sportive

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old French des-

Proto-Indo-European *per-

Proto-Indo-European *-téh₂

Proto-Indo-European *pr̥téh₂

Proto-Italic *portā

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Proto-Italic *portāō

Latin portāre

Old French porter

Anglo-Norman desporterbor.

Middle English disporten

Middle English sporten

English sport

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.

Latin -īvus

Old French -ifbor.

Middle English -yf

English -ive

English sportive

From sport + -ive.

Pronunciation

(non-rhotic)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈspɔː(ɹ)tɪv/
  - Audio (Southern England): (file)
(rhotic)
- (General American)
  - (without t-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈspoɹtɪv/, [ˈspoɹtʰɪv]; /ˈspɔɹtɪv/, [ˈspɔɹtʰɪv]
  - (t-flapping) IPA^(key): /ˈspoɹɾɪv/, [ˈspoɹɾɪv]; /ˈspɔɹɾɪv/, [ˈspɔɹɾɪv]
Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)tɪv
Hyphenation: spor‧tive

Adjective

sportive (comparative more sportive, superlative most sportive)

(archaic) Lively; merry; spritely.
- c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
  Is it I
  That drive thee from the sportive court?
Playful, coltish.
Interested in sport.
Sporty, good at sport.

Derived terms

Translations

gay, frolicsome, merry — see merry

playful, coltish — see playful

interested in sport

Finnish: kiinnostunut urheilusta
Polish: sportowy (pl)

good at sport — see sporty

Noun

sportive (plural sportives)

(cycling) Synonym of cyclosportive.
- 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track‎^[1], Guardian Unlimited:
  Such incidents, part of the cherished mythology of the Tour's early years, are rare in modern cycling, although a 62-year-old local councillor was arrested and subsequently released after tacks had been scattered during the 2009 Etape Caledonia, a sportive held on closed roads in Scotland, causing countless punctures among the 3,500 riders.