Other forms: sports
A sport is a physical game or contest played by rules. Play sport, a team sport, the world of sport.
Britain says sport where America says sports, which is one of the clearest small differences between them. The word is a shortening of disport, meaning to amuse oneself, and the older sense of good sport meaning fun survives in being a good sport.
1nounsportA physical game or contest played by rules.
“Football is the most popular sport in Brazil.”
sport is a game.
A shortening of disport, from Old French desporter, to divert or amuse.
Middle English
sporten
English, today
sport
Built from
From Middle English sporten, from disporten. From Middle English sporten (“to divert, disport”) and sport, spoort, sporte, apheretic shortenings of disporten and disport, disporte, from Old French desporter (“to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement”), etymologically meaning "to carry away (the mind from serious matters)," from des- + porter, from Latin dis- + Latin portāre, ultimately from Latin deportāre, from de- + portāre, from Proto-Indo-European per- (“to lead, pass over”)). Replaced native laik, lake (“sport, fun, amusement”), and spile, spyl (“fun, sport, play”). More at disport. a doublet of disport and deport.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA