Scoreboards

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prominent structure that exhibits scores in sports events; a mechanism for recording and showing results in competitive activities; a visual representation used to inform spectators of the current standings during games
2. A large electronic or manual panel used at sports venues to show the current scores and game statistics
3. An apparatus positioned in sports arenas that presents the ongoing results and details of a match to the audience

Etymology: "Scoreboards" is the plural of "scoreboard," a compound of two English words that each carry a long history. "Score" comes from Old English "scoru," which is related to the Old Norse "skor," a notch cut into a stick or tally. Keeping count meant cutting marks into wood, so a score was originally a physical notch before it became a number. The "board" half descends from Old English "bord," a flat plank. Put together, the word describes a flat surface on which tallies are displayed. The compound is transparent in a way many words are not: nothing about it was coined to disguise its meaning. Its parts simply reflect the older practice of counting by notching wood, and the modern electronic displays in stadiums are the latest form of that same idea.

Synonyms: tally boards, score sheets, score tables, score displays, score indicators