular)
maaleissamme (inessive plural)
maalistamme (elative singular)
maaleistamme (elative plural)
maaliimme (illative singular)
maaleihimme (illative plural)
maalillamme (adessive singular)
maaleillamme (adessive plural)
maaliltamme (ablative singular)
maaleiltamme (ablative plural)
maalillemme (allative singular)
maaleillemme (allative plural)
maalinamme (essive singular)
maaleinamme (essive plural)
maaliksemme (singular translative)
maaleiksemme (plural translative)
maalittamme (abessive singular)
maaleittamme (abessive plural)
maaleinemme (comitative plural)
maalinne (nominative singular)
maalinne (nominative plural)
maalinne (accusative nominative singular)
maalinne (accusative nominative plural)
maalinne (accusative genitive singular)
maalinne (accusative genitive plural)
maalinne (genitive singular)
maalienne (genitive plural)
maalianne (partitive singular)
maalejanne (partitive plural)
maalissanne (inessive singular)
maaleissanne (inessive plural)
maalistanne (elative singular)
maaleistanne (elative plural)
maaliinne (illative singular)
maaleihinne (illative plural)
maalillanne (adessive singular)
maaleillanne (adessive plural)
maaliltanne (ablative singular)
maaleiltanne (ablative plural)
maalillenne (allative singular)
maaleillenne (allative plural)
maalinanne (essive singular)
maaleinanne (essive plural)
maaliksenne (singular translative)
maaleiksenne (plural translative)
maalittanne (abessive singular)
maaleittanne (abessive plural)
maaleinenne (comitative plural)
maalinsa (nominative singular)
maalinsa (nominative plural)
maalinsa (accusative nominative singular)
maalinsa (accusative nominative plural)
maalinsa (accusative genitive singular)
maalinsa (accusative genitive plural)
maalinsa (genitive singular)
maaliensa (genitive plural)
maaliaan (partitive singular)
maaliansa (partitive singular)
maalejaan (partitive plural)
maalejansa (partitive plural)
maalissaan (inessive singular)
maalissansa (inessive singular)
maaleissaan (inessive plural)
maaleissansa (inessive plural)
maalistaan (elative singular)
maalistansa (elative singular)
maaleistaan (elative plural)
maaleistansa (elative plural)
maaliinsa (illative singular)
maaleihinsa (illative plural)
maalillaan (adessive singular)
maalillansa (adessive singular)
maaleillaan (adessive plural)
maaleillansa (adessive plural)
maaliltaan (ablative singular)
maaliltansa (ablative singular)
maaleiltaan (ablative plural)
maaleiltansa (ablative plural)
maalilleen (allative singular)
maalillensa (allative singular)
maaleilleen (allative plural)
maaleillensa (allative plural)
maalinaan (essive singular)
maalinansa (essive singular)
maaleinaan (essive plural)
maaleinansa (essive plural)
maalikseen (singular translative)
maaliksensa (singular translative)
maaleikseen (plural translative)
maaleiksensa (plural translative)
maalittaan (abessive singular)
maalittansa (abessive singular)
maaleittaan (abessive plural)
maaleittansa (abessive plural)
maaleineen (comitative plural)
maaleinensa (comitative plural)

Borrowed from Old Swedish māl (“measure, amount; sign”) (compare Swedish mål (“target; what one aims to hit”)), from both Old Norse mál (“language, speech”) (from Proto-Germanic *maþlą) and Old Norse mál (“size, measurement, time”) (from Proto-Germanic *mēlą).


blitz

en-noun

blitz (countable and uncountable, plural blitzes)

Clipping of blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg (literally “lightning war”).

der

(countable, American football) A play in which additional defenders beyond the defensive linemen rush the passer.


blitz

en-verb

blitz (third-person singular simple present blitzes, present participle blitzing, simple past and past participle blitzed)

blitzes (present singular third-person)
blitzing (participle present)
blitzed (participle past)
blitzed (past)

The Washington High defense almost always blitzes on third down.

(intransitive, American football) To perform a blitz.


convert

convert (third-person singular simple present converts, present participle converting, simple past and past participle converted)

converts (present singular third-person)
converting (participle present)
converted (participle past)
converted (past)

[kʰə̥ɱˈvɜːt]

From Old French convertir, from Latin converto (“turn around”).

