Wikimore

English

Alternative forms

socker, socca

Etymology

Originally British English; as an abbreviation for association football, via abbreviation assoc. +‎ -er (suffix)Category:English terms suffixed with -er (Oxford)#SOCCER; earlier socker (1885), also socca (1889), with soccer attested 1888.

Compare contemporary rugger, from Rugby.^[1] Similarly constructed coinages from the same period include: brekker (“breakfast”), fresher (“freshman”) and footer (“football”). See Oxford -er.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɒk.ə/Category:English 2-syllable words#SOCCER Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SOCCER
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#SOCCER
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɑk.ɚ/Category:English 2-syllable words#SOCCER Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation#SOCCER
Rhymes: -ɒkə(ɹ)Category:Rhymes:English/ɒkə(ɹ)#SOCCER Category:Rhymes:English/ɒkə(ɹ)/2 syllables#SOCCER

Noun

soccer (uncountable)Category:English lemmas#SOCCER Category:English nouns#SOCCER Category:English uncountable nouns#SOCCER Category:English uncountable nouns#SOCCER Category:English entries with incorrect language header#SOCCER Category:Pages with entries#SOCCER Category:Pages with 2 entries#SOCCER

(originated, late 19th C, now often US Category:American English#SOCCER, Australia Category:Australian English#SOCCER, Ireland Category:Irish English#SOCCER, Philippines Category:Philippine English#SOCCER, and other countries; see usage notes) Association football.
Synonyms: (UK, formal, rarely used) association football, soccer, (ambiguous) football; see also Thesaurus:football
- 1885 December, “Our Oxford Letter”, in The Oldhallian‎, page 171:
  The 'Varsity played Aston Villa and were beaten after a very exciting game; this was pre-eminently the most important "Socker" game played in Oxford this term.
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 1888 February 15, “Charley Symonds”, in The Oxford Magazine‎, page 224:
  Golf is perhaps seven or eight years old in Oxford, ... football, seu Rugger, sive Soccer, not more than sixteen or seventeen.
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 1889 September 16, “Football Prospects in the West of England”, in The Western Daily Press, volume 63, number 9757, Bristol, page 7:
  Those who play under the "Socker" (Association) rules in the North of England, the Midlands, and Scotland take no heed of the warmness of the weather
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 1890, Albert Barrère, Charles Leland, A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant‎, volume 2, Ballantyne, page 275:
  Socker (public schools), football played according to the Association Rules
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 1987, Charles Hughes, The Football Association Coaching Book of Soccer: Tactics and Skills, London: BBC, →ISBN:

Usage notes

Since the 1990s, football has become more commonly used in the UK and in some other countries where Association football is the most popular football game, including English-speaking territories in Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, as well as for some English-as-a-second-language (ESL) speakers worldwide. Countries where another type of football sport (or a different football 'code') is more popular are likely to use soccer. These include US, Canada, South Africa, Ireland and some other countries (see here). Both football and soccer are used in Australia and New Zealand, although football also refers to other codes in these countries.
soccer was widely used in the UK until the 1990s, although sometimes perceived as upper class or snobbish. Since then, the term has come to be seen as an Americanism (possibly due to media coverage of the 1994 FIFA World Cup hosted in the US and the rise of Major League Soccer) and its usage has declined significantly. The word is still encountered in the UK in some legacy contexts, such as the title of the show Soccer Saturday, but otherwise its use is often criticized as inauthentic or incorrect which has reversed the erstwhile snobbery.

