Soccer

The American Heritage College Dictionary defines soccer as “A game played on a rectangular field with net goals at either end in which two teams of 11 players each try to drive a ball into the other’s goal by kicking, heading, or using any part of the body except the hands.” People play this game all over the world, but those in many countries do not call it 'soccer.’ This discrepancy attracted me to the word. Here’s what I discovered: the word ‘soccer’ is a bastardization of “assoc.,” an abbreviation of “association football” (The American Heritage College Dictionary).