try

From Middle English trien (“to try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier (“to try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. It is probably related to Italian tritare (“to grind; to sort; to analyze”) (see also French trier). Alternatively, believed to be a metathetic variation of Old French tirer (“to pull out, snatch”), from Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (tiran, “to tear away, remove”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear, tear apart”), see tear. Related to Occitan triar (“to pick out, choose from among others”), although the Occitan verb could also be a borrowing from French. Alternatively or by confluence, the Old French is from Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin *triare, of unknown origin.
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).

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)


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)

dərmək

to remove a fruit or plant for consumption

whakatete

to pick a fight or argument with someone

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.


American football

tlb

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei)

"Chain mail, or an American football suit - that's what you'll want."

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

A team sport similar to rugby football, played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end.


Olyroos

(soccer) The Australian Olympic soccer team.


WAFL

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

West Australia
Western Australia#English

(Australian rules football) Initialism of West Australian Football League.


park

building

antonym(s) of “a piece of ground in or near a city”

From Middle English park, from Old French parc (“livestock pen”), from Medieval Latin parcus, parricus, from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure, pen, fence”). Cognate with Dutch perk (“enclosure; flowerbed”), Old High German pfarrih, pferrih (“enclosure, pen”), Old English pearroc (“enclosure”) (whence modern English paddock), Old Norse parrak, parak (“enclosure, pen; distress, anxiety”), Icelandic parraka (“to keep pent in under restraint and coercion”). More at parrock, paddock.

cog

But because of their dominance in the middle of the park and the sheer volume of chances, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce must have been staggered and sickened in equal measure when the visitors took the lead five minutes after the break.

2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0-2 Blackpool”, in BBC:

An area on which a sporting match is played; (soccer) a pitch.


wishbone

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


touchdown

en-noun

touchdown (countable and uncountable, plural touchdowns)

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.


sack

→ Japanese: サック (sakku)

From Middle English sak (“bag, sackcloth”), from Old English sacc (“sack, bag”) and sæcc (“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)

уволнявам

informal: to remove from a job or position — see also fire

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

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


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.


slot

slot (third-person singular simple present slots, present participle slotting, simple past and past participle slotted)

slots (present singular third-person)
slotting (participle present)
slotted (participle past)
slotted (past)

(Australian rules football, rugby, informal) To kick the ball between the posts for a goal; to score a goal by doing this.


blast

blast (third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

blasts (present singular third-person)
blasting (participle present)
blasted (participle past)
blasted (past)

⇒ Italian: blastare

From Middle English blasten, blesten, from Old English blǣstan (“to blow, blast”), from Proto-West Germanic *blēstijan, from Proto-Germanic *blēstijaną. Possibly related to Middle High German blesten (“to stand out, plop, splash”).

noncog

A Ricketts and Stuart Holden one-two around the box then created a decent chance for an almost instant equaliser - but Welsh full-back Ricketts blasted over when a calmer finish could have been rewarded.

2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:

(soccer) To shoot; kick the ball in hope of scoring a goal.


postage stamp

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

[…] got in on the act himself, firing in an unstoppable shot that arced into the postage stamp top corner of Andy Goram's goal.

2011, Alistair Aird, Ally McCoist - Rangers Legend:

(soccer, slang) The upper left- or right-hand corner of the goal.


forward

From Middle English foreward, from Old English foreweard (“forward, inclined to the front, fore, early, former”), from Proto-Germanic *fura- (“fore-”), *warþaz (“turned”), equivalent to fore + -ward. Cognate with Dutch voorwaarts (“forward”), German vorwärts (“forward”).

der

(soccer) A player on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.

rojník

players nearest to the opposing rugby team

مُهَاجِم

player nearest to the opposing soccer team


scatback

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


Tim

(slang, soccer) A supporter of the Scottish football team Celtic F.C..


AQ

automatic qualifier
automatic qualifier#English

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


through

From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷe, suffixed zero-grade from *terh₂- (“to pass through”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Cognate with Scots throch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), German durch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.

With the Swifts calling for offside the striker was through and only a great save from McIlravey prevented the opener.

2015, Steve Grossi, SWFL1: Missed Chances See Swifts Relinquish Top Spot:

(soccer) In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal.


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).


pylon

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

стълб

a tower like 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.


roll

en-verb

roll (third-person singular simple present rolls, present participle rolling, simple past and past participle rolled)

rolls (present singular third-person)
rolling (participle present)
rolled (participle past)
rolled (past)

From Middle English rollen, partly from Old French roller, roler, röeler, röoler, from Medieval Latin rotulāre (“to roll; to revolve”), from Latin rotula (“a little wheel”), diminutive of rota (“a wheel”); partly from Anglo-Latin rollāre, from the same ultimate source.

rol

to cause something to revolve by turning over and over

rol

to move, or cause to be moved, upon rollers or small wheels

So it was against the run of play that their London rivals took the lead two minutes before the interval through Drogba. He rolled William Gallas inside the area before flashing a stunning finish high past keeper Carlo Cudicini.

2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC:

Rolled far too easily by Marc-Antoine Fortuné, Demichelis compounded his error by standing on the striker's foot. In the absence of the injured Watson, Gómez converted the penalty.

2014 March 9, Jacob Steinberg, “Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals”, in The Guardian:

(transitive, soccer) To slip past (a defender) with the ball.


simulation

en-noun

simulation (countable and uncountable, plural simulations)

→ Japanese: シミュレーション (shimyurēshon)

First attested in 1340 as Middle English symulacioun, from Middle French simulation, from Old French simulation/simulacion, from Latin simulātiōnem, from simulō (“imitate”).
Morphologically simulate + -ion.

"Players are very good at simulation," said Premier League referee Graham Poll. "I'm not saying they do practice, but I find it hard to believe they are so good at something without practicing. We have to issue more cards because it is the only way we can stop simulation spoiling the game. It is a cancer."

2004 April 19, Ravi Ubha, “Inside Soccer: FIFA gives Cameroon short(s) shrift”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

In the build-up to the second spot-kick, André Villas-Boas felt United striker Danny Welbeck had deliberately tripped over the leg of Branislav Ivanovic rather than an intentional foul being committed. "Referees have pretty clear orders on simulation, but it is difficult for them to assess the difference between simulation and fouls in those situations," he said.

