Scorelines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of lines indicating scoring points in a game or sport
2. a marking system used to denote the score or outcome in a competition
3. an outline or framework within a match that governs the scoring method and display

Etymology: "Scorelines" is simply the plural of "scoreline," a compound of "score" and "line." The older sense of "score" is a notch or mark cut into a surface to keep count, which is where the tally sense comes from, and "line" supplies the sense of a row or written marking. Put together, a scoreline is a line of figures recording the result of a contest. The plural follows the usual English pattern of adding "-s" to a countable noun, so each "scoreline" is one such recorded result, and "scorelines" refers to several of them, as in a list of match results printed in a newspaper.