Rugbies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plural form referring to various types or instances of a team sport played with an oval ball that involves running, tackling, and goal scoring; multiple matches or games of this sport; different versions or codes of the game played internationally
2. The collective designation for several games or forms of a contact sport known for scrum formation and territory gaining with an egg-shaped ball; several events featuring this physical and strategic activity; diverse adaptations or competitions in the sport across regions
3. Referring to more than one occurrence or example of a sport emphasizing physical endurance and ball handling on a field with goalposts; a series of contests or sessions of the game; various global styles and rulesets of the contest involving similar gameplay principles

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "rugbies" is that its root is a bird. The place name Rugby, in Warwickshire, is recorded in the Domesday Book as Rocheberie, which probably combines the Old English word for rook, a crow-family bird, with a suffix meaning village or town. The rook is the likelier root than an older Old English word for a rocky place, though the exact sense of the first element remains uncertain. Rugby School in that town is where the modern game was developed in the 19th century, and the sport took its name from the school. "Rugbies" is simply the plural of "rugby", used for the oval-ball matches played under that name. A second, unrelated Rugby also exists: a brand of rubber cement made by Bostik. Its name became a genericized trademark, so the word is now used more broadly, and the rubber-cement sense is a coincidence of spelling rather than a shared history.

Synonyms: rugby matches, rugby games