Derived terms

Related terms

rugger

Descendants

→ Afrikaans: sokker
→ French: soccer
→ Irish: sacar
→ Japanese: サッカー (sakkā)
→ Kannada: ಸಾಕರ್ (sākar)
→ Manx: soccar

Translations

game

Category:Entries with translation boxes#SOCCER

Afrikaans: sokker (af)Category:Terms with Afrikaans translations#SOCCER
Albanian: futboll (sq) mCategory:Terms with Albanian translations#SOCCER
Arabic: كُرَة اَلْقَدَم (ar) f (kurat al-qadam)Category:Arabic terms with non-redundant manual transliterations#SOCCER Category:Terms with Arabic translations#SOCCER
Egyptian Arabic: كورة f (kōra)Category:Terms with Egyptian Arabic translations#SOCCER

Moroccan Arabic: كورة f (kūra)Category:Terms with Moroccan Arabic translations#SOCCER
Armenian: ֆուտբոլ (hy) (futbol)Category:Terms with Armenian translations#SOCCER
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܸܣܦܹܝܪ ܪܸܓ݂ܠܵܐ m (ispēr riḡlā)Category:Terms with Assyrian Neo-Aramaic translations#SOCCER
Asturian: fútbol mCategory:Terms with Asturian translations#SOCCER
Azerbaijani: futbol (az)Category:Terms with Azerbaijani translations#SOCCER
Bavarian: FuaßboiCategory:Terms with Bavarian translations#SOCCER, WuchtlCategory:Terms with Bavarian translations#SOCCER (obsolete)
Belarusian: футбо́л (be) m (futból)Category:Belarusian terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Belarusian translations#SOCCER
Bengali: ফুটবল (bn) (phuṭbol)Category:Terms with Bengali translations#SOCCER
Breton: mell-droad (br)Category:Terms with Breton translations#SOCCER
Bulgarian: фу́тбол m (fútbol)Category:Terms with Bulgarian translations#SOCCER
Burmese: ဘောလုံး (my) (bhau:lum:)Category:Terms with Burmese translations#SOCCER
Catalan: futbol (ca) mCategory:Terms with Catalan translations#SOCCER
Chichewa: mpiraCategory:Terms with Chichewa translations#SOCCER
Chinese:
Cantonese: 足球 (zuk¹ kau⁴)Category:Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations#SOCCER Category:Terms with Cantonese translations#SOCCER

Hakka: 足球 (chiuk-khiù)Category:Terms with Hakka translations#SOCCER, 足球 (chuk-khiù)Category:Terms with Hakka translations#SOCCER

Hokkien: 跤球 (zh-min-nan) (kha-kiû)Category:Terms with Hokkien translations#SOCCER

