Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to have sexual intercourse; thus sporting n; (W.I.) sportgirl, a prostitute; sportful/sportive adj., indulging in sexual intercourse.

1533		J. Heywood Play of Weather in Farmer Dramatic Writings (1905) 101: A Gentleman, in yonder corner, / And, as I think, his name is Master Horner / A hunter he is, and cometh to make you sport. He would hunt a sow or twain out of this sort. (Here he pointeth to the women).
1589		G. Puttenham Art of Eng. Poesie III xxii 212: Such wordes as may be drawen to a foule and unshamefast sence, as one that should say to a young woman, I pray you let me iape with you, which is in deed no more than let me sport with you.
1594		Nashe Dido, Queen of Carthage in Works VI (1883–4) IV i: I might haue stakte them both vnto the earth, / Whilst they were sporting in this darksome Caue?
1610–50		‘Narcissus, Come Kiss Us!’ in Farmer Merry Songs and Ballads (1897) I 38: But when these fair ladies had sported all night, / And rifled Dame Nature’s scant store; / And pleasured themselves with Venus’ delight, / Till the youth could hardly do more.
c.1620		Fletcher False One I i: ’Tis a catalogue / Of all the gamesters in the court and city, / Which lord lies with that lady, and what gallant / Sports with that merchant’s wife [N].
1632		Massinger Emperour of the East I ii: Marry there I am calde The Squire of Dames, [...] And by the allowance of some sportful Ladies Honor’d with that title.
a.1645		‘A Song on a Woman’ in Wardroper (1969) 53: If fair, she’s coy in courting. / If witty, loose in sporting.
1659		song in Wardroper (1969) 78: I love thee for thy wantonness / And for thy drollery, / For if thou hadst not loved to sport / Then thou hadst ne’er loved me.
1661		‘The Tinker’ in Farmer Merry Songs and Ballads (1897) I 145: And whilst he play’d and made her sport / Their craft the more to hide, / She with his hammer stroke full hard / Against the Cauldron side.
1664		Etherege Love In A Tub II iii: Make much of e’ry buxome Girl, / Which needs but little Courting; / Her value is above the pearl, / That takes delight in sporting.
a.1674		‘Touch and Go’ in Ebsworth Roxburghe Ballads (1891) VII:2 486: But sure they did resort where Venus kept [her] Court, / A while to play and sport: and who can blame them for’t?
c.1689		‘Female Ramblers’ Pepys Ballads (1987) III 299: Send the Maids to the Doctors with speed, For Physick, lest any by sporting may breed.
1691		‘Advice to Bachelours’ in Ebsworth Merry Drollery Compleat (1875) 33: If her hair be red, she’ll sport in the bed.
c.1705		‘As Oyster Nan Stood by her Tub’ in Farmer Merry Songs and Ballads (1897) I 178: And there upon a Turkey Chair, / Unseen the loving Couple sported.
1719		in D’Urfey Pills to Purge Melancholy II 293: And when we come home, our Doxies run, / To bid us kindly Welcome, / Plump, Fresh, and Young, all down to lye / On Beds of Moss, to sport.
1723		C. Walker Authentick Memoirs of Sally Salisbury Dedicatory: venus Parent of Gods and Men, Begin the Sportive-Dance.
1734		Kick him Nan 10: Let ’em sport the Time away [...] ’tis no new game / When married first, we play’d the Same.
1768		Gentleman’s Bottle-Companion 2: On a Turky leather chair, / This loving couple fondly sported.
1787		‘Hush Cat from under the Table’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 402: You jolly young rake who loves for to freak / To sport and play with girls so pretty.
c.1790		‘The Tempest’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 4: Now all you on down beds sporting, / Fondly lock’d ’twixt beauty’s arms.
1793		Bacchanalian Mag. 102: The maid was handsome, kind, and young, / By nature made for sporting.
c.1800		Burns ‘Tweedmouth Town’ Merry Muses of Caledonia (1965) 195: Shall we, quo they, ne’er sport or play, / Nor wag our tails again.
1890		C. Pearl in Blatchford Memoirs (1983) 169: I had many times sported with two men in my bed.
1949		V.S. Reid New Day (1973) 17: Adassa [...] hoists her backside too much like sport-girls at Port Morant.
1957		in Randolph & Legman Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992) II 595: Then Kate she says, You climb that tree till he has passed away, sir, / Then we can go to yonder field, and sport the day away, sir.
1965		C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 202: Say, baby, you sportin’ tonight?
1971		B. Malamud Tenants (1972) 83: Are you sportin tonight? Mary asks Lesser in a friendly way.
1988		(con. 1940s) C. Bram Hold Tight (1990) 130: [one man to another] You think I want to sport with you?
2010		Guardian 18 Dec. 11/1: The thought of Vladimir Putin nestling, spooning, sporting and pillow-talking [...] makes my very marrow grow cold.

