sportsomeadj.
/ˈspɔːts(ə)m/, U.S. /ˈspɔrtsəm/, Scottish English /ˈsports(ə)m/ Originally Scottish. Now rare.
Characterized by, or full of, sport; amusing, diverting; lively, playful.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [adjective] > amusing or entertaining
sportful1445
solaciousc1450
recreativec1487
good1489
sportsome1533
entertaining1582
divertive1598
pastiming1606
distractful1636
diverting1651
divertising1655
divertissanta1660
lightsome1679
amusive1730
amusing1753
musical1815
fun1827
funsy1958
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. i. ii. 19 Be þis evander was institute ane sportsum play, þat ȝoung men suld ryn nakit..to wourschip pan Liceus.
1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 177 Heir followis certane mirry and sportsum interludis contenit in the play maid be Ser Dauid Lindsay.
1624 G. Wyatt Let. June in William & Mary Q. (1977) 34 115 Somme are disguised and personate [men] under divers habits. Some Sportsome with play and mearthe gaininge knowledge of things most importinge.
1666 tr. Horace Ode x, in A. Brome et al. tr. Horace Poems i.17 Crafty to hide what ere's bereft By sportsome theft.
1710 R. Wodrow Analecta (1842) I. 300 Lett him be never soe merry and sportsome, yet when ane occasion came about of going about immediat worship, he was instantly in a spiritwall frame.
1857 ‘M. Harland’ Moss-side xvi. 258 A creature of earthly birth; inheritor of our human frailties; sportsome in her childish mirth as her pet lamb.
1906 L. H. Gray tr. Rājaśekhara Viddhaśālabhañjikā in Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 27 65 Most dainty and most fair, Skilled in all arts and sportsome in her mood.
1923 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 29 Apr. a3/2 (advt.) Sportsome and gay in White Buck, with vivid green leather for the smart fringed front and punched wide trim.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1533