varsity
the most skilled sports teams at a school or college
TRANSLATION
varsity = Uniauswahl, Schulteam, A-Mannschaft --- GOOGLE INDEX varsity: approximately 86,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
But the big question was, could he succeed at the VARSITY level.
(Los Angeles Times)
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At this rate, Julian Newman's high school basketball career may be longer than most players' professional careers. Newman is a 4-foot-5 fifth grader and he is starting on the VARSITY squad at Downey Christian High School in Orlando.
(www.thepostgame.com)
(Los Angeles Times)
---
At this rate, Julian Newman's high school basketball career may be longer than most players' professional careers. Newman is a 4-foot-5 fifth grader and he is starting on the VARSITY squad at Downey Christian High School in Orlando.
(www.thepostgame.com)
Did you
know?
varsity
noun and adjective
(chiefly U.S. English)
- the principal team representing a university, college, or school in sports, games, or other competitions
(British, outdated)
- short for university
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
Varsity is a variant of "versity," a British and meanwhile outdated abbreviated form of university. Today varsity is a chiefly U.S. English term that refers to high school and university competitive teams, particularly those involved in sports. In the U.S., college sports is not only an integral part of the culture, it's also big business. Varsity athletics can be a springboard to a lucrative professional career.
In this context, varsity refers to the high school or college teams comprised of so-called upper-class students. These teams contain essentially the strongest players, and usually is made up mostly of students at the junior or senior level in colleges and high schools. Junior varsity, conversely, is the group of second rung players who have not yet gained enough experience to play at the varsity level. These are usually freshman and sophomore athletes, who will ultimately move up to varsity standing.
For Europeans unfamiliar with the structure of college athletics in the U.S., the varsity is equivalent to a football club's first team. Junior varsity would then be similar to the B-side.
While varsity usually applies to athletics, it can also be used in a more figurative sense to denote people who are generally the top performers in an organization. For instance, the CEO of a business might instruct his staff to "send in the varsity" if he or she wants to ensure that his best people are assigned to a particular project.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation:
"We could ask our suppliers to send their varsity players to to our sports event."
---
Thanks to Wiebke for suggesting today's word!
noun and adjective
(chiefly U.S. English)
- the principal team representing a university, college, or school in sports, games, or other competitions
(British, outdated)
- short for university
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
Varsity is a variant of "versity," a British and meanwhile outdated abbreviated form of university. Today varsity is a chiefly U.S. English term that refers to high school and university competitive teams, particularly those involved in sports. In the U.S., college sports is not only an integral part of the culture, it's also big business. Varsity athletics can be a springboard to a lucrative professional career.
In this context, varsity refers to the high school or college teams comprised of so-called upper-class students. These teams contain essentially the strongest players, and usually is made up mostly of students at the junior or senior level in colleges and high schools. Junior varsity, conversely, is the group of second rung players who have not yet gained enough experience to play at the varsity level. These are usually freshman and sophomore athletes, who will ultimately move up to varsity standing.
For Europeans unfamiliar with the structure of college athletics in the U.S., the varsity is equivalent to a football club's first team. Junior varsity would then be similar to the B-side.
While varsity usually applies to athletics, it can also be used in a more figurative sense to denote people who are generally the top performers in an organization. For instance, the CEO of a business might instruct his staff to "send in the varsity" if he or she wants to ensure that his best people are assigned to a particular project.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation:
"We could ask our suppliers to send their varsity players to to our sports event."
---
Thanks to Wiebke for suggesting today's word!
