Fact of the Day: 07/04/2022

If you are in or have been to the U.S., you may have noticed that the sport known as “football” in much of the world is called “soccer,” and the term “football” actually means something very different. Why this change in terms? According to Britannica, “Linguistically creative students at the University of Oxford in the 1880s distinguished between the sports of ‘rugger’ (rugby football) and ‘assoccer’ (association football). The latter term was further shortened to ‘soccer’ (sometimes spelled ‘socker’), and the name quickly spread beyond the campus. However, ‘soccer’ never became much more than a nickname in Great Britain” (Cunningham par. 3). Despite the fact that the change in terms originated in Great Britain, Americans came to call their particular form of football “football” and the sport typically known as football “soccer.” Do you know any terms that are only used in the United States and not elsewhere?

Reference(s): https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer

Fact Author: Durga I.

Fact Editor: Ace

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