# What's the origin of the term "jock" to refer to athletes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312 "2009-07-26T10:24:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/1 "2009-07-26T10:24:27Z")
The title says it all. As I understand it, Jock is a traditional Scottish name. How did it come to mean an athlete, or in some cases, a clique of athletes, as in high schools? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/2 "2009-07-26T11:25:17Z")
Because male athletes wear an athletic supporter, or “jockstrap” to support their package and keep the dangly parts from, er, dangling. The name jockstrap itself derives from the Scottish nickname for John. The word jock is also an archaic slang term for penis. Cite: [http://en.wikipedia.org/](http://en.wikipedia.org/) wiki/Jockstrap#Etymology Link deliberately broken as the accompanying pic might be considered NSFW. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/3 "2009-07-26T16:37:31Z")
If you’ll read the Wikipedia article carefully, you’ll see that it says that the term “jockstrap” derived from “jockey,” since they were originally designed for jockeys to wear. It’s possible that the popularity of the term was influenced by the term “jock” having been used to mean “penis,” but that’s not clear. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/4 "2009-07-26T16:58:38Z")
Hence also jockey shorts, which provide more support than boxer shorts. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/5 "2009-07-26T20:47:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Hence also jockey shorts, which provide more support than boxer shorts. But Jockey is a company name, and you can buy Jockey boxer shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/6 "2009-07-26T21:00:50Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > But Jockey is a company name, and you can buy Jockey boxer shorts. However, the name “jockey” for this style of briefs originated not with the Jockey company, but with Cooper’s. Link broken since it is marginally NSFW: http:// [Briefs - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briefs) > [@](#): > > Briefs were first sold on January 19, 1935 by Coopers, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois. \*\*They dubbed the new undergarment the “Jockey” because it offered a similar degree of support as the jockstrap \*\*(one style of which is also called Jock brief or Support briefs). Thirty-thousand pairs were sold within three months of their introduction. In North America, “Jockey shorts” or “Jockeys” is often used as a generic term for men’s briefs. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-term-jock-to-refer-to-athletes/504312/7 "2009-07-27T01:32:32Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > If you’ll read the Wikipedia article carefully, you’ll see that it says that the term “jockstrap” derived from “jockey,” since they were originally designed for jockeys to wear. It’s possible that the popularity of the term was influenced by the term “jock” having been used to mean “penis,” but that’s not clear. You’re right, the word jockstrap does derive from the word “jockey,” rather than from the Scottish nickname. However, they were first made for bicycle riders, or “bike jockeys,” instead of for equine riders. From the same Wikipedia article: > [@](#): > > The word jockstrap has purportedly been in use since 1897, a likely contraction of ‘jockey strap’, as **the garment was first designed for bicycle riders, or ‘bike jockeys’.** The Bike Jockey Strap was the first jockstrap manufactured in America in 1874.