Flood converted to leave Wales with a 23-9 deficit going into the final quarter.

2011 February 4, Gareth Roberts, “Wales 19-26 England”, in BBC:

(ambitransitive, rugby football) To score extra points after (a try) by completing a conversion.

Bass also kicked field goals of 40 and 49 yards, but he also missed a point-after try, which led to a 2-point conversion that the Bills converted later in the game.

2024 November 3, Jon Scott, Tommy Gallagher, “61 yards to victory: Bills ride another 2nd-half surge, beat Dolphins”, in WGRZ:

(American football) To score extra points following a touchdown.


convert

(Canadian football) The equivalent of a conversion in rugby


curl

From metathesis of Middle English crulle (“curled, curly”), from Middle Dutch crul, crulle (“curl”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kruzlǭ (“bent or crooked object, curl”), of unknown origin; possibly from Pre-Germanic *grus-, contracted from Proto-Indo-European *gurus- (“twist, curl”), same source as Persian گرس (gors, “braid of hair”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Krulle (“curl, lock”), West Frisian krul (“curl”), Dutch krul (“curl”), German Low German Krull (“curl”), dialectal German Krolle (“curl”), Danish krølle (“curl”), Norwegian krull (“curl”). Related also to Saterland Frisian Kruus (“curl”), German kraus (“frizzy, crumpled, curly”), Danish krus (“curl”), Swedish krusa (“to crimp, curl”). Compare also Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to grind, crush, gnash”).

unk

unknown

cog

(American football) A pattern where the receiver appears to be running a fly pattern but after a set number of steps or yards quickly stops and turns around, looking for a pass.


secondary

From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario.

der

English numerals#Ordinal numbers
secondary

(American football, Canadian football) The defensive backs.


snap

en-noun

snap (countable and uncountable, plural snaps)

From Dutch snappen (“to bite; seize”) or Low German snappen (“to bite; seize”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *snappōn, from Proto-Germanic *snappōną (“to snap; snatch; chatter”), intensive form of *snapāną (”to snap; grab”, whence Old Norse snapa (“to get; scrounge”)), from Proto-Indo-European *snop-; compare Lithuanian snãpas (“beak, bill”). (One alternative hypothesis links the Germanic words to *snu-, an expressive root deriving words meaning “nose”, “snout”, “sniff” etc., but this is phonetically unsound.) In any case influenced by onomatopoeia; note expressions such as snip-snap, containing the formally unrelated snip.
Cognate with West Frisian snappe (“to get; catch; snap”), German schnappen (“to grab”), Swedish snappa (“to snatch”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

gloss

”to snap; grab”, whence Old Norse <i class="Latn mention" lang="non">snapa</i> (“to get; scrounge”)

sound-symbolic

expressive

onom

onomatopoeia

cog

According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons, listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, played at least 100 snaps at five positions — slot cornerback, edge rusher, linebacker and both safety spots — and finished with 16½ tackles for a loss, eight sacks, eight pass deflections and three interceptions.

(American football) A backward pass or handoff of a football from its position on the ground that puts the ball in play; a hike.


snap

en-verb

snap (third-person singular simple present snaps, present participle snapping, simple past and past participle snapped or (obsolete) snapt)

snaps (present singular third-person)
snapping (participle present)
snapped (participle past)
snapped (past)
snapt (obsolete participle past)
snapt (obsolete past)

sound-symbolic

expressive

onom

onomatopoeia

захапвам

to attempt to seize with the teeth or bite

He can snap the ball to a back twenty yards behind him.