Mandarin: 足球 (zh) (zúqiú)Category:Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations#SOCCER Category:Terms with Mandarin translations#SOCCER, 蹴球 (zh) (cùqiú)Category:Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations#SOCCER Category:Terms with Mandarin translations#SOCCER (rare)
Chukchi: ӄапԓёчеттыргын (qapḷjočettyrgyn)Category:Terms with Chukchi translations#SOCCER
Czech: fotbal (cs) mCategory:Terms with Czech translations#SOCCER, kopaná (cs) fCategory:Terms with Czech translations#SOCCER
Danish: fodbold (da) cCategory:Terms with Danish translations#SOCCER
Dinka: adiircökCategory:Terms with Dinka translations#SOCCER
Dutch: voetbal (nl) nCategory:Terms with Dutch translations#SOCCER
Esperanto: futbalo (eo)Category:Terms with Esperanto translations#SOCCER
Estonian: jalgpall (et)Category:Terms with Estonian translations#SOCCER
Finnish: jalkapallo (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#SOCCER, jalkkis (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#SOCCER (colloquial), futis (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#SOCCER (slang), futa (fi)Category:Terms with Finnish translations#SOCCER (slang)
French: football (fr) mCategory:Terms with French translations#SOCCER (Europe), soccer (fr) mCategory:Terms with French translations#SOCCER (Canada)
Galician: fútbol (gl) mCategory:Terms with Galician translations#SOCCER
Georgian: ფეხბურთი (ka) (pexburti)Category:Georgian terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Georgian translations#SOCCER
German: Fußball (de) mCategory:Terms with German translations#SOCCER, FuppesCategory:Terms with German translations#SOCCER
Alemannic German: SchuttäCategory:Terms with Alemannic German translations#SOCCER, Fuessball nCategory:Terms with Alemannic German translations#SOCCER, Tschuutte nCategory:Terms with Alemannic German translations#SOCCER
Greek: ποδόσφαιρο (el) n (podósfairo)Category:Terms with Greek translations#SOCCER
Greenlandic: isikkamik arsaanneqCategory:Terms with Greenlandic translations#SOCCER, arsaanneqCategory:Terms with Greenlandic translations#SOCCER
Guaraní: vakapi (gn)Category:Terms with Guaraní translations#SOCCER
Gujarati: ફૂટબોલ (phūṭbol)Category:Terms with Gujarati translations#SOCCER
Hawaiian: kinipōpō pekuCategory:Terms with Hawaiian translations#SOCCER
Hebrew: כַּדּוּרֶגֶל (he) m (kadurégel)Category:Terms with Hebrew translations#SOCCER
Hindi: फ़ुटबॉल (fuṭbŏl)Category:Terms with Hindi translations#SOCCER, फ़ुटबाल (fuṭbāl)Category:Terms with Hindi translations#SOCCER, फुटबॉल (phuṭbŏl)Category:Terms with Hindi translations#SOCCER, फुटबाल (hi) (phuṭbāl)Category:Terms with Hindi translations#SOCCER
Hungarian: labdarúgás (hu)Category:Terms with Hungarian translations#SOCCER, futball (hu)Category:Terms with Hungarian translations#SOCCER, foci (hu)Category:Terms with Hungarian translations#SOCCER (informal)
Icelandic: fótbolti (is) mCategory:Terms with Icelandic translations#SOCCER, knattspyrna (is) fCategory:Terms with Icelandic translations#SOCCER
Indonesian: sepakbola (id)Category:Terms with Indonesian translations#SOCCER
Interlingua: footballCategory:Terms with Interlingua translations#SOCCER
Inuktitut: ᐊᔪᒃᑕᖅ (ayoktaq)Category:Terms with Inuktitut translations#SOCCER
Irish: sacar mCategory:Terms with Irish translations#SOCCER, peil fCategory:Terms with Irish translations#SOCCER
Italian: calcio (it) mCategory:Terms with Italian translations#SOCCER
Japanese: サッカー (ja) (sakkā)Category:Terms with Japanese translations#SOCCER, 蹴球 (ja) (しゅうきゅう, shūkyū)Category:Terms with Japanese translations#SOCCER (rare), (UK) フットボール (ja) (futtobōru)Category:Japanese terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Japanese translations#SOCCER
