Where did the term football come from?

Answer 1

The term football refers to a variety of games played using a ball and where one element of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball. For this reason many people assume that this is where the term originates.

Another historical explanation is that football originally referred to a variety of games which were played on foot by peasants, as opposed to the sports of gentry and aristocrats, which often involved horse-riding. There is no conclusive evidence for either explanation.

Worldwide, Association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer", is the most popular of all football variants. However, the word football is applied to whichever form of football is the most popular in each particular part of the world. Hence, the word "football" is applied to Association football, American football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, Rugby union football, Rugby league football and other related games. These variations of the game are known as "codes".

In the U.K., Association football is the most popular form of the game and so is generally just called football (and Rugby football is just known as rugby). As Gridiron is the the most popular form in the U.S, it is generally referred to as football, and in order to differentiate the two forms of the game, Association football is generally known as soccer.

The word soccer, which is by no means an American term, is derived from the shortening of the word Association to Assoc.