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hockey
< hock bent stick, a variant of hook. See 1527 quote.
DCHP-2 (May 2016)
n. — Hockey, Sports
a sport played on ice by two teams of six members each whose object is to shoot a puck into the opponents' goal.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — Hockey is now usually played on an indoor rink enclosed by boards. Informal games without rules or referees are sometimes called hockey, pickup hockey, pond hockey or shinny.
The precise origins of hockey are debated, although most historians of the sport generally agree that the game was not invented as such, but rather developed over time through the influences of various other games and sports.
While the Dutch played a game using sticks and balls, their influence on hockey is thought to be marginal (Wawanash et al. 2002: 11). Other reports claim that the Mi'kmaq nation of Nova Scotia played a game using sticks and a form of puck (Jones 2002: viii). There is also evidence that Irish immigrants to Eastern Canada introduced hurling, an Irish sport played on grass with sticks and a rock or ball, to Nova Scotia. The game was adapted to the maritime climate and began to be played on ice, first with boots, and later with skates (Wawanash et al. 2002: 12).
Although many claims have been put forward regarding the first true hockey game, i.e. with organized play and rules, the most widely recognized is a game that was played in 1875 at the Victoria Rink in Montreal. The game was organized by James Creighton of Halifax, who had moved to Montreal in the early 1870s, purportedly bringing hurling on ice with him (Paul 2000: 14). The game was advertised in the Montreal Gazette (see the 1875 quotation) and was a popular success. Hockey soon became part of the Montreal Winter Carnival. The sport’s popularity grew, and in 1887, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was formed by several teams from Quebec and Ontario. Thereafter, the hockey season extended throughout the winter. In the early 1890s, Governor General Lord Stanley donated a silver cup to be presented to the winners of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada tournament. In 1893, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association became the first winners of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which later became known as the Stanley Cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 15-16). By 1915, US teams were competing for the cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
In 1909, the National Hockey Association was formed in Canada (Dryden 2000: 18), only to fold in 1917 and be replaced by the National Hockey League (NHL, see the 1917 quotation), which was composed of four Canadian teams, two of which - the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators - still exist today (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
Although other nations, notably the US and Russia, have come to challenge Canada’s supremacy in hockey, the sport continues to be associated with Canada internationally. According to author Dmitry Ryzhkov (1972: 4), hockey in the USSR was known as “Canadian hockey” for many years. In Canada, hockey is the most popular winter sport and forms part of the cultural fabric of the nation. According to hockey historian and Canadian Andrew Podnieks (2006: 5), one “cannot live in Canada without being touched somehow by hockey”.
OED-3 notes that the etymology of hockey is uncertain, but it may have derived from the hooked sticks used in the game. Earliest uses of hockey refer to a game played outdoors, but not on ice, and called shinty. In Canada, this older game is referred to as field hockey (see OED-3, s.v. "hockey" [n.4]).
The precise origins of hockey are debated, although most historians of the sport generally agree that the game was not invented as such, but rather developed over time through the influences of various other games and sports.
While the Dutch played a game using sticks and balls, their influence on hockey is thought to be marginal (Wawanash et al. 2002: 11). Other reports claim that the Mi'kmaq nation of Nova Scotia played a game using sticks and a form of puck (Jones 2002: viii). There is also evidence that Irish immigrants to Eastern Canada introduced hurling, an Irish sport played on grass with sticks and a rock or ball, to Nova Scotia. The game was adapted to the maritime climate and began to be played on ice, first with boots, and later with skates (Wawanash et al. 2002: 12).
Although many claims have been put forward regarding the first true hockey game, i.e. with organized play and rules, the most widely recognized is a game that was played in 1875 at the Victoria Rink in Montreal. The game was organized by James Creighton of Halifax, who had moved to Montreal in the early 1870s, purportedly bringing hurling on ice with him (Paul 2000: 14). The game was advertised in the Montreal Gazette (see the 1875 quotation) and was a popular success. Hockey soon became part of the Montreal Winter Carnival. The sport’s popularity grew, and in 1887, the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was formed by several teams from Quebec and Ontario. Thereafter, the hockey season extended throughout the winter. In the early 1890s, Governor General Lord Stanley donated a silver cup to be presented to the winners of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada tournament. In 1893, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association became the first winners of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, which later became known as the Stanley Cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 15-16). By 1915, US teams were competing for the cup (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
In 1909, the National Hockey Association was formed in Canada (Dryden 2000: 18), only to fold in 1917 and be replaced by the National Hockey League (NHL, see the 1917 quotation), which was composed of four Canadian teams, two of which - the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators - still exist today (Wawanash et al. 2002: 25).
