soccer

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English

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A game of soccer.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Originally British English; as an abbreviation for association football, via abbreviation assoc. +‎ -er (suffix); earlier socker (1885), also socca (1889), with soccer attested 1888.

Compare contemporary rugger, from Rugby.[1] Similarly constructed coinages from the same period include: brekker (“breakfast”), fresher (“freshman”) and footer (“football”). See Oxford -er.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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soccer (uncountable)

  1. (originated, late 19th C, now often US, Australia, Ireland, Philippines, and other countries; see usage notes) Association football.
    Synonyms: (UK, formal, rarely used) association football, soccer, (ambiguous) football; see also Thesaurus:football
    • 1885 December, “Our Oxford Letter”, in The Oldhallian‎[1], page 171:
      The 'Varsity played Aston Villa and were beaten after a very exciting game; this was pre-eminently the most important "Socker" game played in Oxford this term.
    • 1888 February 15, “Charley Symonds”, in The Oxford Magazine‎[2], page 224:
      Golf is perhaps seven or eight years old in Oxford, ... football, seu Rugger, sive Soccer, not more than sixteen or seventeen.
    • 1889 September 16, “Football Prospects in the West of England”, in The Western Daily Press, volume 63, number 9757, Bristol, page 7:
      Those who play under the "Socker" (Association) rules in the North of England, the Midlands, and Scotland take no heed of the warmness of the weather
    • 1890, Albert Barrère, Charles Leland, A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant‎[3], volume 2, Ballantyne, page 275:
      Socker (public schools), football played according to the Association Rules
    • 1987, Charles Hughes, The Football Association Coaching Book of Soccer: Tactics and Skills, London: BBC, →ISBN:

Usage notes

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  • Since the 1990s, football has become more commonly used in the UK and in some other countries where Association football is the most popular football game, including English-speaking territories in Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, as well as for some English-as-a-second-language (ESL) speakers worldwide. Countries where another type of football sport (or a different football 'code') is more popular are likely to use soccer. These include US, Canada, South Africa, Ireland and some other countries (see here). Both football and soccer are used in Australia and New Zealand, although football also refers to other codes in these countries.
  • soccer was widely used in the UK until the 1990s, although sometimes perceived as upper class or snobbish. Since then, the term has come to be seen as an Americanism (possibly due to media coverage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup hosted in the US and the rise of Major League Soccer) and its usage has declined significantly. The word is still encountered in the UK in some legacy contexts, such as the title of the show Soccer Saturday, but otherwise its use is often criticized as inauthentic or incorrect which has reversed the erstwhile snobbery.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Descendants
  • Afrikaans: sokker
  • French: soccer
  • Irish: sacar
  • Japanese: サッカー (sakkā)
  • Kannada: ಸಾಕರ್ (sākar)
  • Manx: soccar

Translations

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Verb

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soccer (third-person singular simple present soccers, present participle soccering, simple past and past participle soccered)

  1. (Australian rules football) To kick the football directly off the ground, without using one's hands.
    • 1990, Geoffrey Blainey, A Game of Our Own: The Origins of Australian Football, Black Inc. Publishing, published 2003, page 73:
      The rule seems to have encouraged players to soccer the ball along the ground.
    • 2008, John Devaney, Full Points Footy′s WA Football Companion, page 334:
      […] West Perth seemed on the verge of victory, only to succumb by 4 points after a soccered goal from Old Easts with less than half a minute remaining.
    • 2010 March 27, Michael Whiting, “Lions give Fev debut to remember”, in AFL - The official site of the Australian Football League:
      Fevola showed the best and worst of his play after dropping a simple chest mark, only to regather seconds later and soccer the ball through from the most acute of angles.

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “soccer”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From English soccer.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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soccer m (uncountable)

  1. (North America) soccer (association football)
    Synonym: football m

See also

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Anagrams

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