sport

Etymology

From Middle English sporten (verb) and sport, spoort, sporte (noun), apheretic shortenings of disporten (verb) and disport, disporte (noun). More at disport.

noun

1. (countable) Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.
2. (countable) A person who exhibits either good or bad sportsmanship.
   Jen may have won, but she was sure a poor sport; she laughed at the loser.
   The loser was a good sport, and congratulated Jen on her performance.
3. (countable) Somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirably good-natured manner, e.g. to being teased or to losing a game; a good sport.
   You're such a sport! You never get upset when we tease you.
4. (obsolete) That which diverts, and makes mirth; pastime; amusement.
   The little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon. a. 1765, year of origin unknown, Hey Diddle Diddle (traditional rhyme)
5. (obsolete) Mockery, making fun; derision.
6. (countable) A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery.
   flitting leaves, the sport of every wind
   Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he is the sport of his own ungoverned passions. a. 1676, John Clarke, On Governing the Temper
7. (uncountable) Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, or fishing.
8. (biology, botany, zoology, countable) A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. The term encompasses both mutants and organisms with non-genetic developmental abnormalities such as birth defects.
   At Hortus Bulborum you will find heirloom narcissi that date back at least to the 15th century and famous old tulips like 'Duc van Tol' (1595) and its sports. 26 September 2014, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)
9. (slang, countable) A sportsman; a gambler.
10. (slang, countable) One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes.
11. (obsolete, uncountable) An amorous dalliance.
12. (informal, usually singular) A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question)
    "Say, sport!" he would say briskly. 1924 July, Ellis Butler, “The Little Tin Godlets”, in The Rotarian, volume 25, number 1, Rotary International, page 14
13. Term of endearment used by an adult for a child, usually a boy.
    Hey, sport! You've gotten so big since I saw you last! Give me five.
14. (obsolete) Play; idle jingle.
    1725-1726, William Broome, The Odyssey An author who should introduce such a sport of words upon our stage […] would meet with small applause.

verb

1. (intransitive) To amuse oneself, to play.
   children sporting on the green
2. (intransitive) To mock or tease, treat lightly, toy with.
   Jen sports with Bill's emotions.
   He sports with his own life. 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious
3. (transitive) To display; to have as a notable feature.
   Jen's sporting a new pair of shoes; he was sporting a new wound from the combat
   [The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […]. 2013-07-20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
   He was especially happy to see one of the most important discoveries make it to the screen: dinosaurs that sported feathers. But judging from the emails he has been receiving, some moviegoers did not share his excitement. 2023-06-03, Carl Zimmer, “How Did Birds First Take Off?”, in The New York Times
4. (reflexive) To divert; to amuse; to make merry.
5. (transitive) To represent by any kind of play.
6. To practise the diversions of the field or the turf; to be given to betting, as upon races.
7. To assume suddenly a new and different character from the rest of the plant or from the type of the species; said of a bud, shoot, plant, or animal.
   more than one kind of rose has sported into a moss 1860, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication
8. (transitive) To close (a door).
   There he locked it up in a drawer, sported the doors of both sets of rooms, and retired to bed. 1904, M. R. James, The Mezzotint