"Esports", Other Gaming Words, Officially Added to The Dictionary

[Steven Bogos]

"Esports", Other Gaming Words, Officially Added to The Dictionary

Esports, along with other gaming-related words such as permadeath and completionist, are among dictionary.com's newest additions.

Over the past few years, dictionary.com [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/esports] has named "esports" as one of its thousand new words of 2015.

It is defined as: "competitive tournaments of video games." But esports wasn't the only gaming-related word to gain legitimacy, as other additions included "completionist" (a player who attempts to complete every challenge and earn every achievement or trophy in a video game) and permadeath (the permanent death of a defeated character, after which the player of the game cannot continue with the same character).

There were also quite a few "geek culture" additions, like dox (to publish the private personal information of (another person) without the consent of that individual), lifehack (a tip, trick, or efficient method for doing or managing a day-to-day task or activity) and "ship" (to take an interest in a romantic relationship between fictional characters or famous people).

Dictionary.com is primarily based off the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. It adds words dependent on how often they're used, along with other factors such as search frequency.

So there we ago. Another point in favor of those of us who are constantly arguing [http://pvponline.com/comic/2015/04/29/semantics] that esports is just as legitimate as real sports.

Source: Dictionary.com [http://blog.dictionary.com/2015-new-words/]

Permalink

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

 

[Aerosteam]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

Compu-titions? Y'know, like "computer" and "competitions"? Huh? Huh?

...I'll get my coat.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

How about 'Competitive Gaming' or 'Competitive Video Games'. Call it what it is.

 

[Areloch]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

How about 'Competitive Gaming' or 'Competitive Video Games'. Call it what it is.

You say 'call it what it is', but "electronic sports" is also what it is.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

How about 'Competitive Gaming' or 'Competitive Video Games'. Call it what it is.

You say 'call it what it is', but "electronic sports" is also what it is.

noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

If we use a broad enough term of sport to mean ANYTHING that is competitive then it might as well be anything. Do we call Poker TableSports or CardSports?

Anyway, I won't get drawn into a thing about it, its just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Haha, "permadeath" was added this year. I figured it would have been added back when Dragonball Z was all the rage, with the original definition referring to a character being killed so often that a wish couldn't bring them back. I guess I'll settle for just the game definition for now.

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

Yeah, it needs a better name. It can be considered a sport, since it there is competition and any sport does involve some physical activity even if it's only in the hands/fingers (and it already has big money involved, player trades, large audiences, and cheating scumbags). I'm getting tired of terms being created just by jamming an "e" or "i" on to an old term. Just give it something more distinguished.

The name "e(lectronic) sports" makes me think of pro soldering tournaments or breadboard prototyping races.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

How about 'Competitive Gaming' or 'Competitive Video Games'. Call it what it is.

You say 'call it what it is', but "electronic sports" is also what it is.

noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

If we use a broad enough term of sport to mean ANYTHING that is competitive then it might as well be anything. Do we call Poker TableSports or CardSports?

Anyway, I won't get drawn into a thing about it, its just my thoughts on the matter.

Yes, that's what the dictionary describes as a sport. Why do you think the term esport is also introduced into the dictionary? For that very freakin' purpose, to differentiate it from just 'sport'. Because it's different is exactly the reason that there's now a different term. Competitive videogames are esports, not sports.

And yes, for things like poker and chess are called 'mind sports' to just as well differentiate them from regular sports.

Also, you know that when you repeat a word often enough that it stops being a word and just a really weird sounding and/or looking combination of letters? This thread did that with 'sport'. Oh my god it looks so weird now.

 

[Baresark]

I've never actually seen anyone attack eSports for not being "legitimate", only that calling it a sport is wrong. I don't think there is a person around who has said it's not a legitimate competition. The truth is no one should even remotely care. Whether it's considered a sport or not is completely inconsequential. So far as I can tell that stems from a strange need to feel part of a culture both spectators and pro gamers don't normally care about. Believe it or not, when someone looks at a LoL tournaments, laughs, declares that it's not a sport and walks away, they are being the morons. eSports is not sports, and no one who plays in them has ever said they are, that is why they are called eSports and not sports. If they were the same thing from the outset, they wouldn't have their own term for the whole activity. Pro-gamers are not atheletes, that is why they are called Pro-Gamers. Nascar drivers are called drivers, not athletes but no one is getting pissed about that. Professional poker players aren't called athletes. And neither poker or chess are argued to be sports, they are competitions that have a big enough fan base to warrant being watched on television at some point. That is what LoL and Dota2 is as well.

The big hullabaloo everyone has made over this at every opportunity is a bit annoying and quite frankly it makes fans of eSports look whiny. Do you really want to be included in the Sunday Football crowd or March Madness watchers? My guess is no because if you did you could have stepped into that crowd anytime they wanted.

 

[And Man]

Holy shit did I get a laugh out of "shipping" being added to the dictionary. Best part of this article.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Esports is such a terrible term though. I wish we'd stop using it.

And use what instead to describe a competitive sport done electronically?

How about 'Competitive Gaming' or 'Competitive Video Games'. Call it what it is.

You say 'call it what it is', but "electronic sports" is also what it is.

noun
1.
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

If we use a broad enough term of sport to mean ANYTHING that is competitive then it might as well be anything. Do we call Poker TableSports or CardSports?

Anyway, I won't get drawn into a thing about it, its just my thoughts on the matter.

Yes, that's what the dictionary describes as a sport. Why do you think the term esport is also introduced into the dictionary? For that very freakin' purpose, to differentiate it from just 'sport'. Because it's different is exactly the reason that there's now a different term. Competitive videogames are esports, not sports.

And yes, for things like poker and chess are called 'mind sports' to just as well differentiate them from regular sports.

Also, you know that when you repeat a word often enough that it stops being a word and just a really weird sounding and/or looking combination of letters? This thread did that with 'sport'. Oh my god it looks so weird now.

Well, I am of the mindset that it is totally asinine. Yes, I agree about that. Let us never use the term sport again, for the benefit of mankind. Lets just create a whole NEW word. I mean, why not!?

I should clarify that one of the reasons I don't like the sport qualifier is that it implies some desire to be like other sports. You know, have the same kind of system, follow in the same kind of style. Which I don't think really works for video games. I think it is better to just be its own thing entirely.

I know in the end, it is just pointless semantics but I mean, this thread started about a dictionary acquiring new words so what was I to do!

 

[RaikuFA]

Looking it up in the dictionary says see also:joke, sham and for some reason neckbeard.

 

[Aaron Henson]

a : a source of diversion : recreation
b : sexual play
c (1) : physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2) : a particular activity (such as an athletic game) so engaged in

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sports

So competitive electronic gaming is a sport. It requires physical activity (although not to the extent of "traditional" sports.)

Other cases to support it being a sport.

Golf is considered a sport.
Chess is considered a sport.

e-Sports is enough to distinguish itself from typical sports. It is a sport that is played in an electronic environment. Stop trying to deny what it is cause of social misconception of the proper use of a word.