2012 February 11, “AVB wants action on simulation”, in Belfast Telegraph:

(soccer) The act of falling over in order to be awarded a foul, when no foul has been committed.


pocket

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 *pokā (“pouch”), from Proto-Germanic *pukkô, *pukô (“bag; pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). 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

(Australian rules football) The area of the field to the side of the goal posts (four pockets in total on the field, one to each side of the goals at each end of the ground). The pocket is only a roughly defined area, extending from the behind post, at an angle, to perhaps about 30 meters out.

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.


delivery

en-noun

delivery (countable and uncountable, plural deliveries)

From Middle English deliveri et al., from Anglo-Norman, from Old French delivrer.

The win was secured with another moment of significance four minutes from time when captain Harry Kane, who had once again struggled to influence the game, headed in from substitute Jack Grealish's perfect delivery for his first goal of Euro 2020.

2021 June 29, Phil McNulty, “England 2-0 Germany”, in BBC Sport:


blitz

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.


possession

en-noun

possession (countable and uncountable, plural possessions)

مَسّ

the state of being possessed by a spirit or demon

2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round eight? Australian Football League, 7 May 2019. Accessed 7 May 2019.
Defender Colin O'Riordan had 41 possessions in the NEAFL last week to continue his outstanding form, while Ryan Clarke had 47 in the Swans' big loss to Brisbane.

(Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.


Liverpudlian

From Liverpool and puddle, as a pun on a puddle being a small pool.

(soccer) someone connected with Liverpool Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


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)

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.


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.


convert

en-verb

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”).

Hinton, inevitably, converted the penalty.

2011, Jonathan Wilson, Brian Clough: The Biography, →ISBN:

However, the lead was doubled after the break, when Branislav Ivanovic converted from close range after Fernando Torres had flicked on.

2013, Mark Worrall, Kelvin Barker, David Johnstone, Making History, Not Reliving It: A Decade of Roman's Rule at Chelsea, →ISBN, page 225:

This time Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski was Saints' penalty shootout hero, saving three spot kicks before centre-back Wayne Thomas converted from 12 yards to seal a 6-5 win.

2016, Alex Crook, Alex Smith, Southampton Greatest Games: Saints' Fifty Finest Matches, →ISBN:

(transitive or intransitive, soccer) To score (especially a penalty kick).


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.


return

en-noun

return (countable and uncountable, plural returns)

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.


rondo

en-noun

rondo (countable and uncountable, plural rondos)

Borrowed from Italian rondo, from French rondeau. Doublet of rondeau.

And four years after Pep from Catalonia first clapped eyes on Phil from Stockport across a crowded rondo, here finally was the consummation.

2020 August 7, Jonathan Liew, “Phil Foden stars to offer Manchester City glimpse of multiple futures”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A game resembling keep-away, used to train soccer players: one group is tasked with completing a number of passes while the other smaller group tries to take possession of the ball.


brace

From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”).

The Manchester United midfielder’s late brace against Cyprus at the weekend was welcome, but will become no more than a footnote of his Scotland career. His brace here to down the mighty Spanish will go down in history.

28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald:

To score a 'brace' means that you have scored two goals in a game.

2020 October 23, “What is a brace in soccer?”, in Goal:

(soccer) Two goals scored by one player in a game.


caution

caution (countable and uncountable, plural cautions)

Recorded since 1297 as Middle English caucioun (“bail, guarantee, pledge”), from Old French caution (“security, surety”), itself from Latin cautiō, from cautus, past participle of caveō, cavēre (“be on one's guard”).


caution

en-verb

caution (third-person singular simple present cautions, present participle cautioning, simple past and past participle cautioned)

cautions (present singular third-person)
cautioning (participle present)
cautioned (participle past)
cautioned (past)


behind

From Middle English behinde, behinden, from Old English behindan (“on the back side of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bihindan, *bihindini (“on the back side of, in the rear of, behind”), from Proto-West Germanic *bi- + *hindō (“the hind side, back part”), equivalent to be- + hind. Compare Old Saxon bihindan (“behind”, adverb), Middle High German behinter (“behind; back”).

noncog

A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
For we've kicked another behind.

1880, “The Opening Ball”, in G. Lehmann, editor, Comic Australian Verse, 1975, quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, Sydney University Press, published 1985, →ISBN:

(Australian rules football) A one-point score.


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.


snag

The Australian National Dictionary Centre suggests that snag as slang for "sausage" most likely derives from the earlier British slang for "light meal", although it makes no comment on how it came to be specifically applied to sausages.Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms The word's use in football slang originates as a shortening of "sausage roll", rhyming slang for "goal", to sausage, and hence, by synonymy, snag.

2003, Greg Baum, "Silver anniversary of a goal achieved", The Age
"It just kept coming down and I just kept putting them through the middle," he said. "I got an opportunity, and I kicked a few snags."

(Australian rules football, slang) A goal.


release

en-verb

release (third-person singular simple present releases, present participle releasing, simple past and past participle released)

releases (present singular third-person)
releasing (participle present)
released (participle past)
released (past)

From Middle English relesen, relessen, from Old French relaisser (variant of relascher).

With the Gunners far too lightweight in midfield, Mikel Arteta dropped back into a deeper-lying role. This freed Yossi Benayoun to go further forward, a move that helped forge a rare Arsenal chance on 30 minutes when the Israeli released Van Persie, only for the Dutchman's snap-shot to be tipped around the post.

2011 September 13, Sam Lyon, “Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Arsenal”, in BBC:

(soccer) To set up; to provide with a goal-scoring opportunity


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.

der

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.


slice

en-verb

slice (third-person singular simple present slices, present participle slicing, simple past and past participle sliced)

slices (present singular third-person)
slicing (participle present)
sliced (participle past)
sliced (past)

From Middle English sclise, sklise, from Old French esclice, esclis (“a piece split off”), deverbal of esclicer, esclicier (“to splinter, split up”), from Frankish *slitjan (“to split up”), from Proto-Germanic *slitjaną, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to split, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyd- (“to rend, injure, crumble”). Akin to Old High German sliz, gisliz (“a tear, rip”), Old High German slīzan (“to tear”), Old English slītan (“to split up”), modern French éclisse. More at slite, slit.

der

no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney

Chris Brunt sliced the spot-kick well wide but his error was soon forgotten as Olsson headed home from a corner.

2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 – 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive, soccer) To kick the ball so that it goes in an unintended direction, at too great an angle or too high.


UEFA

w:Union of European Football Associations

Acronym of Union of European Football Associations.


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.

