Soccer Is a British Word the British Gave Up
Soccer is another name for association football. The word was invented at Oxford, used in Britain for a century, and abandoned once Americans adopted it.
Soccer means association football. The word is thoroughly English: Oxford students in the 1880s shortened *association* to *assoc* and added the -er ending they attached to everything, giving *soccer* — the same habit that made *rugger* out of rugby. Britain used it happily until the 1980s, then dropped it largely because it had become the American word.
- Association football. *A soccer pitch.*
- Soccer mom — an American term for a suburban parent. *The soccer mom vote.*
- Rugger — the parallel formation for rugby. *A game of rugger.*
- Football — the standard British name. *Watching the football.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | soccer | College soccer. |
| Compound | soccer ball | A soccer ball. |
| Compound | soccer mom | A soccer mom. |
| Source | association | The Football Association. |
| Parallel | rugger | Rugby football. |
- He played college soccer in Oregon.American.
- The word soccer was standard in Britain until the 1980s.Historical.
- Ask for football in Britain and soccer in the United States.Practical advice.
The Oxford -er habit
- Soccer — from association
- Rugger — from rugby
- Brekker — breakfast
- Footer — football, now vanished
- The pattern — clip the word, add -er; a 19th-century student slang formula
A clipping of *association* plus the Oxford -er suffix, first recorded in the 1880s. The alternative spelling *socker* also appeared before *soccer* settled.
Is soccer an American word?
No, it was coined in England in the 1880s. British use faded in the late twentieth century as the word became identified with America.
Why is it called association football?
To distinguish the Football Association's rules, written in 1863, from rugby football and other codes.