Kannada: ಸಾಕರ್ (sākar)Category:Kannada terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Kannada translations#SOCCER, ಫುಟ್ಬಾಲ್ (phuṭbāl)Category:Terms with Kannada translations#SOCCER
Kazakh: футбол (futbol)Category:Kazakh terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Kazakh translations#SOCCER
Khmer: កីឡាបាល់ទាត់ (kəylaa bal tŏət)Category:Terms with Khmer translations#SOCCER
Korean: 축구(蹴球) (ko) (chukgu)Category:Terms with Korean translations#SOCCER, 풋볼 (putbol)Category:Terms with Korean translations#SOCCER
Kyrgyz: футбол (ky) (futbol)Category:Kyrgyz terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Kyrgyz translations#SOCCER
Lao: ຟຸດບານ (fut bān)Category:Terms with Lao translations#SOCCER, ບານເຕະ (bān te)Category:Terms with Lao translations#SOCCER
Latin: pediludium (la) nCategory:Terms with Latin translations#SOCCER
Latvian: futbols (lv) mCategory:Terms with Latvian translations#SOCCER, kājbumba fCategory:Terms with Latvian translations#SOCCER
Lithuanian: futbolas (lt) mCategory:Terms with Lithuanian translations#SOCCER
Macedonian: фу́дбал (mk) m (fúdbal)Category:Terms with Macedonian translations#SOCCER
Malagasy: baolina kitra (mg)Category:Terms with Malagasy translations#SOCCER
Malay: bola sepak (ms)Category:Terms with Malay translations#SOCCER
Malayalam: ഫുട്ബോൾ (phuṭbōḷ)Category:Terms with Malayalam translations#SOCCER, സോക്കർ (sōkkaṟ)Category:Terms with Malayalam translations#SOCCER
Maltese: futbol mCategory:Terms with Maltese translations#SOCCER
Manx: soccerCategory:Terms with Manx translations#SOCCER, soccarCategory:Terms with Manx translations#SOCCER
Maori: poikiriCategory:Terms with Maori translations#SOCCER
Marathi: फुटबॉल (phuṭbŏl)Category:Terms with Marathi translations#SOCCER
Miami: aakalaahšima paaskoontiaCategory:Terms with Miami translations#SOCCER
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: хөлбөмбөг (mn) (xölbömbög)Category:Terms with Mongolian translations#SOCCER
Nahuatl: neicxitapayolhuiliztliCategory:Terms with Nahuatl translations#SOCCER
Navajo: jooł nabíznítaałíCategory:Terms with Navajo translations#SOCCER
Norwegian:
Bokmål: fotball (no) mCategory:Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations#SOCCER
Pashto: فتبال m (fotbál)Category:Terms with Pashto translations#SOCCER, فوټبال (ps) m (foṭbãl)Category:Terms with Pashto translations#SOCCER
Persian: فوتبال (fa) (futbâl)Category:Terms with Persian translations#SOCCER
Polish: piłka nożna (pl) fCategory:Terms with Polish translations#SOCCER, futbol (pl) mCategory:Terms with Polish translations#SOCCER (colloquial), gała (pl) fCategory:Terms with Polish translations#SOCCER (slang), noga (pl) fCategory:Terms with Polish translations#SOCCER (slang)
Portuguese: futebol (pt) mCategory:Terms with Portuguese translations#SOCCER
Punjabi: ਫੁਟਬਾਲ (phuṭbāl)Category:Terms with Punjabi translations#SOCCER
Romanian: fotbal (ro) nCategory:Terms with Romanian translations#SOCCER
Russian: футбо́л (ru) m (futból)Category:Terms with Russian translations#SOCCER, со́ккер (ru) m (sókker)Category:Terms with Russian translations#SOCCER (rare, US, Australia, Japan), ногомя́ч (ru) m (nogomjáč)Category:Terms with Russian translations#SOCCER (rare, neologism)
Saterland Frisian: FoutbalCategory:Terms with Saterland Frisian translations#SOCCER
Scottish Gaelic: ball-coise mCategory:Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations#SOCCER
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: фудбал mCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations#SOCCER, ногомет mCategory:Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations#SOCCER