(transitive, American football) To put (a football) in play by a backward pass or handoff from its position on the ground; to hike (a football).

antaa aloitussyöttö

to pass the ball from the center to a back, to hike the ball


sneak

Possibly from Middle English sniken (“to creep, crawl”), from Old English snīcan (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-West Germanic *snīkan, from Proto-Germanic *snīkaną (“to creep, crawl”), which is related to the root of snake. Compare Danish snige (“to sneak”), Swedish snika (“to sneak, hanker after”), Icelandic sníkja (“to sneak, hanker after”). Possibly related to snitch.

cog

(American football) A play where the quarterback receives the snap and immediately dives forward.


spike

en-verb

spike (third-person singular simple present spikes, present participle spiking, simple past and past participle spiked)

spikes (present singular third-person)
spiking (participle present)
spiked (participle past)
spiked (past)

From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swedish spik (“spike, nail”), Dutch spijker (“nail”), Old English spīcing (“spike”), and Latin spīca (“ear of corn”), which may have influenced some senses.

terästää

to covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance into a drink

to spike the football

“No one is spiking the football yet,” Mr. Kahl said.

2022 September 13, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, quoting Colin Kahl, “The Critical Moment Behind Ukraine’s Rapid Advance”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(American football slang) To slam the football to the ground, usually in celebration of scoring a touchdown, or to stop expiring time on the game clock after snapping the ball as to save time for the losing team to attempt to score the tying or winning points.


clip

en-verb

clip (third-person singular simple present clips, present participle clipping, simple past and past participle clipt or clipped)

clips (present singular third-person)
clipping (participle present)
clipt (participle past)
clipt (past)
clipped (participle past)
clipped (past)

From Middle English clippen, from Old Norse klippa (“to clip, cut the hair, shear sheep”). Cognate with Icelandic klippa (“to clip”), Swedish klippa (“to clip”), Danish klippe (“to clip”), Norwegian Bokmål klippe (“to clip”).

der

(American football) To perform an illegal tackle, throwing the body across the back of an opponent's leg or hitting him from the back below the waist while moving up from behind unless the opponent is a runner or the action is in close line play.


shotgun offense

en-noun

shotgun offense (plural shotgun offenses)

(American football) An offense in which the quarterback sets up at a distance behind the center and the ball is snapped through the air.


pivot

From Middle English pevet, *pivot, from Old French pivot (“hinge pin, pivot”) (12th c.), possibly from Latin pūgiō.


hike

From English dialectal hyke (“to walk vigorously”), probably a Northern form of hitch, from Middle English hytchen, hichen, icchen (“to move, jerk, stir”). Cognate with Scots hyke (“to move with a jerk”), dialectal German hicken (“to hobble, walk with a limp”), Danish hinke (“to hop”). More at hick.

cog

(American football) The snap of the ball to start a play.


hike

en-verb

hike (third-person singular simple present hikes, present participle hiking, simple past and past participle hiked)

hikes (present singular third-person)
hiking (participle present)
hiked (participle past)
hiked (past)

(American football) To snap the ball to start a play.


BCS

Bowl Championship Series
w:Bowl Championship Series

(American football, historical) Initialism of Bowl Championship Series, replaced after the 2013 season by the College Football Playoff.


audible

audible (third-person singular simple present audibles, present participle audibling, simple past and past participle audibled)

audibles (present singular third-person)
audibling (participle present)
audibled (participle past)
audibled (past)

of Canada; without the cot–caught merger

Borrowed from Middle French audible, from Late Latin audibilis, from Latin audire (“to hear”).

The quarterback audibled after seeing the defensive formation.

(intransitive, American football) To change the play at the line of scrimmage by yelling out a new one.


audible

The audible changed the play to a run.

(American football) The act of or an instance of changing the play at the line of scrimmage by yelling out a new one.


post

posts (plural)
poast (alternative obsolete)

→ Bulgarian: пост (post) (Internet)

→ Chinese: po, PO

Cantonese: pou¹

Mandarin: pōu

Min Nan: pho͘

→ French: post

→ Irish: post

→ Italian: post

→ Malay: pos

→ Maori: pōhi

→ Polish: post

→ Portuguese: post

→ Russian: пост (post)

→ Scottish Gaelic: post

→ Spanish: post

→ Swahili: posta

→ Welsh: post

Borrowed from Middle French poste, from Italian posta (“stopping-place for coaches”), feminine of posto (“placed, situated”).

der

Two of the receivers ran post patterns.

