[Ads-l] Earlier U.S. Citation for "Soccer" / "Socker"

[Stephen Goranson]

In the related thread, the following statement may be questioned:
"The word "soccer" is usually thought of as an Americanism, but it actually
originated in England."
It may be that most Americans never concerned themselves with that
etymology. Etymology itself is often thought to be the study of bugs. When
I was a kid, if I recall correctly, if we thought of it at all, soccer was
widely considered a foreign, non-football, game. If so, not a native
invention. But I may not be representative.

sg

On Sun, Jun 21, 2026 at 1:56 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Here is another slightly earlier usage found in a Detroit, Michigan
> newspaper which is quoting a London newspaper.
>
> Date: November 13, 1893
> Newspaper: The Detroit Free Press
> Newspaper Location: Detroit, Michigan
> Article: FOOT BALL: Some Epigrammatic Definitions of its Distinguishing
> Features
> Quote Page 4, Column 6
> Database: Newspapers.com
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-socker/200008869/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> London Truth gives a few brief definitions of the distinguishing
> features of foot ball. In England the Rugby game is known as the
> "Rugger" and the Association game as the "Socker." Here are Truth's
> epigrams:
> Rugby: A feat of strength. Association: A strength of feet.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Sat, Jun 20, 2026 at 5:36 PM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Would the 1894 and Bill Mullins's find of the 1893 citation count as
> "US" citations? They are in US papers, but refer to British use of the term.
> >
> > The 1896 one would seem to be a genuine US use of the term.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: "Shapiro, Fred" <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2026 10:51am
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: [ADS-L] Earlier U.S. Citation for "Soccer" / "Socker"
> >
> >
> >
> > Here is an earlier U.S. citation for "socker":
> >
> > 1894 Kansas City Times 7 Jan. 7/5 (Newspapers.com) In England the Rugby
> game is known as the "Rugger" and the association game as the "Socker."
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> > Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 4:59 PM
> > To: American Dialect Society <ads-l at listserv.uga.edu>
> > Subject: Earliest U.S. Citation for "Soccer" / "Socker"
> >
> > The word "soccer" is usually thought of as an Americanism, but it
> actually originated in England. The earliest known usage, discovered by me
> in 2021, is from an English school newspaper (Marlburian, Nov. 25, 1885).
> Today I became curious about what was the earliest U.S. use. In some
> cursory research, this is the oldest I have found:
> >
> > 1896 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle 27 June 19/3 (Newspapers.com) A
> determined effort is being made to introduce the scientific and healthful
> association foot-ball game into Western New York. ... The most admirable
> characteristic of the "Socker" game is its complete freedom from that
> element of roughness which does so much to mar all exhibitions of the
> Inter-Collegiate and Rugby games.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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