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

(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

napsauttaa

to cause something to emit a snapping sound

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


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.


zone defense

zone defense (countable and uncountable, plural zone defenses)

Outside shooting is essential to beating a zone defense.

(basketball, soccer) A defense in which each player covers an area of the court.


shy

From Middle English shy (“shy”), from Old English sċēoh (“shy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh (“shy, fearful”), from Proto-Germanic *skeuhaz (“shy, fearful”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian skjou (“shy”), Dutch schuw (“shy”), German scheu (“shy”), Danish sky (“shy”).
Etymology tree
Middle English shy
English shy

etymon

(Scotland, soccer) A throw-in from the sidelines, using two hands above the head.


Australian rules football

A variety of football devised in Australia, played on an oval field with an oval ball that players try to kick between the goalposts or between a central and outer post.


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)
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.


Bayern

Clipping of Bayern Munich from German Bayern (“Bavaria”) (clipping of Bayern München).

(soccer) Bayern Munich (a German football club based in Munich)

F.C. Bayern Munich
de:F.C. Bayern München


pivot

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


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.


clothesline

Coordinate term: clotheshorse

Hang this towel out on the clothesline for me.

A rope or cord tied up outdoors to hang clothes on so they can dry.

A structure with multiple cords for the same purpose, such as a Hills hoist.

(Canada, US, informal) The act of knocking a person over by striking his or her upper body or neck with one's arm, as if he or she had run into a low clothesline.


clothesline

en-verb

clothesline (third-person singular simple present clotheslines, present participle clotheslining, simple past and past participle clotheslined)

clotheslines (present singular third-person)
clotheslining (participle present)
clotheslined (participle past)
clotheslined (past)

The referee called a personal foul, when he clotheslined the running back.

One beast jams out its arm, as if to clothesline me, jagged claws poised to take my head off at the neck. I let my feet fall from under me, throwing my legs forward, praying for some momentum, ducking and sliding, a mad limbo to freedom.

2014, Jonathan Wood, No Hero, Titan Books, →ISBN:

"I turned around and the next thing I was taken out by this big guy. I'm not sure if he punched me or clothes-lined me," he said.

2014 February 21, “Ear-bite actor Clive Mantle was like 'big monster', court told”, in BBC News:

(Canada, US, informal, transitive) To knock (a person) over by striking his or her upper body or neck with one's arm, as if he or she had run into a low clothesline.


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.


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)

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.


pinball

en-noun

pinball (countable and uncountable, plural pinballs)

→ Portuguese: pinball

→ Spanish: pinball

The opener came from a Jarvis ball which struck Aleksandar Kolarov en route to a lively round of pinball between City players before it was poked in by Milijas.

2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC:

(figuratively, soccer) A situation where a ball is frantically kicked between many players.


nod

en-verb

nod (third-person singular simple present nods, present participle nodding, simple past and past participle nodded)

nods (present singular third-person)
nodding (participle present)
nodded (participle past)
nodded (past)

From Middle English nodden, probably from an unrecorded Old English *hnodian (“to nod, shake the head”), from Proto-Germanic *hnudōną (“to beat, rivet, pound, push”), from Proto-Indo-European *kendʰ-, from *ken- (“to scratch, scrape, rub”). Compare Old High German hnotōn (“to shake”), hnutten (“to shake, rattle, vibrate”) (> modern dialectal German notteln, nütteln (“to rock, move back and forth”)), Icelandic hnjóða (“to rivet, clinch”).

inh

Jones nods the ball back to his goalkeeper.

With the hosts not able to find their passes - everything that went forward was too heavy or too short - Terry once again had to come to his side's rescue after Davies had brilliantly nodded into the path of Elmander, who followed up swiftly with a deflected shot.

2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:

(transitive, intransitive, soccer) To head; to strike the ball with one's head.


dribble

en-verb

dribble (third-person singular simple present dribbles, present participle dribbling, simple past and past participle dribbled)

dribbles (present singular third-person)
dribbling (participle present)
dribbled (participle past)
dribbled (past)

→⇒ Czech: driblovat

→ Dutch: dribbelen

→ French: dribbler

→ German: dribbeln

→ Portuguese: drible, driblar

→ Spanish: driblar

From drib + -le (early modern English frequentative suffix).

suffix

(basketball, soccer) In various ball games, to move (with) the ball, controlling its path by kicking or bouncing it repeatedly.

дриблирам

to move (with) a ball by kicking or bouncing it


umpire

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.

съдия

an official who oversees a game or match

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

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

(Australian rules football) A match official on the ground deciding and enforcing the rules during play. As of 2007 the Australian Football League uses three; in the past there were two or just one. The other officials, the goal umpires and boundary umpires, are usually referred to by those phrases.


screen

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.

Definitions related to standing in the path of an opposing player

(American football) Short for screen pass.

skerm

viewing area of electronic output device


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.


rush

en-verb

rush (third-person singular simple present rushes, present participle rushing, simple past and past participle rushed)

rushes (present singular third-person)
rushing (participle present)
rushed (participle past)
rushed (past)

(intransitive, soccer) To dribble rapidly.


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”).

der

(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.


air raid

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


dismiss

en-verb

dismiss (third-person singular simple present dismisses, present participle dismissing, simple past and past participle dismissed)

dismisses (present singular third-person)
dismissing (participle present)
dismissed (participle past)
dismissed (past)

Middle English, from Latin dimissus (“sent away, dismissed, banished”), perfect passive participle of dīmittō (“send away, dismiss”), from dis- + mittere (“to send”).

der

Kalinic later saw red for a rash tackle on Paul Scharner before Gabriel Tamas was dismissed for bringing down Diouf.

2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1-3 Blackburn”, in BBC:

(transitive, sports, soccer) To give someone a red card; to send off.


FA

Football Association
w:Football Association

(soccer) Initialism of Football Association, especially the English Football Association. See also Scottish FA and Welsh FA.


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 corner kick.

Relating to the playing field.
A cornerback.


strip

Brill Publishers
en:strip (disambiguation)

From alteration of stripe or from Middle Low German strippe, of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps derived from a lost strong verb Proto-Germanic *strīpaną, with no clear cognates outside of Germanic except for Irish sríab (“line, stripe”).