(American football) A moderate to deep passing route in which a receiver runs 10-20 yards from the line of scrimmage straight down the field, then cuts toward the middle of the field (towards the facing goalposts) at a 45-degree angle.


rush

Perhaps from Middle English ruschen, russchen (“to rush, startle, make a loud rushing noise”), from Old English hrysċan (“to jolt, startle”), from Proto-West Germanic *hurskijan, from Proto-Germanic *hurskijaną (“to startle, drive”), from *hurskaz (“fast, rapid, quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run, hurry”).
Cognate with Old High German hursken (“to hurry, speed, incite, accelerate”), Old English horsc (“quick, quick-witted, clever”).
etymology note
An alternative etymology traces rush via Middle English rouschen (“to rush”) from Old English *rūscian (“to rush”) from Proto-Germanic *rūskōną (“to rush, storm, be fierce, be cruel”), a variant (with formative k) of Proto-Germanic *rūsōną (“to be cruel, storm, rush”) from Proto-Indo-European *(o)rewə- (“to drive, move, agitate”), making it akin to Old High German rosc, rosci (“quick”), Middle Low German rûschen (“to rush”), Middle High German rūschen, riuschen (“to rush”) (German rauschen (“to rush”)), North Frisian ruse (“to rush”), Middle Dutch ruuscen (“to make haste”), Middle Dutch rūsen (“to rush”) (Dutch ruisen (“to rush”)), Danish ruse (“to rush”), Swedish rusa (“to rush”). Compare Middle High German rūsch (“a charge, rush”). Influenced by Middle English russhen (“to force back”) from Anglo-Norman russher, russer from Old French ruser, rëuser.
Alternatively, according to the OED, perhaps an adaptation of Anglo-Norman russher, russer (“to force back, down, out of place, by violent impact", "to pull out or drag off violently or hastily”), from Old French re(h)usser, ruser (although the connection of the forms with single -s- and double -ss- is dubious; also adopted in English ruse; French ruser (“to retreat, drive back”)), from an assumed Vulgar Latin *refūsāre and Latin refundō (“I cause to flow back”), although connection to the same Germanic root is also possible. More at rouse.

раш

video games: act of running at another player with large swarm of weak units — see also zerg

the center rush, whose place is in the center of the rush line

(American football, dated) A rusher; a lineman.


screen

screens (plural)
skreen (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English scren, screne (“windscreen, firescreen”), from Anglo-Norman escren (“firescreen, the tester of a bed”), Old French escren, escrein, escran (modern French écran (“screen”)), from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch *skirm, from Proto-West Germanic *skirmi, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz (“fur, shelter, covering, screen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut, divide”).
Cognate with Dutch scherm (“screen”), German Schirm (“screen”). Doublet of scherm.
An alternative etymology derives Old French escren, escran from Old Dutch *scranc (“barrier”) (compare Middle Dutch schranc, schranke (“palisade, trellis, grid”), German Schrank (“cupboard, cabinet”), German Schranke (“fence”)), from Proto-West Germanic *skrank, from Proto-Germanic *skrankaz.

skerm

viewing area of electronic output device

Definitions related to standing in the path of an opposing player

(American football) Ellipsis of screen pass.


moss

en-noun

moss (countable and uncountable, plural mosses)

From Middle English mos, from Old English mos (“bog, marsh, moss”), from Proto-West Germanic *mos (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“moss”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moas (“moss”), West Frisian moas (“moss”), Dutch mos (“moss”), German Low German Moss (“moss”), German Moos (which shows the same polysemy of "moss" and "bog, fen"), Danish mos (“moss”), Swedish mossa (“moss”), Icelandic mosi (“moss”), Latin muscus (“moss”), Russian мох (mox, “moss”), Polish mech. Doublet of mousse.

cypress moss

Hypnum cupressiforme; Lycopodium alpinum

flowering moss (Pyxidanthera barbulata; Portulaca grandiflora;

moss crop

Eriophorum vaginatum; Eriophorum polystachion; Argentina anserina, syn. Potentilla anserina; Eleocharis palustris, syn. Scirpus caespitosus

willow moss

Hypnaceae, possibly Taxiphyllum barbieri

Bro, that moss was insane!

(American football, slang, countable) A spectacular catch made over 1 or multiple defenders, typically a jump ball.


moss

en-verb

moss (third-person singular simple present mosses, present participle mossing, simple past and past participle mossed)

mosses (present singular third-person)
mossing (participle present)
mossed (participle past)
mossed (past)

You just got mossed!

(American football, slang, transitive, intransitive) To make a spectacular catch over 1 or multiple defenders.


umpire

→ Maori: amapaea

From a Middle English rebracketing of a noumpere as an oumpere, from Old French nonper (“odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)”), from non (“not”) + per (“equal”), from Latin par (“equal”). Doublet of nonpareil.

tredeog

an official who oversees a game or match

The umpire must keep on his toes as the play often occurs around him.

An official who presides over a sports match.

(American football) The official who stands behind the line on the defensive side or next to the referee on the offensive side.


pistol

Probably from Middle French pistole, or via Middle English pistolet, from Middle French pistolet (“small firearm or small dagger”).
The origin is unclear.
If via German to Romance probably from Middle High German forms like pischulle from Czech píšťala (“firearm”, literally “tube, pipe”), from Proto-Slavic *piščalь, from *piskati, *piščati (“to squeak, whistle”), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pīṣk-.
Alternatively, if from Romance to German, from or related to Italian pistolese (“short dagger”), from Italian Pistoia (“a Tuscan town noted for its gunsmithing”).

(American football) An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back lined up behind him.


corner

→ German: Corner

→ Japanese: コーナー (kōnā)

From Middle English corner, from Anglo-Norman cornere (compare Old French cornier, corniere (“corner”)), from Old French corne (“corner, angle”, literally “a horn, projecting point”), from Vulgar Latin *corna (“horn”), from Latin cornua, plural of cornū (“projecting point, end, horn”). The sense of "angle, corner" in Old French is not found in Latin or other Romance languages. It was possibly calqued from Frankish *hurnijā (“corner, angle”), which is similar to, and derived from *hurn, the Frankish word for "horn". Displaced native cognate Middle English hirn, herne, from Old English hyrne, from Proto-Germanic *hurnijǭ (“little horn, hook, angle, corner”), whence modern English hirn (“nook, corner”), itself related to horn.

nurkka

business: interest that is sufficient for price manipulation

(heading) Relating to the playing field.

Relating to the playing field.
A cornerback.


air raid

(American football) A passing-heavy offensive scheme based on a shotgun formation with four wide receivers and a single running back.


zone

→ Korean: 존 (jon)

→ Punjabi: ਜ਼ੋਨ (zon)

From Latin zōna, from Ancient Greek ζώνη (zṓnē, “girdle, belt”).

der

(basketball, American football) A defensive scheme where defenders guard a particular area of the court or field, as opposed to a particular opposing player.


conversion

en-noun

conversion (countable and uncountable, plural conversions)

From Middle English conversion, conversioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conversion, from Latin conversiō, from convertō.

обръщане

the act of having converted something or someone

המרת דת

to replace one religious faith with another

(American football) An extra point (or two) scored by kicking a field goal or carrying the ball into the end zone after scoring a touchdown.


Viking

Borrowed from Old Norse víkingr (“Viking”). Already in Old English as wīċing and Old Frisian wītsing, but assumed extinct in Middle English and borrowed anew in the 19th century; any survivals in dialect through the Middle Ages are unknown.
Old Norse víkingr itself is from Old Norse vík (“inlet, cove, fjord”) + -ingr (“one belonging to, one who frequents”) (the -r is the nominative desinence). Thus, “one from or who frequents the sea’s inlets”.
The Old English and Anglo-Frisian form, existing since at least the eighth century, could also have been derived from or influenced by Old English wīc (“camp”), on account of the temporary encampments which were often a prominent feature of the Vikings’ raids.
Others proposals were made, like e.g. deriving víkingr from the root related to the verb víkja or deriving both English and Old Norse words to *wīkingaz related to víkja or wīc.

