hockey
hockey Lexical Profile
hockey Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A fast-paced team sport played on an ice rink, in which two teams of skaters use curved sticks to drive a hard vulcanized rubber puck into the opponent's net to score points.
"She spent her winter weekends playing hockey on the frozen pond behind her house."
A team sport played on a field of grass or artificial turf, where players use J-shaped sticks to hit a small, hard ball into the opposing team's goal.
"The national team won the gold medal in hockey after a grueling tournament on the turf."
Word Nuance & Usage
In North America, 'hockey' almost exclusively refers to ice hockey, whereas in the UK, Australia, and many other parts of the world, it primarily refers to field hockey.
• Rhymes for hockey
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in English in the early 16th century, likely derived from the Middle French word 'hoquet', meaning 'shepherd's crook' or 'bent stick', in reference to the curved sticks used to play the game.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.