(UK, soccer) The uniform of a football team, or the same worn by supporters.


clearing

en-noun

clearing (countable and uncountable, plural clearings)

(soccer) The act of removing the ball from one's own goal area by kicking it.


shank

en-verb

shank (third-person singular simple present shanks, present participle shanking, simple past and past participle shanked)

shanks (present singular third-person)
shanking (participle present)
shanked (participle past)
shanked (past)

From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).

Marouane Chamakh then spurned a great chance to kill the game off when he ran onto Andrey Arshavin's lofted through ball but shanked his shot horribly across the face of goal.

2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive, chiefly tennis, soccer, gridiron football) To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.


solo

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin sōlus, probably related to se (“himself”).

(Gaelic football) An instance of soloing the football.


solo

solo (third-person singular simple present solos or soloes, present participle soloing, simple past and past participle soloed)

solos (present singular third-person)
soloes (present singular third-person)
soloing (participle present)
soloed (participle past)
soloed (past)

→ Portuguese: solar

(Gaelic football) To drop the ball and then toe-kick it upward into the hands.


haul

From Middle English hālen, hailen, haulen, halien (“to drag, pull; to draw up”), from Old French haler (“to haul, pull”), from Frankish *halōn (“to drag, fetch, haul”) or Middle Dutch halen (“to drag, fetch, haul”), possibly merging with Old English *halian (“to haul, drag”); all from Proto-Germanic *halōną, *halēną, *hulōną (“to call, fetch, summon”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
The word is cognate with Danish hale (“to haul”), Middle Dutch halen (“to draw, fetch, haul”), Dutch halen (“to fetch, bring, haul”), Old Frisian halia, Saterland Frisian halen (“to draw, haul, pull”), Low German halen (“to draw, pull”), Old High German halôn, holôn, German holen (“to fetch, get”), Norwegian hale (“to haul”), Old Saxon halôn (“to fetch, get”), Swedish hala (“to hale, haul, pull, tug”), and related to Old English ġeholian (“to get, obtain”).

cog

Four goals scored by a single player in a match can be described as a 'haul', while five goals is unofficially a 'glut'.

(British, soccer) Four goals scored by one player in a game.


assist

From Middle English assisten, from Old French assister (“to assist, to attend”), from Latin assistō (“stand at, bestand”, verb).

der

Özil has 16 assists in the Premier League and three goals; he has two more goals in the Champions League. On Monday, he took Bournemouth apart in the 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium, setting up the first for Gabriel and scoring the second himself.

2016 January 1, David Hytner, “Mesut Özil has Arsenal daring to dream of Premier League glory”, in The Guardian:

(sports) The act of helping another player score points or goals

(soccer) A decisive pass made to the goal scorer

асистенция

statistical recognition of making a pass

assist

(soccer): a pass that is decisive in scoring a goal


zone

→ Korean: 존 (jon)

→ Punjabi: ਜ਼ੋਨ (zon)

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

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


post

→ 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”).

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.


MLS

Coordinate term: MLB

Major League Soccer
w:Major League Soccer

(soccer, US) Initialism of Major League Soccer, the top league of men's soccer in the US.


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.


Grand Slam

(British, soccer) winning in each of the three UEFA cups - UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup (defunct).


hat trick

From hat + trick (“element of a magician’s or variety entertainer’s act; entertaining and difficult physical action”, noun). Sense 2 (“achievement of a bowler taking three wickets in three consecutive balls”)—the original sporting sense—refers to the commemorative hat formerly given as a prize to the bowler by his club.

هاتريك

three achievements in a single game, competition, season, etc.

שלושער m (shloshá'ar, literally “three-gate or goal”)

གསུམ་སྦྲགས (gsum sbrags, literally “pack-of-three”)

In ice hockey, it’s customary for fans to throw their hats on to the rink after a player scores a hat trick.

(cricket) An achievement of a bowler taking three wickets in three consecutive balls.

(by extension, sports) Three achievements in a single game, competition, season, etc., such as three consecutive wins.

(specifically, ice hockey, soccer) Three goals scored by one player in a game.


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.

أُرْدَمَانِيّ

One of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors

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


red card

→ Japanese: レッドカード (reddo kādo)

→ Korean: 레드카드 (redeukadeu)

In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Argentine player Diego Maradona was given a red card for striking a US player Tab Ramos.

An off the ball incident led to N'Zogbia confronting Wilshere before leaning his head into the Englishman and giving referee Lee Probert no choice but to show the red card.

2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, in BBC:

(sports) A card displayed by the referee when a player is sent off for a serious infringement of the rules.


fumble

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.


sweeper

From Middle English swepere, swepare, equivalent to sweep + -er. Cognate with Middle Low German swēpære, swēper (“broom for sweeping up debris”).

(soccer) A defender who is the last line of defence before the goalkeeper.


knockdown

en-noun

knockdown (countable and uncountable, plural knockdowns)

Pires, a three-time Cup winner with Arsenal who scored the Gunners' winner against Southampton in the 2003 final, has been a largely peripheral figure at Villa Park since joining in November - but the 37-year-old rolled back the years with a fine finish from Delfouneso's knockdown.

2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Aston Villa 3 - 1 Blackburn”, in BBC:

(soccer) a short pass played downwards, for example from the head onto someone's feet.


yellow card

→ Japanese: イエローカード (ierōkādo)

→ Korean: 옐로카드 (yellokadeu)

/ˈjɛl.əʊ ˌkɑːd/

association football
association football

(sports) a yellow-coloured card, shown to a player (especially in association football) as a caution that he or she has committed a flagrant foul; a further such foul would result in a red card.

Some large modern dance companies, most large ballet companies, and most large theater companies also require union crews. These are called yellow card companies.

1991, M. Kay Barrell, The technical production handbook:

Each local union has a separate number; New York was the first so they are Local One. Chicago is Local Two. A yellow card (they have been printed on yellow cardstock since time began) is sent out telling how many hands will be required in in each department for the load-in, load-out, and for the run of the show.

2014, John Ramsey Holloway, Illustrated Theatre Production Guide, page 6:

(often attributive) A card sent out by a travelling dance or theatre company to request temporary personnel from a local labor union.

(historical) a card given to British Army personnel during The Troubles .


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”).

cog

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


semicircle

(soccer) An arc whose center is the penalty spot, extending from the top of the penalty area.


on the ball

(Australian rules football) Playing as a midfielder.


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”).

(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.


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.


punt

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.

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

With five minutes remaining Hennessey was down well to block another Vukcevic shot, while Gunter was smartly in to punt away the dangerous loose ball.