Roman: fudbal (sh) mCategory:Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations#SOCCER, nogomet (sh) mCategory:Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations#SOCCER
Sinhalese: පාපන්දුව (pāpanduwa)Category:Sinhalese terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Sinhalese translations#SOCCER
Slovak: futbal (sk) mCategory:Terms with Slovak translations#SOCCER, fotbal (sk) mCategory:Terms with Slovak translations#SOCCER
Slovene: nogomet (sl) mCategory:Terms with Slovene translations#SOCCER
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: kopańcaCategory:Terms with Lower Sorbian translations#SOCCER, balokopanjeCategory:Terms with Lower Sorbian translations#SOCCER

Upper Sorbian: kopańcaCategory:Terms with Upper Sorbian translations#SOCCER
Sotho: boloCategory:Terms with Sotho translations#SOCCER
Spanish: fútbol (es) mCategory:Terms with Spanish translations#SOCCER, (Mexico) futbol (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#SOCCER; balompié (es) mCategory:Terms with Spanish translations#SOCCER, balón-pie mCategory:Terms with Spanish translations#SOCCER; (Mexico) pambol (es)Category:Terms with Spanish translations#SOCCER
Swahili: soka (sw)Category:Terms with Swahili translations#SOCCER, kandanda (sw)Category:Terms with Swahili translations#SOCCER
Swedish: fotboll (sv) cCategory:Terms with Swedish translations#SOCCER
Tagalog: putbolCategory:Terms with Tagalog translations#SOCCER
Tajik: футбол (tg) (futbol)Category:Tajik terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Tajik translations#SOCCER
Tamil: கால்பந்து (ta) (kālpantu)Category:Terms with Tamil translations#SOCCER
Tatar: футбол (futbol)Category:Tatar terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Tatar translations#SOCCER
Telugu: ఫుట్ బాల్ (phuṭ bāl)Category:Telugu terms with redundant script codes#SOCCER Category:Terms with Telugu translations#SOCCER
Thai: ฟุตบอล (th) (fút-bɔn)Category:Terms with Thai translations#SOCCER
Tibetan: རྐང་རྩེད་སྤོ་ལོ (rkang rtsed spo lo)Category:Terms with Tibetan translations#SOCCER
Tok Pisin: sokaCategory:Terms with Tok Pisin translations#SOCCER, kikbalCategory:Terms with Tok Pisin translations#SOCCER
Turkish: futbol (tr)Category:Terms with Turkish translations#SOCCER, ayak topu (tr)Category:Terms with Turkish translations#SOCCER
Turkmen: futbolCategory:Terms with Turkmen translations#SOCCER
Ukrainian: футбо́л (uk) m (futból)Category:Terms with Ukrainian translations#SOCCER, копа́ний м'яч m (kopányj mʺjač)Category:Terms with Ukrainian translations#SOCCER
Urdu: فٹ بال (fuṭ bāl)Category:Terms with Urdu translations#SOCCER
Uyghur: پۇتبول (putbol)Category:Terms with Uyghur translations#SOCCER
Uzbek: futbol (uz)Category:Terms with Uzbek translations#SOCCER
Vietnamese: bóng đá (vi)Category:Terms with Vietnamese translations#SOCCER
Walloon: fotbale (wa) fCategory:Terms with Walloon translations#SOCCER, fotbal (wa) mCategory:Terms with Walloon translations#SOCCER, fousbale (wa) mCategory:Terms with Walloon translations#SOCCER
Welsh: pêl-droed (cy) mCategory:Terms with Welsh translations#SOCCER
West Frisian: fuotbal (fy)Category:Terms with West Frisian translations#SOCCER
Western Panjabi: فٹ بال (fṭ bāl)Category:Terms with Punjabi translations#SOCCER
Yiddish: פֿוסבאָל m (fusbol)Category:Terms with Yiddish translations#SOCCER
Zhuang: cukgiuzCategory:Terms with Zhuang translations#SOCCER
Zulu: ibhola (zu)Category:Terms with Zulu translations#SOCCER

Verb

soccer (third-person singular simple present soccers, present participle soccering, simple past and past participle soccered)Category:English lemmas#SOCCER Category:English verbs#SOCCER Category:English entries with incorrect language header#SOCCER Category:Pages with entries#SOCCER Category:Pages with 2 entries#SOCCER

(Australian rules football Category:en:Australian rules football#SOCCER) To kick the football directly off the ground, without using one's hands.
- 1990, Geoffrey Blainey, A Game of Our Own: The Origins of Australian Football, Black Inc. Publishing, published 2003, page 73:
  The rule seems to have encouraged players to soccer the ball along the ground.
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 2008, John Devaney, Full Points Footy′s WA Football Companion, page 334:
  […] West Perth seemed on the verge of victory, only to succumb by 4 points after a soccered goal from Old Easts with less than half a minute remaining.
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER
- 2010 March 27, Michael Whiting, “Lions give Fev debut to remember”, in AFL - The official site of the Australian Football League:
  Fevola showed the best and worst of his play after dropping a simple chest mark, only to regather seconds later and soccer the ball through from the most acute of angles.
  Category:English terms with quotations#SOCCER

References

↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “soccer”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

Croces, escroc, scorce

Category:en:Football (soccer)#SOCCER Category:Australian English Category:Fijian English Category:New Zealand English Category:North American English Category:Papua New Guinean English Category:South African English Category:Japanese English

French

Wikimore

soccer

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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Noun

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Verb

References

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French

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Noun

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Anagrams