Sportsmen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals engaged in athletic activities or competitions
2. participants in various physical contests or events
3. those who demonstrate skill and teamwork in organized games or sports situations

Etymology: "Sportsmen" is the plural of "sportsman," which is built from "sports" and "man." The first part traces back to Anglo-Norman "desporter," from Old French "desporter," meaning "to divert oneself," itself formed from Latin "portāre" ("to carry") with the prefix "dis-" ("away"). The sense was originally one of relaxing or amusing oneself, so "carrying oneself away" from work. In Middle English this shortened to "sporten," and eventually to "sport." The second element is the ordinary English word "man," from Old English "mann," which has been in the language since the earliest records. Joined to "sports," it produced "sportsman" for a person who takes part in sport, and the plural "sportsmen" follows the regular English pattern of adding "-s" to the end of the word.

Synonyms: athletes, players, competitors, jocks, sportspeople

Antonyms: nonathletes, spectators, bystanders, fans, observers