2011 September 2, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC:

(soccer) To kick a bouncing ball far and high.


punt

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


poster

→ Burmese: ပိုစတာ (puica.ta)

→ Catalan: pòster

→ Catalan: pòster

→ Dutch: poster

→ Finnish: posteri

→ French: poster
→ Turkish: poster

→ German: Poster

→ Hindi: पोस्टर (posṭar)

→ Hungarian: poszter

→ Irish: póstaer

→ Italian: poster

→ Japanese: ポスター (posutā)

→ Korean: 포스터 (poseuteo)

→ Malay: poster

→ Manx: posteyr

→ Persian: پوستر (poster)

→ Polish: poster

→ Portuguese: pôster, póster (Portugal)

→ Romanian: poster

→ Russian: по́стер (póstɛr)

→ Spanish: póster

→ Swedish: poster

→ Tagalog: poster

→ Thai: โปสเตอร์ (bpóos-dtə̂ə))

→ Welsh: poster

(Australian rules football, informal) A shot that hits a goalpost, scoring one point.


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


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.


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.


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.


ball carrier

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


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.


neutral-zone infraction

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.


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.


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


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 field

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


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


football player

football player (plural football players)

(soccer, UK) One who plays association football, aka soccer.

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

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


hand-off

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

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


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.

For long, awkward spells, City looked out of their depth. Dani Alves and Jordi Alba attacked like whippets from the full-back positions.

2015 February 24, Daniel Taylor, “Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson”, in The Guardian (London):

(soccer) A player who plays on the left or right side of defence.

һаҡсы

(soccer) a player who plays on the left or right side of defence


running back

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


AFL

Australian Football League
w:Australian Football League

(Australian rules football) Initialism of Australian Football League.

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.


quarterback

From quarter + back, in reference to 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.

(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.


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) To play the position of quarterback.


ultra

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
Latin uls
Proto-Indo-European *-teros?
Latin -ter
Latin -ā
Latin ultrābor.
English ultra
From Latin ultra.

etymon

A similar view is expressed by a Turin supporter in Segre's study, but in this case it is more specifically addressed to how powerful teams, such as Juventus, get preferential treatment in reports on the negative aspects of the ultras world.

2012, ALINA BERNSTEIN, Neil Blain, Sport, Media, Culture: Global and Local Dimensions, Routledge, →ISBN, page 183:

If a member of an official football club can be said to be a citizen of the football world, an ultra has to be considered as a militant.

2013, Richard Guilianotti, Football, Violence and Social Identity, Routledge, →ISBN, page 77:

Although the intention initially was to distribute tickets and arrange travel to away matches, ultras quickly became actively organised and developed an overtly passionate cultural and political identity inside each curva

2015, Jamie Cleland, A Sociology of Football in a Global Context, Routledge, →ISBN, page 30:

(soccer) An especially devoted football fan, typically associated with the intimidating use of extremist slogans, pyrotechnics and sometimes hooligan violence.


flank

From Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc (“flank”), from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-Germanic *hlankō (“bend, curve, hip, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible, sleek, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle Low German lanke (“hip joint”) (German lenken (“to bend, turn, lead”)), Old English hlanc (“loose, slender, flaccid, lank”). More at lank.

cog

The hosts also had Paul Robinson to thank for a string of saves, three of them coming against Jerome Thomas, who gave Michel Salgado a torrid time down the left flank.

2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC:

(soccer) The wing, one side of the pitch.


jumper

→ Bengali: জাম্পার (jampar)

→ Dutch: jumper

→ Estonian: džemper

→ Finnish: jumpperi

→ Georgian: ჯემპრი (ǯemṗri)

→ German: Jumper

→ Hungarian: dzsömper

→ Japanese: ジャンパー (janpā)

→ Macedonian: џемпер (džemper)

→ Maltese: ġamper

→ Portuguese: jumper

desctree

→ Russian: джемпер (džemper)
→ Kazakh: жемпір (jempır)
→ Kyrgyz: жемпир (jempir)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: џемпер

Latin script: džemper

→ Spanish: chompa, chomba

→ Welsh: siwmper

From the term jump (“short coat”) + -er, originally in sailors' jargon, ultimately of uncertain origin. Jump is possibly from Scottish English jupe (“man's loose jacket or tunic”), from Middle English juype, gype, joupe, from Old French jupe, juppe, from Arabic جُبَّة (jubba); see also jibba. Cognate with Middle Low German jōpe, gōpe (“waistcoat, jacket”), German Joppe (“jacket”). Alternatively, perhaps derived from jump.

(Australian rules football) The shirt worn by the players; a guernsey.


receiver

From Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour.

curator

person appointed to settle financial affairs

прыёмнік

electronic device that receives and converts signal

(American football) An offensive player who catches the ball after it has been passed.


shoestring

The noun is derived from shoe + string. The adjective is derived from the noun, while the verb is derived from terms such as shoestring catch and shoestring tackle.

(US, chiefly American football, baseball) Of a catch or tackle: made near the ground, close to a player's shoes.

jalka-

of a catch or tackle: made near the ground, close to a player’s shoes


shoestring

en-verb

shoestring (third-person singular simple present shoestrings, present participle shoestringing, simple past and past participle shoestringed)

shoestrings (present singular third-person)
shoestringing (participle present)
shoestringed (participle past)
shoestringed (past)

shoestring tackle
shoestring tackle#English

(transitive, American football) To tackle (a player) using a shoestring tackle (“one made near the ground, close to a player's shoes”).

taklata alas

to tackle (a player) using a shoestring tackle


QPR

Queens Park Rangers
w:Queens Park Rangers F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Queens Park Rangers: a British football club based in London.


header

His header for the goal followed a perfect corner kick.

The Black Cats had a mountain to climb after James Morrison's header and Shane Long's neat side-foot finish gave Albion a 2-0 lead five minutes in.

2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) The act of hitting the ball with the head.

رَأْسِيَّة

soccer: act of hitting the ball with the head


flare

→ Italian: flare

Origin unknown, first recorded in the mid 16th century, probably related to Latin flagrō (“I burn”). Norwegian flara (“to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire”) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it. Possibly related to Middle High German vlederen (“to flutter”), represented by modern German flattern.
The noun is derived from the verb.

unknown

Origin unknown

ярка светлина

source of brightly burning light or intense heat

Stulp

widening of an object with otherwise roughly constant width

разкрояване

widening of the lower legs of trousers and jeans

(American football) A route run by the running back, releasing toward the sideline and then slightly arcing upfield looking for a short pass.


false start

(American football) The act of an offensive player moving across the line of scrimmage prior to the snap.


assistant referee

en-noun

assistant referee (plural assistant referees)

Maccabi's Yoan Ziv also saw red in the second half for kicking a boot at the assistant referee.

