[Ads-l] Antedating of "Hockey" (Game Played on Ice)

[Shapiro, Fred]

The OED's first use of the word "hockey" for a game played on ice is dated 1895.  The Canadian Encyclopedia entry for "Origins of Ice Hockey" has extensive discussion of early mentions of "hockey" on ice.  The earliest mention seems to be two letters by Sir John Franklin in 1825.  Other early mentions include Sir Richard George Augustus Levinge in 1839 memoirs; the Boys' Own Book in 1849; and a letter by Charles Darwin to his son William Erasmus Darwin in 1853.

Fred Shapiro

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