(American football) A player on the Minnesota Vikings NFL team.


fumble

fumbles (plural)
famble (alternative)
fimble (alternative)

Late Middle English, from Low German fummeln, fommeln, fammeln (German fummeln), or Dutch fommelen.
Or, perhaps from a Scandinavian/North Germanic source; compare related Old Norse fálma, Icelandic fálma, Danish fumle, especially Swedish fumla, famla, with variants: fumbla (“fumble”), fambla (“famble”), related to Swedish fim, fem (Danish fim, Norwegian fim, feima), with a root meaning of “cover, coating of foam or figuratively ditto”, cognate to German Feim (“surf”) and English foam. Possibly has (a more or less unconscious) connection to fathom (via Old Norse faðmr, Swedish famn) in the sense of “embrace”.
The ultimate origin for either could perhaps be imitative of fumbling. Or, from Proto-Indo-European *pal- (“to shake, swing”), see also Latin palpo (“I pat, touch softly”), and possibly Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan (“to feel”).

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

(sports, American football, Canadian football) A ball etc. that has been dropped by accident.


stunt

→ Danish: stunt

→ German: Stunt

→ Norwegian Bokmål: stunt

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: stunt

Unknown. Compare Middle Low German stunt (“a shoulder grip with which you throw someone on their back”), Middle English stunt (“foolish; stupid”).

(American football) A special means of rushing the quarterback done to confuse the opposing team's offensive line.


punt

en-verb

punt (third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted)

punts (present singular third-person)
punting (participle present)
punted (participle past)
punted (past)

Possibly a dialectal variant of bunt. Rugby is the origin of the sports usage of the term.

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

To dropkick; to kick something a considerable distance.

(rugby, American football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, soccer, transitive, intransitive) To kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground. (This puts the ball farther from the goal across which the opposing team is attempting to score, so improves the chances of the team punting.)

Australian rules football; Gaelic football; Australian rules football; Gaelic football


punt

(rugby, American football, soccer) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.


huddle

From Middle English *hudelen, alteration (due to hudels, hidels (“hiding place”), see hiddle) of *huderen, hoderen (“to cover; press together; huddle”), a frequentative form of Middle English huden, hiden (“to hide”), equivalent to hide + -le and/or hide + -er. Compare Low German huderken (“to brood; coddle; nurse; lull children to sleep”).

cog

A small group of individuals in very close proximity to one another.

(American football) A brief meeting of all the players from one team that are on the field with the purpose of planning the following play.

timbac

a brief meeting of all the players from one team that are on the field with the purpose of planning the following play


huddle

en-verb

huddle (third-person singular simple present huddles, present participle huddling, simple past and past participle huddled)

huddles (present singular third-person)
huddling (participle present)
huddled (participle past)
huddled (past)

(intransitive, American football) To form a huddle.


intercept

intercept (third-person singular simple present intercepts, present participle intercepting, simple past and past participle intercepted)

intercepts (present singular third-person)
intercepting (participle present)
intercepted (participle past)
intercepted (past)

Borrowed from Latin interceptum, past participle of intercipiō.

(transitive, sports) To gain possession of (the ball) in a ball game.

(transitive, American football) Of a defensive player: to steal a pass thrown by the opposing team, gaining possession of the ball.


tackle

en-noun

tackle (countable and uncountable, plural tackles)

From Middle English takel (“gear, apparatus”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German takel (“ship's rigging”), perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken (“to grasp, seize”). Akin to Danish takkel (“tackle”), Swedish tackel (“tackle”). More at take.

der

(rugby, American football, countable) A play where a defender brings the ball carrier to the ground.

placatge

American football, rugby: play where a defender brings the ball carrier to the ground

(American football) An offensive line position between a guard and an end: offensive tackle; a person playing that position.

hyökkäävä linjamies

American football: person playing offensive tackle

(American football) A defensive position between two defensive ends: defensive tackle; a person playing that position.

puolustava linjamies

American football: person playing defensive tackle


tackle

en-verb

tackle (third-person singular simple present tackles, present participle tackling, simple past and past participle tackled)

tackles (present singular third-person)
tackling (participle present)
tackled (participle past)
tackled (past)

(rugby, American football) To bring a ball carrier to the ground.

placar

rugby, American football: to bring a ball carrier to the ground


unbalanced

en-adj

unbalanced (comparative more unbalanced, superlative most unbalanced)

more unbalanced (comparative)
most unbalanced (superlative)

(American football) an offensive line with more players on one side of the center than on the other


fullback

(American football) An offensive back whose primary jobs are to block in advance of the halfback on running plays and for the quarterback on passing plays.