2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, British): One of the two officials at an association football match, previously known as linesmen, who assist the referee.


lineman

(American football) A player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage.


association football

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

soccer

Mostly North American and Australian English

A ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent.


linesman

A linesman replaced injured referee Rebecca Welch after 50 minutes and with no other official present, qualified referee Pattison, 60, ran the line.

2015 November 18, “Steven Pattison: Carlisle United director runs line in FA Youth Cup”, in BBC Sport:

As the linesman raised his flag, Neville played on, crossing for Piovaccari to net.

2015 November 13, “Western Sydney Wanderers romp to victory at hapless Melbourne City”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(American football) An official whose primary task is to determine whether there has been a line of scrimmage violation.

linjatuomari

American football: official who determines if there has been a line of scrimmage violation


overhead

en-adj

overhead (comparative more overhead, superlative most overhead)

more overhead (comparative)
most overhead (superlative)

From Middle English owerheved, over-hed, over hede (adverb), from Old English oferhēafod (adverb), equivalent to over- + head. Compare German Low German overhoopt, överhoopt, German überhaupt.

It was Rooney, however, who produced a moment of inspiration to score a stunning overhead kick that will live forever in the memory of United's fans and extended City's dismal sequence of only one league win in their last 27 visits to Old Trafford.

2011 February 12, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 2 - 1 Man City”, in BBC:


completion

termination

antonym(s) of “making complete, accomplishment”

Borrowed from Latin completio, completionem, from complere (“to fill up, complete”); comparable to English complete + -ion.

(American football) A forward pass that is successfully caught by the intended receiver.


Athletic

(soccer, uncountable) Short for Athletic Club, a Spanish professional club more often known in English as Athletic Bilbao.


Blues

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin venetī (“Sea-Blues”) or factio veneta (“the sea-blue faction”) and Byzantine Greek Βένετοι (Bénetoi, “Blues”).

bor

(informal) Any of several sports teams whose uniform is predominantly blue, such as:

(Australian rules football) Carlton Football Club.


Ajax

(soccer) The Amsterdam football club AFC Ajax


Brewer

(soccer) A player, supporter or other person connected with Burton Albion Football Club.


Cardinal

(American football) A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.


Cherry

(soccer) someone connected with AFC Bournemouth, as a fan, player, coach etc.


City

City will reportedly look to have a fee for Aguero.

(soccer, informal) Manchester City Football Club, an English football club.


Elk

(Canadian football) A team member of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Elks (formerly known as the Eskimos).


Barca

2000 April 19, BBC Online, "Football News":

There's only one Barca

Chelsea and Barca clash once again

Giovani committed to Barca

(informal, soccer) FC Barcelona, a prominent Spanish association football club.


Giant

(American football) A player for the New York Giants.


Argonaut

/ˈɑːrɡənɔːt/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀργοναύτης (Argonaútēs).

(Canadian football) A team member for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.


Gill

* As an English surname, converged from variants of Giles (sometimes through Dutch), Julian, and William.
* As a northern English surname, from Middle English gil (“ravine, glen”), from Old Norse gil. The Old Norse is also a source of the Norwegian surname.
* As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McGill.
* Also as an Irish surname, variant of Gall.
* As a Jewish/Israeli surname, from Hebrew גיל (“joy”).
* As a German surname, variant of Gilger.
* As an Indian/Sikh/Punjabi surname, from ਗਿੱਲ (gill, “moisture”).

(soccer) Someone connected with Gillingham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Euro

England could have met world and European champions Spain but that eventuality was avoided by Sweden's 2-0 win against France, and Rooney's first goal in a major tournament since scoring twice in the 4-2 victory over Croatia in Lisbon at Euro 2004.

2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, usually followed by the year) The UEFA European Football Championship, a European football competition held between the international teams of Europe every four years.


Hammer

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

(soccer) someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Lion

(American football) A player for National Football League's Detroit Lions.

(Canadian football) A player for Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions.

(soccer) A player for the England football team.

(Australian rules football) A player or supporter of the Brisbane Lions.


Aztec

From Spanish azteca, from Classical Nahuatl aztēcah, plural of aztēcatl (“inhabitant of Aztlán”).

(American football) A hybrid defensive back position combining aspects of the safety, nickelback and linebacker positions.


Patriot

(American football, NFL) A member of the New England Patriots professional football team.


Ram

From ram the animal of the mascot for the sports team.

(UK, soccer) Someone connected with Derby County Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Spur

English surname, variant of Spurr. Compare the noun spur.

(soccer) someone connected with Tottenham Hotspur FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Swan

From swan, the bird.
* (surname): An English nickname from the swan bird.

(Australian rules football) someone connected with the Sydney Swans, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Swan

The Swans will doubtless recover, but they will head home this evening knowing that they didn't do themselves justice in a game that means so much to supporters.

2013 November 3, Delme Parfitt, “Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win”, in Wales Online:

(soccer) someone connected with Swansea City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Tiger

(soccer) Someone connected with Hull City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Wanderer

(soccer) someone connected with any number of soccer clubs known as the Wanderers.


Tyke

Perhaps a derogatory nickname from Old Norse tík, 'bitch, female dog' (compare English tyke, Icelandic tík). Less likely to be from Old Norse þýzkr, 'of one's nation' or an Old English cognate (compare German deutsch, Swedish tysk).

(slang, soccer) someone connected with Barnsley Football Club, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Villa

Olsson and Herd tussled off the ball at a free-kick before Olsson fell to the ground. Assistant referee Darren Cann signalled for a penalty and Dowd sent Herd off to the amazement of the Villa faithful.

2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) Aston Villa Football Club, a football club based in Birmingham


Robin

* (masculine given name): From Middle English Robin, from Old French, diminutive of Robert
* (feminine given name): From the bird, robin
* (given name): From Germanic

(soccer) Someone connected with any number of sports teams known as the Robins, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Will

Shortened from William or, less often, from other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.

Will linebacker drops to turn-in, QB dropping dumps the ball off to HB.