Although other nations, notably the US and Russia, have come to challenge Canada’s supremacy in hockey, the sport continues to be associated with Canada internationally. According to author Dmitry Ryzhkov (1972: 4), hockey in the USSR was known as “Canadian hockey” for many years. In Canada, hockey is the most popular winter sport and forms part of the cultural fabric of the nation. According to hockey historian and Canadian Andrew Podnieks (2006: 5), one “cannot live in Canada without being touched somehow by hockey”.
OED-3 notes that the etymology of hockey is uncertain, but it may have derived from the hooked sticks used in the game. Earliest uses of hockey refer to a game played outdoors, but not on ice, and called shinty. In Canada, this older game is referred to as field hockey (see OED-3, s.v. "hockey" [n.4]).
See: grass hockey,ice hockey,puck,road hockey,shinny(meaning 2),slapshot(meaning 1),Stanley Cup,street hockey,ball hockey,ringette,road apple,playoff beard,Junior A,drop the puck(meaning 1),goalie mask,five hole,one-timer,wrist shot,back of the net
Always hockey in Canada, never ice hockey, which is the internationally used term.
Quotations
1527
[The name [hockey] which is apparently derived from the French hoquet meaning shepherd's crook, is found in Murray's Dictionary of 1527 where it is defined as "the horlinge of the litill ball with hockie sticks or staves."]
1859
If, as is seen to be the case, it be highly injurious to join, directly after a full meal, in an energetic game of foot-ball, hockey, cricket, rackets, or any other sport requiring great muscular activity, it must be equally injurious for the working man to be engaged, under similar circumstances, in threshing corn, wielding the huge forging-hammer, or in any like laborious occupation.
1875
Victoria Rink - A game of Hockey will be played at the Victoria Skating Rink this evening, between two nines chose from among the members. Good fun may be expected, as some of the players are reputed to be exceedingly expert at the game. Some fears have been expressed on the part of intending spectators that accidents were likely to occur through the ball flying about in too lively a manner, to the imminent danger of lookers on, but we understand that the game will be played with a flat circular piece of wood, thus preventing all danger of its leaving the surface of the ice. Subscribers will be admitted on presentation of their tickets
1879
I had seen much of cricket, foot-ball and hockey, in my day, but I can safely say that I have never witnessed such elasticity and elegant exertion of body and limbs as I saw in these pure Ojibbeways at their favourite pastime.
1895
Hockey is the most popular winter sport in Canada, taking the place of lacrosse.
1954
Boys' clubs started, hockey games filled in the winter, ball diamond opened -- and juvenile courts closed.
1963
Evidence was presented to the effect that Members of Her Majesties Royal Canadian Rifles, an Imperial Army Unit, had played ice hockey to the rear of Tete du Pont barracks [Halifax] in 1855.
1964
Enlarged newspaper clippings referring to hockey played here [Halifax] in 1833 "proves that this is where it all started," says Ahern, who claims the game was born here in 1828.
1972
Canada again the king of hockey MOSCOW- Team Canada departed from Moscow early this morning in triumphant possession of the unofficial but very genuine championship of the hockey world.
1987
The newest CIAU member plans to compete in men's and women's soccer, women's basketball and men's hockey. The teams will go by the nickname of the Capers - "as all Cape Breton Islanders are affectionately called," added Buchanan.
1997
He was an assistant coach for AAA Bantam and Midget teams, was a head coach in the Australian Elite League, and captained the Golden Bears hockey team in his last five seasons at the U of A.
2002
Ask one of the royalty watchers in the British media what they know about the game of hockey and you are apt to be asked, "Would that be ice hockey or grass hockey?"
2008
"In the new buildings, you don't have to worry about taking a puck in the face," Kopp says.
In New York, the projects Kopp worked on included a hydro tower, a science centre at Brown University in Providence, and airports in China and the United Arab Emirates.
His former co-workers in the U.S. are amused that he and Adair returned to Canada, and are now designing hockey rinks.
2010
The 2010 Winter Olympics delivered the five most-watched television events in Canadian history, topped by the 16.6 million Canadians who saw the entire Canada-U. S. men's gold medal hockey game, the CTV-Rogers broadcast consortium said Monday.
About 26.5 million Canadians watched at least part of that game and 22 million viewers -- two-thirds of the Canadian population -- were watching when Sidney Crosby scored in overtime to capture Canada's 14th gold medal of the Games.
2015
I know it's hard sometimes for members [of Parliament] to restrain themselves when they hear something they don't like or they feel like they want to react. And there are ways in which, it's a bit like being at a hockey game, because only certain people get to play. And it's shaped in a lot of ways like an arena, with the two sides, you know. People who aren't actually in the game, they wish, they'd like to be in the game and sometimes want to react to something, want to say something, right? The way you'd see at a hockey game. But we're not in a rink. We're in the House of Commons.
References
- OED-3
- Ryzhkov (1972)
- Podnieks (2006)
- Jones (2002)
- Paul (2000)
- Dryden (2000)
- Wawanash et al. (2002)