Word of the Day

: September 9, 2017

disport

verb dih-SPORT

What It Means

1 : divert, amuse

2 : display

3 : to amuse oneself in light or lively fashion : frolic

disport in Context

"At a very early hour in the morning, twice or thrice a week, Miss Briggs used to betake herself to a bathing-machine, and disport in the water in a flannel gown and an oilskin cap." — William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848

"More stunts follow in Act II: Les Incredibles, an enormous Russian man who flings his tiny Canadian wife through the air; a stunning aerialist known as Lucky Moon; a family of three, Los Lopez, disporting themselves on the high-wire." — Margaret Gray, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2017

Did You Know?

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the earliest writers to amuse the reading public with the verb disport. Chaucer and his contemporaries carried the word into English from Anglo-French, adapting it from desporter, meaning "to carry away, comfort, or entertain." The word can ultimately be traced back to the Latin verb portare, meaning "to carry." Deport, portable, and transport are among the members of the portare family.