1997, F Henderson, M Olson, Football's West Coast Offense, page 7:

Our Will linebacker, because he is away from the formation or to the split end, should be a great pursuit man and pass defender.
Will covers the back side hook zone on the weak side.

2000, American Football Coaches Association, Defensive Football Strategies, page 25:

(American football) A weak-side linebacker.


PK

en-noun

PK (countable and uncountable, plural PKs)

(American football) Initialism of placekicker.

(US, soccer) Initialism of penalty kick.


DB

(American football, Canadian football) Initialism of defensive back.


D

From the shape of the upper case letter "D".

Johnson, a late substitute, applied the finishing touch but it was move kickstarted by the again-impressive Neco Williams, who skedaddled forward from halfway with the ball in tow before feeding Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the D.

2022 June 11, Ben Fisher, “Brennan Johnson’s late goal denies Belgium and extends the Wales party”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) The penalty arc on a football pitch.


CB

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

(soccer) Initialism of centre-back, a defensive position

(American football, Gaelic football, hurling) Initialism of cornerback.

Gaelic football; hurling; Gaelic football; hurling


take on

en-verb

take on (third-person singular simple present takes on, present participle taking on, simple past took on, past participle taken on)

takes on (present singular third-person)
taking on (participle present)
took on (past)
taken on (participle past)

He drifted past four Palace players and took on two more before crossing to the far post, where Fellaini touched on for Mata to score. It was a momentum-shifting moment.

2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC:

(soccer) To (attempt to) dribble round (an opposition player).


meg

meg (third-person singular simple present megs, present participle megging, simple past and past participle megged)

megs (present singular third-person)
megging (participle present)
megged (participle past)
megged (past)

(colloquial, soccer, transitive) To nutmeg an opponent.


golden goal

(soccer) The first goal scored during extra time, giving victory to the scoring side if sudden death is in effect.


Bengal

Borrowed from Portuguese Bengala, from Classical Persian بَنْگَالَه (bangāla), from Middle Bengali বাঙ্গালা (baṅgala), said to be from the Vanga Kingdom, of uncertain ultimate origin. Vangalam has been attested in medieval South India. Doublet of Bangla.

Jones became a Bengal in a trade for Smith.

(American football) A player on the team The Cincinnati Bengals.


hand off

hand off (third-person singular simple present hands off, present participle handing off, simple past and past participle handed off)

hands off (present singular third-person)
handing off (participle present)
handed off (participle past)
handed off (past)

(American football) To pass (the ball) to a teammate.


silver goal

(soccer) the first goal scored during the first half of extra time; giving victory to the scoring side if this rule is in effect


snapshot

Yet Revell misjudged his promising position in the area to put his point-blank snapshot wide from only six yards out.

2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC:

(soccer) A quick, unplanned or unexpected shot.


bicycle kick

Yaya Toure sent over a hopeful cross-field pass that Warnock attempted to clear with a bicycle kick, only to calamitously set Johnson up for a low finish past Given.

2011 October 15, David Ornstein, “Man City 4 - 1 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) A kick in which the kicker leans backwards and kicks the ball back over his head.

bicicleta

not in dictionaries, but a more common spelling in practice


O

en-noun

O (countable and uncountable, plural Os)

(soccer) Someone associated with Leyton Orient Football Club, as a player, coach, supporter etc.


kicker

(American football) A placekicker: a player who kicks the football during free kicks, kick offs, field goals, and extra point tries.


OT

OT (countable and uncountable, plural OTs)

offensive tackle
offensive tackle#English

(American football, Canadian football) Initialism of offensive tackle.


HSV

HSV (countable and uncountable, plural HSVs)

BHV

bovine herpes virus or bovine herpesvirus

CeHV

cercopithecine herpes virus or cercopithecine herpesvirus

EHV

equine herpes virus or equine herpesvirus

FHV

feline herpes virus or feline herpesvirus

KSHV

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

MaHV

macropodid herpes virus or macropodid herpesvirus

OsHV

oyster herpes virus or oyster herpesvirus


PL

(soccer, UK) Initialism of Premier League.


hacking

hacking (usually uncountable, plural hackings)

From Middle English hackynge, hakkynge, hacckinge, equivalent to hack + -ing.

(sports, chiefly American football, soccer, rugby) A kick in the shins.


TD

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

(American football, Canadian football) Abbreviation of touchdown.


CHF

centre half-forward
centre half-forward#English

(Australian rules football) Initialism of centre half-forward.


dink

Imitative. Originally US. Attested since the 1930s.

sound-symbolic

Imitative

The forward passed to Fernandes and, as Pau López advanced, the Portuguese fashioned a sand‑wedge dink over the goalkeeper.

2021 April 29, Jamie Jackson, “Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes help Manchester United hit Roma for six”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A light chip; a chipped pass or shot


dink

en-verb

dink (third-person singular simple present dinks, present participle dinking, simple past and past participle dinked)

dinks (present singular third-person)
dinking (participle present)
dinked (participle past)
dinked (past)

sound-symbolic

Imitative

The forward dinked the ball over the goalkeeper to score his first goal of the season.

But the visitors started the game in stunning fashion when Morten Gamst Pedersen dinked forward a clever looping pass and Kalinic beat the offside trap, surged into the box and beautifully placed the ball past goalkeeper Scott Carson.

2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC:

A dinked pass intended for De Bruyne from the impressive Oscar Bobb then deflected off Jackson and looped into the net early in the second half before Foden smashed in his second.

2024 January 7, Gary Rose, “Manchester City 5-0 Huddersfield Town”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) To chip lightly, to play a light chip shot.


cornerback

The cornerback tipped the ball away from the receiver.

(American football, Gaelic football, hurling) Any of the defensive players who are in position on each side farthest laterally from the ball and whose principal responsibility is to defend against passes.


penalty box

At times, Swindon's penalty box resembled a pinball machine.

2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


Gaelic football

Armagh (and it is one of the most memorable chapters in the history of Gaelic football) were fated to fall at the last hurdle when they were beaten by Kerry in the All-Ireland decider.

2001, Brian Cosgrove, “Sport, Politics and the ‘Other Side’”, in The Yew Tree at the Head of the Strand, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, →ISBN, pages 143–144:

An Irish form of football played by two teams of 15 players each, who score by kicking or punching a ball into the opposing team's goal or over a crossbar and between two upright posts above the goal.

2008 Ulster Senior Football Championship


marksman

In what was a characteristic Bent display, he made only an occasional impact - but proved once again in front of England coach Fabio Capello that he is one of the most reliable marksmen in the domestic game.

2011 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Man City”, in BBC:


torp

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

(Australian rules football, informal) A torpedo punt.


striker

lyöjä

someone or something that hits someone or something else

Olympiakos had barely been in the Arsenal half but should have levelled in the 14th minute. A low corner was not dealt with and the ball fell to the feet of striker Rafik Djebbour, who saw his close-range effort brilliantly cleared from the goalline by Arteta.

2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) One of the players on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.


play in

en-verb

play in (third-person singular simple present plays in, present participle playing in, simple past and past participle played in)

plays in (present singular third-person)
playing in (participle present)
played in (participle past)
played in (past)

Zubar played in Doyle down the Wolves left and his ball into the box evaded several players before falling for Mujangi Bia to finally drive in a second past Neil Sullivan.

2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC:

Salah bamboozled Lisandro Martinez to play in Gakpo for another classy finish three minutes later before the Egyptian resumed his long-time role of United tormentor by getting on the scoresheet himself.

2023 March 5, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, transitive) To pass (someone) the ball into an attacking position.


testimonial

From French testimonial, from Late Latin testimonialis (“of or pertaining to testimony”), from Latin testimonium (“testimony”). See testimony.

der

(soccer) A match played in tribute to a particular player (who sometimes receives a proportion of the gate money).

проща́лен мач

football: match played in tribute to a player


two-minute warning

en-noun

two-minute warning (plural two-minute warnings)

(American football) In the NFL, a timeout and warning given to the coaches with two minutes to go before the end of each half.


defensive tackle

defensive tackle (plural defensive tackles)

(American football) Any of a few defensive positions in the middle of the defensive line.


offensive tackle

offensive tackle (plural offensive tackles)

One of the few surprises saw the New York Giants take offensive tackle Andrew Thomas at number four while the Buccaneers traded up to 13 for offensive tackle Tristian Wirfs to give some protection to their new quarterback Brady.

2020 April 24, “NFL draft 2020: Joe Burrow first pick for Cincinnati Bengals”, in BBC Sport:

(American football) A lineman for the team in possession of the ball located outside one of the guard positions.

bloquejador

lineman outside guard position in the offensive team


field goal

He kicked a 33 yard field goal just before the half.

Sure, Homer and Marge being caught naked in front of the town is funny, but why not make it total humiliation? Why not have Homer dragged ass-first over a church’s glass ceiling and force the pastor to give praise to God’s floors? Why not have Homer’s rear end block a game-winning field goal?

2016 January 24, Les Chappell, “TV: Review: The Simpsons (Classic), “Natural Born Kissers” (season nine, episode 25, originally aired 05/17/1998)”, in The Onion AV Club:

(American football, Canadian football) A kick of the ball through the uprights and over the crossbar (not after a touchdown). It scores 3 points.


halfback

From half + back, in reference to position on the field of play; compare fullback.

(field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions.

(American football) An offensive back whose primary jobs are to carry the ball on running plays and to serve as a receiver or blocker on passing plays.

(Canadian football) A defensive back whose primary jobs are to cover the slotback on passing plays and prevent running plays from going to the outside.

(Australian rules football) One of three players (the centre halfback and two halfback flankers) on the line between the centre line and the fullback line.

field sports; Australian rules football; Australian rules football


split end

Jones played split end.

offensive line of scrimmage
offensive line of scrimmage

(American football) The position which lines up wide and on the offensive line of scrimmage, whose primary job is to serve as a wide receiver.

The split end ran deep.

(American football) A player playing the position of split end.


tight end

National Football League
New England Patriots
Rob Gronkowski
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

From tight (“of a space, arrangement, etc.: narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it”) + end (“position at the end of either the offensive or defensive line; player playing this position”), from the fact that the player takes up a position close to the tackle.

近端鋒

(American football, Canadian football) position at the end of the offensive line

Jones played tight end.

The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs are to block and serve as a short receiver.

The tight end caught the pass.

He has also written about some on the Right’s aversion to the N.F.L., particularly as some concoct convoluted conspiracy theories involving singer Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, while others denounce professional sports as a whole.

2024 February 11, Jane Coaston, “What MAGA Influencers Are Missing About Football”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 1.1).

ala tancat

(American football, Canadian football) player playing the position of tight end

The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs were to block and serve as a short receiver; this position is no longer used.

A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 2.1).


ruck

rook (most accents without the foot-strut split)

From Middle English ruke, from Old Norse. Compare Icelandic hrúka, Swedish ruka.

меле

contest for possession of the ball in Rugby

Australian rules football
Australian rules football#English

A contest in games in which the ball is thrown or bounced in the air and two players from opposing teams attempt to give their team an advantage, typically by tapping the ball to a teammate.

A player who competes in said contests; a ruckman or ruckwoman.

(now rare) Either of a ruckman or a ruck rover, but not a rover.

Any one of a ruckman, a ruck rover or a rover; a follower.


ruck

en-verb

ruck (third-person singular simple present rucks, present participle rucking, simple past and past participle rucked)

rucks (present singular third-person)
rucking (participle present)
rucked (participle past)
rucked (past)

(obsolete, transitive) To act as a ruck in a stoppage in Australian rules football.


offensive line

(American football, Canadian football) The five players of the team possessing the ball comprising the center, the left and right offensive guards, and the left and right offensive tackles who are positioned around the ball at the line of scrimmage.

(American football, Canadian football, uncommon) The seven players required to be within one yard of the line of scrimmage in an offensive formation.

(American football, Canadian football, uncommon) All of the offensive players, whether obligatory or not, lined up one yard or less from the line of scrimmage.


backward pass

(American football) A pass thrown backwards instead of forward, equivalent in the rules to a hand-off.


lateral pass

(American football) a pass thrown laterally and that counts as a hand-off

(American football) any hand-off, whether lateral or backward


incision

en-noun

incision (countable and uncountable, plural incisions)

From Middle English inscicioun, from Middle French incision, from Late Latin incisiō from the verb incidō (“I cut into”) + action noun suffix -iō.

Riyad Mahrez also dragged wide after a De Bruyne incision.

2021 March 7, David Hytner, “Manchester United catch City cold as Fernandes and Shaw end winning run”, in The Guardian:


spec

spectacular mark
spectacular mark#English

(Australia, Australian rules football, informal) Clipping of spectacular mark. (a type of catch in Australian rules football).