Footy

/ˈfʊti/ noun

Definition

A casual term for football, used especially in Australia and Britain to refer to the sport played with a round ball and goals.

Etymology

Informal shortening of 'football' with the diminutive suffix '-y' or '-ie,' creating a friendly, colloquial term. Common in Australian and British English from the early 1900s.

Kelly Says

Australians say 'footy' so much that most people there think of Australian Rules Football first, not soccer! Regional slang reveals how different English-speaking countries have totally different national sports—what counts as the 'real' football depends entirely on where you grow up.

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