A card or sheet used to record scores in games or sports. A systematic method of tracking performance or progress against specific criteria.
Compound word from 'score' (from Old Norse 'skor', meaning notch or tally) + 'card' (from Old French 'carte'). Originally used in golf and other sports in the late 19th century, it later expanded to business contexts for performance measurement.
Scorecards represent humanity's desire to quantify and compare performance in neat, organized formats. The metaphorical use of 'scorecard' in business and politics shows how sports terminology infiltrates other domains, turning complex performance into simple win-lose metrics.
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