Coach

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /kəʊtʃ/

Definitions

1. A person who trains and instructs athletes or teams in sports, or someone who provides guidance and instruction to help others improve their performance or achieve goals
2. A large vehicle designed to carry passengers over long distances by road; a private tutor or instructor who provides personalized teaching or mentoring; a person responsible for guiding and developing a sports team or individual athlete to enhance their skills
3. A mode of transportation characterized by a spacious and comfortable bus for traveling between cities; an expert who offers specialized instruction in a particular field or subject; an individual who leads, advises, and supports athletes to optimize their abilities

Etymology: The vehicle sense came first. Coaches were named after Kocs, a small Hungarian town whose livelihood came from building carts and hauling goods along the route between Vienna and Budapest. Its cart was called "kocsi szekér," meaning "cart from Kocs," and the first word was clipped to "kocsi." German took it as "Kutsche," French borrowed it as "coche," and English adopted the carriage it named. The sporting sense began at Oxford, where a "coach" was slang for a tutor who carried a student through an examination. That usage dates to about 1830. The athletic meaning of a trainer followed in 1861, so the word moved from a private tutor's cramming to the sports field.

Synonyms: instructor, trainer, mentor, tutor, guide

Antonyms: student, learner, pupil