neutral zone

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-neutral zone.wav

(American football) A zone between the defensive line of scrimmage and the offensive line of scrimmage.

zona neutral

football: zone between the lines of scrimmage


line of scrimmage

en-noun

line of scrimmage (plural lines of scrimmage)

(American football) Either of two imaginary lines across the football field touching one of the two apices of the football which point toward either the defensive side or the offensive side before the center is allowed to touch the ball before each play.


football field

(American football) A playing field on which the game of American football is played.


offensive line of scrimmage

offensive line of scrimmage (plural offensive lines of scrimmage)

(American football) The scrimmage line on the offensive side of the football field.


running back

(American football) An offensive back whose primary job is to be the ballcarrier.


ball carrier

ball carriers (plural)
ballcarrier (alternative)

(American football, Canadian football, rugby) A player who carries the football.


offensive back

(American football) A player for the team in possession of the ball who lines up behind the line of scrimmage at the start of a play.


one-minute warning

one-minute warning (plural one-minute warnings)

(American football) In the AFL, a warning given with one minute to go before the end of a half, after which special rules apply, eg, stoppage of the game clock after very first down.


AFL

Arena Football League
w:Arena Football League

(American football) Initialism of Arena Football League.

American Football League
w:American Football League

(obsolete, American football) Initialism of American Football League.


first down

(American football) The first play in a series that has a maximum of four downs.

(American football) The act of getting a first down by advancing the ball more than ten yards ahead of the field position where the team took possession.


football player

football player (plural football players)

football players (plural)
football-player (alternative rare)

(American football, US) One who plays American football.

(Canadian football, Canada) One who plays Canadian football.


quarterback

From quarter + back, in reference to the position in front of the halfback position.

Standing 6-foot-6, 237 pounds, Herbert’s size and arm strength are consistent with a prototypical N.F.L. quarterback, and he led the Ducks to a Pac-12 championship and a victory at the Rose Bowl in January with not much talent at receiver.

2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in The New York Times:

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans defended Azeez Al-Shaair after the linebacker was ejected from Sunday’s game for throwing a late hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. […] “A lot of the quarterbacks in this day and age, they try to take advantage of the rule where they slide late, and they try to get an extra yard. And now you’re a defender, a lot of onus is on the defender, right?”

2024 December 2, David Close, “Houston Texans head coach defends Azeez Al-Shaair as the NFL leans toward suspending the linebacker, source says”, in CNN:

(American football, Canadian football) An offensive back whose primary job is to pass the ball in a play.

(American football, historical) An offensive back who receives the snap (hike) and then blocks the defense from crossing the line of scrimmage; a blocking back.

(rugby football, historical) A position just behind the forwards, or one who plays this position.


quarterback

en-verb

quarterback (third-person singular simple present quarterbacks, present participle quarterbacking, simple past and past participle quarterbacked)

quarterbacks (present singular third-person)
quarterbacking (participle present)
quarterbacked (participle past)
quarterbacked (past)

(American football, transitive) To play the position of quarterback.


forward pass

(rugby and American football) A pass in the forward direction, advancing toward the goal, generally illegal except in American football, once per play, from behind the line of scrimmage.


neutral-zone infraction

en-noun

neutral-zone infraction (plural neutral-zone infractions)

(American football) an infraction in which a football player, on defense, gets into or crosses the neutral zone during the snap, causing an offensive player to false start. The penalty is against the defense, not the offense. It is a 5 yard penalty.


hand-off

hand-off (countable and uncountable, plural hand-offs)

(American football) A pass made in a backward direction.


wide receiver

All season, the Chiefs have struggled on offense, in particular in the pass catching department. On multiple occasions throughout the regular season, Mahomes was burned by mental miscues from his wide receivers which cost the Chiefs wins.

2024 February 12, Ben Morse and Steve Almasy, “Kansas City Chiefs defeat San Francisco 49ers in OT in Super Bowl LVIII, become first back-to-back NFL champions in 19 years”, in CNN.com:

(American football) An offensive football player whose position on the line of scrimmage is farthest from the ball and whose function is to principally to catch passes.

laitahyökkääjä

American football: offensive player position