varsity
nounUK /ˈvɑː.sɪ.ti/ · US /ˈvɑɹ.sɪ.ti/
Etymology First attested in the mid 17th century. Clipping of univarsity, reflecting an archaic pronunciation of university.
1
Often university
- […] and then to lyrically proclaim that, not only was it a way they had in the Varsity to drive dull care away, but that the same practice was also pursued in the army and navy for the attainment of a similar end.1853, Cuthbert Bede [pseudonym; Edward Bradley], “Mr. Verdant Green’s Morning Reflections are not so pleasant as his Evening Diversions”, in The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman, London: Nathaniel Cooke, […], →OCLC, page 71:
2
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports US The principal sports team representing an institution (usually a high school, college, or university.)
- There were sixteen of them in all, for the most part upper classmen who had failed to make the varsity the year before, with a sprinkling of sophomores and two freshmen.1903, Ralph Henry Barbour, C. M. Relyea, Weatherby's Inning: A Story of College Life and Baseball, New York: D. Appleton and Company:
- A small Pennsylvania university has only one varsity program: e-sports. Is this the future of college athletics?2019 November 13, Luke Winkie, “Why Colleges Are Betting Big on Video Games”, in The Atlantic:
- Derived terms
- intervarsity, junior varsity, varsity letter, varsity jacket