varsity
English
Etymology
Mid 17th century. Clipping of univarsity, reflecting an archaic pronunciation of university.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈvɑː.sɪ.ti/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈvɑɹ.sɪ.ti/, [ˈvɑɹsɪɾi]
Audio (Canada) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)sɪti
Noun
varsity (countable and uncountable, plural varsities)
- (often attributive) university
- 1853, Cuthbert Bede [pseudonym; Edward Bradley], “Mr. Verdant Green’s Morning Reflections are not so pleasant as his Evening Diversions”, in The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman, London: Nathaniel Cooke, […], →OCLC, page 71:
- […] and then to lyrically proclaim that, not only was it a way they had in the Varsity to drive dull care away, but that the same practice was also pursued in the army and navy for the attainment of a similar end.
- (sports, US) The principal sports team representing an institution (usually a high school, college, or university.)
- 1903, Ralph Henry Barbour, C. M. Relyea, Weatherby's Inning: A Story of College Life and Baseball, New York: D. Appleton and Company:
- There were sixteen of them in all, for the most part upper classmen who had failed to make the varsity the year before, with a sprinkling of sophomores and two freshmen.
Usage notes
- Used attributively in the UK to describe a sports team representing a university or college, or a match involving such a team (in normal usage only applying to one of the older universities, and considered somewhat dated even then).
- Used attributively in the U.S. and Canada to describe a sports team made up of older high school or college students (generally the 3rd and 4th years of a 4-year program), as contrasted with the junior varsity team made up of 1st- and 2nd-year students.
- Used synonymously to "university" in South Africa.
Derived terms
Translations
university — see university
sports team representing an institution
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References
- “varsity”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
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