Rugby
[ ruhg-bee ]
/ ˈrʌg bi /
noun
a city in E Warwickshire, in central England.
a boys' preparatory school located there: founded 1567.
Also rugby. Also called rugger, Rugby football. a form of football, played between two teams of 15 members each, that differs from soccer in freedom to carry the ball, block with the hands and arms, and tackle, and is characterized chiefly by continuous action and prohibition against the use of substitute players.
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Origin of Rugby
probably earlier than 1835–40 for def 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for rugby
British Dictionary definitions for rugby (1 of 2)
rugby
rugby football
/ (ˈrʌɡbɪ) /
noun
Also called: rugger a form of football played with an oval ball in which the handling and carrying of the ball is permitted
Canadian another name for Canadian football
See also rugby league, rugby union
Word Origin for rugby
C19: named after the public school at Rugby, where it was first played
British Dictionary definitions for rugby (2 of 2)
Rugby
/ (ˈrʌɡbɪ) /
noun
a town in central England, in E Warwickshire: famous public school, founded in 1567. Pop: 61 988 (2001)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for rugby
rugby
type of football, 1864, after Rugby, public school where the game was played, from city of Rugby in Warwickshire, central England. The place name is Rocheberie (1086), probably "fortified place of a man called *Hroca;" with second element from Old English burh (dative byrig), replaced by 13c. with Old Norse -by "village" due to the influence of Danish settlers. Otherwise it might be *Rockbury today. Or first element perhaps is Old English hroc "rook." Rugby Union formed 1871. Slang rugger for "rugby" is from 1893.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper