Word.ws English Dictionary

disport

Syllables: dis·port/dɪˈspɔːt/US/dəˈspɔɹt/

disport verb: to amuse oneself divertingly or playfully; in particular, to cavort or gambol.

Verb

disport (third-person singular simple present disports, present participle disporting, simple past and past participle disported)

  1. (ambitransitive, dated, reflexive) To amuse oneself divertingly or playfully; in particular, to cavort or gambol.
    • Afterward, as appeareth by Euſtachius, there was ſome Greekes diſported themſelues herein, as he which turned Atlas for his heauie burthen in ſupporting Heauen, to Talas, that is, Wretched; Arete, Vertue, into Erate, that is, Louely; Ilaros, Merrie, into Liaros, that is, warme.1629, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Anagrams”, in Remaines Concerning Brittaine: But Especially England, and the Inhabitants thereof: […], 4th edition, London: Printed by A[dam] I[slip] for...
    • For my part, I love not to disport myself at the weakness of any man, or to turn his folly into laughter: for what were this, but to reflect dishonour upon the same nature, wherein he partakes with myself?1644 January 27, Thomas Jackson, quoting Daniel Taylor, chapter III, in The Life of John Goodwin, […], 2nd greatly improved edition, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, published 1872, →OCLC...
    Synonyms:
    cheer, divert, enjoy, frolic

Noun

disport (plural disports)

  1. (archaic, countable) Anything which diverts one from serious matters; a game, a pastime, a sport.
    • It hath beene very frequent with the Kings of England, France, and other Princes, for triall of their man hood, to runne at Iouſts, and fight at Barriers, not onely with forraigners, but with their owne valianteſt Lords and Knights, of which there are various Examples. In theſe Martiall diſports...1643, William Prynne, “Proving 1ˢᵗ. that the Parliaments Present Necessary Defensive Warre, is Iust and Lawfull both in Point of Law and Conscience, and No Treason nor Rebellion”, in The Soveraigne...
  2. (archaic, uncountable) Amusement, entertainment, recreation, relaxation.
    • And whether they were a bedde or at other maner of disportes me lyst not herof make no mencyon for loue that tyme was not as is now adayes.
      "And whether they were abed or at other manner of disports, me list not hereof make no mention, for love that time was not as is now-a-days."1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur Book XX, Chapter iii, leaf 400v
  3. (countable, obsolete) The way one carries oneself; bearing, carriage, deportment.
    • [Y]et have I carried myſelf towards thee in ſuch fanciful guiſe of careleſs diſport, that right ſore am I aſhamed now to entreat thy lenity ſeriouſly— […]1761, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XXII, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume IV, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, page 143
  4. (countable, obsolete) Bearing, elevation, orientation.
    • ... shooting a bullet ... out of a Culverin towards the East, and afterwards another, with the same charge, and at the same elevation or disport towards the West.1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World (Dialogue Two)
  5. (obsolete, uncountable) Fun, gaiety, joy, merriment, mirth.

disport meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Kannada

disport in Tamil

மகிழ்ச்சியாக விளையாடு, இன்பத்தில் திளை, கேளிக்கையாகப் பொழுது போக்கு

disport in Urdu

خوش کرنا, پھسلانا

disport in Bengali

আনন্দ করা, খেলাধুলা করা

disport in Kannada

ಆಡು, ಚಲ್ಲವಾಡು, ಜಕ್ಕುಳಿಸು, ಆಟ, ವಿನೋದ, ಕೇಳಿ
More languagesFewer languages
disport in Vietnamese
tiêu dao

Examples of disport in a sentence

  • Childe Harold bask'd him in the noon-tide sun, / Disporting there like any other fly; / Nor deem'd before his little day was done / One blast might chill him into misery.1812, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh...
  • In the silent watches of the night, calm night that breedeth thoughts, / When the task-weary mind disporteth in the careless play-hours of sleep, / I dreamed; [...]1838, Martin Farquhar Tupper, “Of Rest”, in Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments, Originally Treated, London: Joseph...
  • What generous, ardent, imaginative soul has not a secret pleasure-place in which it disports?1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 3, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I...
  • O soul, voyagest thou indeed on voyages like those? / Disportest thou on waters such as those?1870, Walt Whitman, “Passage to India”, in Leaves of Grass […], Philadelphia, Pa.: David McKay, publisher, […], published 1892, →OCLC...

Synonyms of disport

Forms of disport

Verb
third-person singular presentdisports
present participledisporting
past participledisported
pastdisported
second-person singular present (archaic)disportest
second-person singular past (archaic)disportedst
third-person singular present (archaic)disporteth
Noun
pluraldisports

Origin of disport

The verb is derived from Middle English disporten, desporten (“to take part in entertainment, sport, etc., to pass time, amuse oneself, be merry; to amuse, entertain; to cheer, console; to behave (in a particular way), deport; to be active, to busy; to relieve (someone of a task); to prevent (someone from attending)”), from Anglo-Norman desporter, Old French desporter, deporter, depporter (“to amuse, entertain; to pass time, amuse oneself; to forbear; to stop”), from Latin deportāre, present active infinitive of dēportō (“to bring, convey; to bring or take home; to carry along or down; to banish, transport”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘from, off’) + portō (“to bear, carry; to bring, convey”) (from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to carry forth; fare”)). The English word is a doublet of deport and sport. The noun is derived from Middle English disport, desport (“activity providing amusement, pleasure or relaxation; entertainment, recreation; game, pastime, sport; pleasure derived from an activity; source of comfort; consolation, solace; conduct, deportment; customary behaviour, manner; act, activity; departure”), from Anglo-Norman disport, Old French desport, deport (“game, pastime...

Words formed from disport

Words that rhyme with disport

44 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about disport

What does disport mean?
Disport means to amuse oneself divertingly or playfully; in particular, to cavort or gambol.
What is disport in Tamil?
Disport in Tamil is மகிழ்ச்சியாக விளையாடு, இன்பத்தில் திளை, கேளிக்கையாகப் பொழுது போக்கு. See Disport meaning in Tamil.
How do you use disport in a sentence?
Childe Harold bask'd him in the noon-tide sun, / Disporting there like any other fly; / Nor deem'd before his little day was done / One blast might chill him into misery.
What part of speech is disport?
Disport can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce disport?
Disport is pronounced /dɪˈspɔːt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of disport?
The past tense of disport is disported.

Words near disport in the dictionary

  1. dispopes
  2. dispoping
  3. disporic
  4. disporoside
  5. disporous
  6. disport
  7. disported
  8. disportedst
  9. disportest
  10. disporteth
  11. disporting

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: disport (page history and authors); disport (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); disport (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Disport (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); disport (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-disport.wav.

Cite this entry: “disport.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/disport. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.