golf

English Online Dictionary. What means golf‎? What does golf mean?

Translingual

Noun

golf

1. Alternative letter-case form of Golf of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.

English

Etymology

The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“club”), related to German Kolben (“piston, rod”), Swedish kolv (“piston, rod”), Old English clopp (“rock; cliff”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɒlf/
  • (Conservative RP) IPA^(key): /ɡɒf/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡɑlf/, /ɡɔlf/
• • (New England) IPA^(key): /ɡɒf/
• Rhymes: -ɒlf

Noun

golf (uncountable)

2. (sports) A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.
3. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Golf”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.

Verb

golf (third-person singular simple present golfs, present participle golfing, simple past and past participle golfed)

1. (intransitive) To play the game of golf.
2. (computing) To write something in as few characters as possible (e.g. in code golf, regex golf)

Translations

Anagrams

• GLOF, flog

Asturian

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. (sports) golf

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡolf]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin colfus, colphus, culfus, alteration of colpus, from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos).

Noun

golf m (plural golfs)

1. gulf

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English golf.

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. golf

Derived terms

• golfista

Related terms

• golfístic

Further reading

• “golf” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡolf]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English golf.

Noun

golf m inan

1. golf (a ball game)

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Golf.

Noun

golf m inan

1. bay, gulf

Declension

Further reading

• “golf”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “golf”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “golf”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

References

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch gelve, from Proto-Germanic *gelbaną. Influenced by Late Latin colfus, from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɔlf/
• Hyphenation: golf
• Rhymes: -ɔlf

Noun

golf f (plural golven, diminutive golfje n)

1. wave
2. (physics) wave
3. (geography) gulf

Synonyms

• (wave): waag

Derived terms

Verb

golf

1. inflection of golven:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɔlf/, /ɡɔlf/
• Hyphenation: golf
• Rhymes: -ɔlf

Noun

golf n (uncountable)

1. golf

Verb

golf

1. inflection of golfen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Further reading

• “golf” in Van Dale Onlinewoordenboek, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2007.

Faroese

Etymology

From English golf, from Middle Scots golf.

Noun

golf n (genitive singular golfs, uncountable)

1. golf

Declension

Derived terms

• golfbóltur m
• golfbreyt f
• golfleikari m
• golfvøllur m

Finnish

Etymology

From English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡolf/, [ˈɡo̞lf]
• Rhymes: -olf
• Syllabification^(key): golf
• Hyphenation^(key): golf

Noun

golf

1. golf

Declension

Synonyms

• kolopallo

Derived terms

Further reading

• “golf”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔlf/
• Homophone: golfe

Noun

golf m (plural golf)

1. golf

Further reading

• “golf”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔlf
• Hyphenation: golf

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. golf

Further reading

• “golf”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

German

Verb

golf

1. singular imperative of golfen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of golfen

Hungarian

Etymology

From English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡolf]
• Hyphenation: golf
• Rhymes: -olf

Noun

golf (usually uncountable, plural golfok)

1. golf

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• golf in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔlv/
• Rhymes: -ɔlv

Noun

golf n (genitive singular golfs, no plural)

1. golf

Declension

Derived terms

• golfari m (“golfer”)
• golfbíll m (“golf cart”)
• golfvöllur m (“golf course”)

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism, unadapted borrowing from English golf, most likely from Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“club”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡol(ĕ)f/
• Hyphenation: golf

Noun

golf (plural golf-golf)

1. (sports) golf: A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes

Derived terms

Further reading

• “golf” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɔlf/
• Rhymes: -ɔlf
• Hyphenation: gòlf

Noun

golf m (invariable)

1. golf
2. jumper, cardigan

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From English golf.

Noun

golf m (definite singular golfen, uncountable)

1. golf (a game played with a golf club and golf ball)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Italian golfo and French golfe.

Noun

golf m (definite singular golfen, indefinite plural golfer, definite plural golfene)

1. a gulf (large bay)

Derived terms

• Golfstrømmen
• Mexicogolfen

References

• “golf” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From English golf.

Noun

golf m (definite singular golfen, uncountable)

1. golf (a game played with a golf club and golf ball)

Derived terms

• golfbane
• golfklubb
• golfkølle

Etymology 2

From Italian golfo and French golfe.

Noun

golf m (definite singular golfen, indefinite plural golfar, definite plural golfane)

1. a gulf (large bay)

Derived terms

• Mexicogolfen

References

• “golf” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɔlf/
• Rhymes: -ɔlf
• Syllabification: golf
• Homophone: Golf

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English golf.

Noun

golf m inan

1. (golf) golf (ball game)

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Perhaps borrowed from French col roulé.

Noun

golf m inan (diminutive golfik)

1. (clothing) turtleneck, polo-neck

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Borrowed from German Volkswagen Golf, a genericized trademark.

Noun

golf m animal

1. Volkswagen Golf car

Declension

Etymology 4

Borrowed from French golf.

Noun

golf m inan

1. (obsolete) gulf (deep inlet of the sea almost surrounded by land)

   Synonyms: odnoga morska, zatoka

Declension

Further reading

• golf in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• golf in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• golf in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Portuguese

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. Alternative spelling of golfe

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French golfe.

Noun

golf n (plural golfuri)

1. gulf

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English golf.

Noun

golf n (uncountable)

1. golf

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

golf m (Cyrillic spelling голф)

1. golf

Declension

Derived terms

• golfaš
• golfer

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from English golf.

Noun

golf m inan (relational adjective golfový or golfský, diminutive golfík)

1. golf
2. (geography) bay, gulf

Declension

Further reading

• “golf”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡolf/ [ˈɡolf]
• Rhymes: -olf
• Syllabification: golf

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. golf

Derived terms

Further reading

• “golf”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Noun

golf c

1. (sports) golf
2. (geography) a gulf (very large bay)

3. Obsolete spelling of golv.

Usage notes

Vik is used instead of golf in some names, for example in "Persiska viken" (the Persian Gulf).

Declension

Derived terms

• Mexikanska golfen
• golfbana
• golfklubb
• golfklubba
• minigolf

Related terms

• golfa
• golfare

See also

• bukt
• vik

References

• golf in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• golf in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• golf in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣon˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣoŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣoŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: gôn

Noun

golf

1. golf

West Frisian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch golf.

Noun

golf c (plural golven, diminutive golfke)

1. wave (motion in a liquid)

   Synonym: weach

2. wave, gush
3. wave (in any other medium or field)

   Synonym: weach

4. (in the diminutive) tilde

Further reading

• “golf (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011