sportsman

See also: Sportsman

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English sports

Proto-Indo-European *mon-

Proto-Germanic *mann-

Proto-West Germanic *mann

Old English mann

Middle English man

Middle English -man

English -man

English sportsman

From sports + -man.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

sportsman (plural sportsmen)

1. (UK) A man who engages in sports; an athlete.
   • 2014, Libor Flemr, Jiří Němec, Kateřina Kudláčková, editors, Physical activity in science and practice: Conference Proceedings | In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University in Prague [Prague, 19-21 June 2013], page 237:

     On the contrary, the difference between the worse male and female sportsmen was 54 ms. Among the male sportsmen [...]. Among the female sportsmen [...]

   • 2008, Atko Viru, Adaptation in Sports Training, Informa Healthcare USA, New York, p. 227 (Chapter 9: Gender Differences in Training Effects, sub-chapter Metabolic Capacities in male and female Athletes):

     In both cases the female sportsmen were Nordic skiers.

2. (dated) A man who engages in country sports, such as hunting or fishing.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 3”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     At last extinguishing the fire, he took the idol up very unceremoniously, and bagged it again in his grego pocket as carelessly as if he were a sportsman bagging a dead woodcock.

3. A man who exhibits good sportsmanship, or who exhibits sportsmanship as specified (good or bad).

Derived terms

• sportsmanlike
• sportsmanly
• sportsman's bet
• sportsmanship

Related terms

• sportswoman

Descendants

• → Korean: 스포츠맨 (seupocheumaen)
• → Polish: sportsmen
• → Russian: спортсме́н (sportsmén)
• → Ukrainian: спортсме́н (sportsmén)
• → Welsh: sbortsmon

Translations

(male) athlete

• Albanian: sportist (sq) m, atlet (sq) m
• Arabic: رِيَاضِيّ m (riyāḍiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: رياضي m (reyāḍi)

• Armenian: սպորտսմեն (hy) (sportsmen), մարզիկ (hy) (marzik)
• Azerbaijani: idmançı (az) (either gender)
• Belarusian: спартсме́н m (spartsmjén), спарто́вец m (spartóvjec), атле́т m (atljét)
• Bulgarian: спорти́ст (bg) m (sportíst), атле́т m (atlét), спортсме́н m (sportsmén)
• Burmese: အားကစားသမား (a:ka.ca:sa.ma:)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 運動員 / 运动员 (zh) (yùndòngyuán) (either gender)

• Czech: sportovec (cs) m
• Danish: sportsmand c, idrætsmand c
• Dutch: sportman (nl) m
• Esperanto: sportisto
• Estonian: sportlane (either gender)
• Finnish: urheilija (fi) (either gender)
• French: sportif (fr) m, athlète (fr) m or f
• Georgian: სპორტსმენი (ka) (sṗorṭsmeni), ათლეტი (atleṭi)
• German: Sportler (de) m, Athlet (de) m
• Greek: αθλητικός τύπος m (athlitikós týpos), αθλητικός (el) m (athlitikós), αθλητής (el) m (athlitís)
• Hebrew: סְפּוֹרְטַאי (he) m (sportái)
• Hindi: खिलाड़ी m (khilāṛī)
• Hungarian: sportoló (hu) (either gender)
• Icelandic: íþróttamaður (is) m
• Indonesian: olahragawan (id)
• Italian: sportivo (it) m
• Japanese: 運動選手 (ja) (うんどうせんしゅ, undō senshu) (either gender), 選手 (ja) (せんしゅ, senshu), スポーツ選手 (ja) (スポーツせんしゅ, supōtsu senshu); スポーツマン (ja) (supōtsuman)
• Kazakh: спортшы (sportšı) (either gender)
• Khmer: អត្តពលិក (ʼattaʼpŏəllɨk) (either gender), អ្នកកីឡា (nĕək kəylaa) (either gender)
• Korean: 운동선수(運動選手) (undongseonsu) (either gender), 선수(選手) (ko) (seonsu), 스포츠 선수 (seupocheu seonsu); 스포츠맨 (seupocheumaen)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: werziştkar (ku) m

• Kyrgyz: спортчу (ky) (sportcu) (either gender)
• Lao: ນັກກິລາ (lo) (nak ki lā)
• Latvian: sportists m, atlēts m
• Lithuanian: sportininkas m
• Macedonian: спорти́ст m (sportíst)
• Malay: olahragawan (ms) (either gender), ahli sukan, atlet (either gender)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: тамирчин (mn) (tamirčin) (either gender)

  Mongolian script: ᠲᠠᠮᠢᠷᠴᠢᠨ (tamirčin) (either gender)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: idrettsmann m

  Nynorsk: idrettsmann m

• Pannonian Rusyn: спортиста m (sportista), спортист m (sportist)
• Pashto: ورزشکار m (warzǝškãr)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: وَرْزِشْکار (fa) (varzeškâr) (either gender)

• Polish: sportowiec (pl) m pers, sportsmen (pl) m pers, atleta (pl) m pers
• Portuguese: esportivo (pt) m, esportista (pt) m or f
• Romanian: sportiv (ro) m, atlet (ro) m
• Russian: спортсме́н (ru) m (sportsmén), атле́т (ru) m (atlét)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: спортиста m, спо̀рта̄ш m (Croatia)

  Latin: sportista m, spòrtāš (sh) m (Croatia)

• Slovak: športovec m
• Slovene: športnik (sl) m
• Spanish: deportista (es) m or f
• Swedish: idrottsman (sv) c, idrottare (sv) c
• Tajik: варзишгар (varzišgar)
• Tatar: спортчы (sportçı) (either gender)
• Thai: นักกีฬา (th) (nák-gii-laa) (either gender)
• Turkish: sporcu (tr) (either gender)
• Turkmen: sportçy (either gender)
• Ukrainian: спортсме́н m (sportsmén), спорто́вець m (sportóvecʹ), атле́т (uk) m (atlét)
• Urdu: کِھلاڑی m (khilāṛī)
• Uyghur: ئىسپورتچى (isportchi) (either gender)
• Uzbek: sportchi (uz) (either gender), sportsmen (uz), atlet (uz)
• Vietnamese: vận động viên (vi) (either gender), nhà thể thao (either gender)
• Yiddish: ספּאָרטסמאַן m (sportsman)

man who engages in country sports

• Finnish: erämies (fi)
• Polish: sportowiec uczestniczący w sportach wiejskich m pers

Romanian

Noun

sportsman m (plural sportsmeni)

1. alternative form of sportsmen

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	sportsman	sportsmanul	sportsmeni	sportsmenii
genitive-dative	sportsman	sportsmanului	sportsmeni	sportsmenilor
vocative	sportsmanule		sportsmenilor