gamer

n. in sports, a committed or exceptional player. Subjects: English, United States, Sports & Recreation

Editorial Note: This is a different sense from gamer ‘a person who plays (video) games’ and the much older and perhaps archaic sense ‘a person who participates in sports.’ Etymological Note: Probably from game adj. ‘willing; committed (to an undertaking or idea).’

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Citations: 1978 Thomas Boswell @ Philadelphia, Pa. Washington Post (Aug. 20) “Joyful Blue Humining, Eyes 2nd Young Award” p. D1: “Blue’s such a damn good battler, the way he puts his heart and soul into it, that he really impresses me,” said Philadelphia slugger Mike Schmidt. “He’s a gamer,” Schmidt added. 1982 Joe Goddard Oklahoma City Times (Jan. 8) “Bowa trade rumors include former 89ers”: Sure, I’d take Larry in a minute. He’s a gamer, a winner. 2001 Tom Shael Omaha World-Herald (Neb.) (Oct. 29) “Solich, Huskers really special” p. 1C: He runs. He throws. He catches. What Crouch showed them is that he’s a gamer, and maybe this is the year a gamer wins. 2004 Kelly Candaele New York Times (Oct. 17) “Caminiti Was a Gamer Who Played Hard Even When Hurt”: Ken Caminiti’s fellow players called him a gamer. In professional baseball parlance, that is someone who plays through pain when injured, someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to win. [*2006 Yes! Weekly (Greensboro, North Carolina) (Nov. 21) “Ed Bradley, 1941-2006”: Bradley, best known for his stint on the CBS newsmagazine show “60 Minutes,” a run which began in the 1981-1982 season and lasted until the month before his death, was what some journalists call a “gamer.” He was at ease and capable out in the field, first covering the 1965 Philadelphia riots, later as a rookie reporter for the CBS News Paris bureau and then a war correspondent during the Vietnam conflict, sustaining a shrapnel wound in Cambodia.]

Posted 20 Oct 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend