Pronounced: ka-muh-RIH-luh, noun
Notes: Not a word I know
Yesterday’s word
The word redshirt means, as a noun, “a college student who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games”. As a verb, it means
- to extend eligibility by a year by making an athlete practice, but not participate, in official games
- to delay enrolling a child by a year to avoid their being one of the youngest in the class
First usage
Our word came into English in the 1950s
Background / Comments
Our word came from the fact that such athletes typically wore a red jersey. The second definition of the verb is one with which that I was unfamiliar. The other meanings I have heard referenced in college football. Despite the definition, at least in college football, a redshirt player is allowed to play in a limited number of official games. While I didn’t know the word, I was nearly redshited myself: when I was in grade school, my family moved, and due to changed admittance rules in the new school, I would be the youngest in the class, and there was a serious discussion of holding me back a year. In the end, they did not do so.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 