physical education
noun
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The Importance (Linguistic and Otherwise) of Physical Education
Physical education has existed since ancient times, but it wasn’t until several hundred years ago that the term itself (abbreviated as phys ed or PE) came into being. Its earliest known use comes, oddly enough, from a 1748 book titled Critical Reflections on Poetry, Painting, and Music: “Cannot some years prove more favorable than others to the physical education of children. . . ?” A few decades after these words were published, gymnasiums opened across Europe, especially in Germany, where gymnastics associations (or turnvereins) fostered physical health as well as civic involvement and cultural enrichment. Thanks in part to immigration, these clubs, and European enthusiasm for athletics in general, spread to the U.S. During the 19th century, American educators adopted European methods of teaching physical training, and both the word physical education and the phenomenon it represents became well established in this country.
Examples of physical education in a Sentence
Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Physical activity for elementary school students must include unstructured play outside.
Activities such as time on an electronic device, time in a physical education class, and time spent walking to class may not be included toward the minimum requirements.
—Vivian Jones, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Doing sports and at in a regular physical education class, the girls sat on the sidelines while the boys played flag football back in the eighties.
—Outside Online, 20 Aug. 2025
Three of them are qualified physical education teachers and coach at CT Barao.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for physical education
Cite this Entry
“Physical education.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/physical%20education. Accessed 1 Sep. 2025.
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