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Webster 1913 Edition

Sportful

Sport′ful

(-fụl)
,
Adj.
1.
Full of sport; merry; frolicsome; full of jesting; indulging in mirth or play; playful; wanton;
as, a
sportful
companion
.
Down he alights among the
sportful
herd.
Milton.
2.
Done in jest, or for mere play; sportive.
They are no
sportful
productions of the soil.
Bentley.
–
Sport′ful-ly
,
adv.
–
Sport′ful-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sportful

SPORTFUL

,
Adj.
1.
Merry; frolicksome; full of jesting; indulging in mirth or play; as a sportful companion.
Down he alights among the sportful herd.
2.
Ludicrous; done in jest or for mere play.
These are no sportful productions of the soil.

Definition 2024

sportful

sportful

English

Adjective

sportful ‎(comparative more sportful, superlative most sportful)

  1. (archaic) playful, related to sport
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
      Then from his lofty stand on that high tree Down he alights among the sportful herd Of those four-footed kinds, himself now one, Now other, as their shape served best his end Nearer to view his prey, and, unespied, To mark what of their state he more might learn, By word or action marked.
    • 1865, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. X. (of XXI.):
      A young fool, bent on sportful pursuits instead of serious; more and more shuddering at Law. To the surprise and indignation of M. Arouet Senior.
    • 1912, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native:
      Is it like cudgel-playing or other sportful forms of bloodshed?

Etymology

sport +‎ -ful

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