2. to behave showily or ostentatiously in public; thus sporting n.

1788		Harris’s List of Covent-Garden Ladies 87: [He] often suffers her to sport it in his chariot.
c.1790		‘The Limerick Dandy-O’ Luke Caffrey’s Gost 8: Now my jolly boys that sport about the town, / So lewd, so rude, so stout, so brave and handy-O.
1821		‘An Amateur’ Real Life in London I 221: His principal accomplishments are sporting, swaggering, milling, drawing, and greeking.
1845		J. Lindridge Sixteen-String Jack 114: Pretty purse, though—won’t Sal sport it at Bagnigge Wells.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor I 245/1: He used to sport his figure at Astley’s in the evening.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 7: He was in the wrong pew behind the wheel of that Studebaker, sporting all around town.

3. to read an author for amusement (rather than instruction); thus sporting n.

1693		J. Wright Humours of the Town 16: Then for Books, ’tis only to sport an Author in a Bookseller’s Shop [OED].
a.1704		T. Brown London and Lacedem. Oracles in Works (1760) III 122: Last Night being very restless in my Bed, I thought fit to divert the Time with Sporting an Author.
1853		E. Gaskell Cranford (1867) 20: By-and-by, Captain Brown sported a bit of literature.

4. to make a speculative investment in sport or business, to wager, to make a bet.

1896		B.L. Farjeon Betrayal of John Fordham 277: Louis had plenty of money to sport; e’d been backin’ winners.
2002		C. Stella Jimmy Bench-Press 15: Larry comes to the conclusion he’s out the money he sported our friendly barber.

5. to treat, usu. to food and/or drink.

1830		Lytton Paul Clifford I 79: [V]ot do you say to a drop o’ blue ruin? or, as you likes to be conish (genteel), I doesn’t care if I sports you a glass of port.
1894		A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets (1983) 34: ‘Straight,’ said Billy, ‘I’ll sport ye one. . . . No kid, I will.’.
1971		R.D. Pharr S.R.O. (1998) 469: ‘I been oversporting myself. I took and shot up three bags already this morning’.

6. to spend money freely or extravagantly.

1825		‘All England Are Slanging It’ Universal Songster I 40/1: Sport your cole freely.
1836		Comic Almanack Aug. 61: So, Mister Snip, don’t have the hyp, / Nor look so monstrous blue; / But sport your cash, and cut a dash, / As other people do.
1845		D. Corcoran Pickings from N.O. Picayune (1847) 49: He was a-goin’ to take a glass of ginger-pop, and that if he’d jine him, he’d ‘sport ten cents!’.
1859		H. Kingsley Recollections of G. Hamlyn (1891) 294: I took him for a flash overseer, sporting his salary, and I was as thick as you like with him.
1862		J.A. Hardwick ‘The Mountebank’ in Prince of Wales’ Own Song Book 47: Here’s the wondrous talking fish [...] Just to view it, sport your pelf.
1882		Punch LXXXII 147/2: ‘The New Almacks.’ ‘It appears, my dear Jerry,’ said the Corinthian, ‘that anybody can enter here who chooses to ‘sport his blunt’ – that is, to pay [F&H].
1927		(con. 1835–40) P. Herring Bold Bendigo 106: He can sport the rhino out of what he’s made on the Turf.

7. (US black/campus) to wear stylish clothes.

1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1920		Ade Hand-made Fables 160: Does my Woman sport any Diamonds?
1973		Sun. Times Mag. 7 Oct. 48: Bernstein sported a wig, and Townsend a bow tie.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 100: Beano returned sporting new jeans and no make-up.
2001		Eble Campus Sl. Fall 10: SPORT – wear: ‘Check out that outfit he is SPORTING.’.

8. (US campus) to give.

1989

P. Munro Sl. U. 180: Could you sport me a beer.

9. (US campus) of a man, to live a promiscuous life.

1969

Current Sl. III:3 10: Sport, v. To play the field.