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Glite Dictionary
letterman

letterman

444 6.2
A student who earns a school sports award for playing on the main team
  • noun
  • /ˈlɛtərˌmæn/
  • US
translation icon : deportista destacado
  • He was proud to be recognized as a letterman after winning numerous games for the basketball team.

You telling them they don't know Bill Cosby was a three sport Letterman.

Examples

  • Jim Wadkins was a four-year letterman who helped Wabash post a record of 75-3 in dual meets.

    Blog text (13)

  • Several of the students wear Fighting Colonial letterman's jackets or hats and shirts displaying "Mt. Abraham High, New York."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The player was a two-year letterman in the field of football.

    Blog text (6)

  • And you gave me your letterman's jacket!

    Central Intelligence (2016)

  • Pride was a four-year letterman in track and field and was the finest hurdler of his era.

    Blog text (13)

  • Jonathan Turk was a four-year letterman whose teams never lost a dual meet throughout his entire career.

    Blog text (13)

  • As a letterman, she received a scholarship for her dedication and performance in track.

  • The coach announced that all lettermen would be honored at the annual sports banquet.

How Recognized

MVP
76 4.4
to captain
10 3.0
letterman
  • US
444 6.2
starter
140 3.0
reserve
112 3.7
teamer
1 3.5

Surface Forms

letterman singular
lettermen plural

Morphology

letterman = letter + man (semi-transparent) = letter + man

The form is clearly letter + man, but the meaning relies on the specialized sense of 'letter' as a varsity emblem, which may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Letterman comes from the letter athletes earned and wore on a jacket and the -man ending that means a person. The letter was a big school initial, so a letterman is literally someone 'with a letter', which is why the word means a player who earned that school award for strong play.