golf

See also: Golf and gólf

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/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒlf

Noun

golf (uncountable)

1. (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.
   • 2017 October 16, Jourdan, Adam; Matt Miller, “In the rough - China closes Wanda golf courses in chilly northeast”, in Himani Sarkar, editor, Reuters‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 March 2023, Business News:

     In January, China’s state planner said it had ordered the closure of more than 100 golf courses in a multi-year campaign launched in 2011 to tackle illegal development in the sector.
     Golf has also been added to a list of Communist Party disciplinary violations, and is often cited in cases of graft.

2. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Derived terms

• army golf
• clock golf
• code golf
• crazy golf
• disc golf
• golf bag
• golf ball
• golf buggy
• golf caddie
• golf caddy
• golf car
• golf cart
• golf cart path
• golf clap
• golf club
• golf-club
• golf course
• golf hole
• golf pencil
• golf pro
• golf shirt
• golf shoe
• golf umbrella
• golf widow
• hickory golf
• midget golf
• miniature golf
• peewee golf
• pub golf
• regex golf
• snow golf
• Tom Thumb golf
• word golf
• word golf

 

Translations

ball game

• Afrikaans: gholf
• Albanian: golf (sq) m
• Amharic: ጎልፍ (golf)
• Arabic: جُولْف‎ m (golf), جُولْف‎ m (gulf), غُولْف‎ m (golf), غُولْف‎ m (gulf), غُولْف‎ m (ḡūlf)
• Armenian: գոլֆ (hy) (golf)
• Asturian: golf m
• Azerbaijani: qolf
• Basque: golf (eu)
• Belarusian: гольф m (holʹf)
• Bengali: গল্ফ (golf)
• Bulgarian: голф m (golf)
• Burmese: ဂေါက် (my) (gauk), ဂေါက်သီး (my) (gauksi:)
• Catalan: golf (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 哥爾夫球／哥尔夫球 (go¹ ji⁵ fu¹ kau⁴), 高爾夫球／高尔夫球 (gou¹ ji⁵ fu¹ kau⁴)

  Mandarin: 高爾夫球／高尔夫球 (zh) (gāo'ěrfū qiú)

  Min Nan: 山球 (zh-min-nan) (soaⁿ-kiû), 高爾夫球／高尔夫球 (ko-ní-hu-kiû), 戛仔球 (khat-á-kiû)

• Czech: golf (cs) m
• Danish: golf (da) c
• Dutch: golf (nl) n
• Esperanto: golfo (eo)
• Estonian: golf (et)
• Faroese: golf n
• Finnish: golf (fi)
• French: golf (fr) m
• Galician: golf (gl) m
• Georgian: გოლფი (golpi)
• German: Golf (de) n
• Greek: γκολφ (el) (gkolf)
• Haitian Creole: gòf
• Hebrew: גּוֹלְף‎ (he) m (golf)
• Hindi: गोल्फ़ m (golf), गोल्फ (hi) m (golph)
• Hungarian: golf (hu)
• Icelandic: golf (is) n
• Ido: golfo (io)
• Indonesian: golf (id)
• Irish: galf m
• Italian: golf (it) m
• Japanese: ゴルフ (ja) (gorufu)
• Kannada: ಗಾಲ್ಫ್ (gālph)
• Kazakh: гольф (golf)
• Khmer: ហ្គោល (gool)
• Korean: 골프 (ko) (golpeu)
• Kyrgyz: гольф (ky) (golʹf)
• Lao: ກອຟ (kǭp)
• Latin: pilamalleus m (New Latin)
• Latvian: golfs m
• Lithuanian: golfas m
• Luxembourgish: golf
• Macedonian: голф m (golf)
• Malay: golf
• Malayalam: ഗോൾഫ് (ml) (gōḷfŭ)
• Maori: hahaupōro, korowha
• Mongolian: гольф (mn) (golʹf)
• Navajo: jooł yázhí náás yikalí, nʼdilkal
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: golf (no) m

  Nynorsk: golf m

• Occitan: gòlf m
• Persian: گلف‎ (fa) (golf)
• Polish: golf (pl)
• Portuguese: golfe (pt) m
• Romanian: golf (ro) n
• Russian: гольф (ru) m (golʹf)
• Scots: gowf
• Scottish Gaelic: goilf m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: голф m

  Roman: golf (sh) m

• Sinhalese: ගොල්ෆ් (golf)
• Slovak: golf (sk) m
• Slovene: golf m
• Spanish: golf (es) m
• Swahili: gofu (sw)
• Swedish: golf (sv) c
• Tagalog: golp
• Tajik: голф (tg) (golf)
• Tamil: கோல்ஃப் (kōlf)
• Telugu: గోల్ఫ్ (te) (gōlph)
• Thai: กอล์ฟ (th) (gɔ́ɔp)
• Turkish: golf (tr)
• Turkmen: golf
• Ukrainian: гольф (uk) m (holʹf)
• Urdu: گولف‎ m (golf)
• Uyghur: گولف توپى‎ (golf topi)
• Uzbek: golf (uz)
• Vietnamese: golf (vi), gôn (vi)
• Welsh: golff m
• Yiddish: גאָלף‎ (golf)
• Zulu: igalofu class 5

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.
   • 1894, Rudyard Kipling, The Day's Work/An Error in the Fourth Dimension:

     Last mystery of all, he learned to golf.

2. (computing) To write something in as few characters as possible (e.g. in code golf, regex golf)

Translations

play golf

• Bengali: গল্ফ খেলা (golpho khela)
• Bulgarian: играя голф (igraja golf)
• Dutch: golfen (nl)
• Finnish: golfata (fi)
• French: golfer (fr)
• German: golfen (de)
• Hungarian: golfozik (hu)
• Ido: golf-ludar (io)

Anagrams

• GLOF, flog

Asturian

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. (sports) golf

Catalan

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

Declension of golf (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfy
genitive	golfu	golfů
dative	golfu	golfům
accusative	golf	golfy
vocative	golfe	golfy
locative	golfu	golfech
instrumental	golfem	golfy

Derived terms

• golfista
• golfový

 

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Golf.

Noun

golf m inan

1. bay, gulf

Declension

Declension of golf (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfy
genitive	golfu	golfů
dative	golfu	golfům
accusative	golf	golfy
vocative	golfe	golfy
locative	golfu	golfech
instrumental	golfem	golfy

Further reading

• golf in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• golf in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• golf in Internetová jazyková příručka

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/

• audio

  (file)

• 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

• arrestatiegolf
• geluidsgolf
• lichtgolf
• microgolf
• radiogolf
• vloedgolf
• zwaartekrachtsgolf

Verb

golf

1. first-person singular present indicative of golven
2. imperative of golven

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣɔlf/, /ɡɔlf/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: golf
• Rhymes: -ɔlf

Noun

golf n (uncountable)

1. golf

Verb

golf

1. first-person singular present indicative of golfen
2. imperative of golfen

Faroese

Etymology

From English golf, from Scots.

Noun

golf n (genitive singular golfs, uncountable)

1. golf

Declension

Declension of golf (singular only)
n3s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	golf	golfið
accusative	golf	golfið
dative	golfi	golfinum
genitive	golfs	golfsins

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

Noun

golf

1. golf

Declension

Inflection of golf (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		golf	golfit
genitive		golfin	golfien
partitive		golfia	golfeja
illative		golfiin	golfeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		golf	golfit
accusative	nom.	golf	golfit
	gen.	golfin
genitive		golfin	golfien
partitive		golfia	golfeja
inessive		golfissa	golfeissa
elative		golfista	golfeista
illative		golfiin	golfeihin
adessive		golfilla	golfeilla
ablative		golfilta	golfeilta
allative		golfille	golfeille
essive		golfina	golfeina
translative		golfiksi	golfeiksi
instructive		—	golfein
abessive		golfitta	golfeitta
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of golf (type risti)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative golfini golfini accusative nom. golfini golfini gen. golfini genitive golfini golfieni partitive golfiani golfejani inessive golfissani golfeissani elative golfistani golfeistani illative golfiini golfeihini adessive golfillani golfeillani ablative golfiltani golfeiltani allative golfilleni golfeilleni essive golfinani golfeinani translative golfikseni golfeikseni instructive — — abessive golfittani golfeittani comitative — golfeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative golfisi golfisi accusative nom. golfisi golfisi gen. golfisi genitive golfisi golfiesi partitive golfiasi golfejasi inessive golfissasi golfeissasi elative golfistasi golfeistasi illative golfiisi golfeihisi adessive golfillasi golfeillasi ablative golfiltasi golfeiltasi allative golfillesi golfeillesi essive golfinasi golfeinasi translative golfiksesi golfeiksesi instructive — — abessive golfittasi golfeittasi comitative — golfeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative golfimme golfimme accusative nom. golfimme golfimme gen. golfimme genitive golfimme golfiemme partitive golfiamme golfejamme inessive golfissamme golfeissamme elative golfistamme golfeistamme illative golfiimme golfeihimme adessive golfillamme golfeillamme ablative golfiltamme golfeiltamme allative golfillemme golfeillemme essive golfinamme golfeinamme translative golfiksemme golfeiksemme instructive — — abessive golfittamme golfeittamme comitative — golfeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative golfinne golfinne accusative nom. golfinne golfinne gen. golfinne genitive golfinne golfienne partitive golfianne golfejanne inessive golfissanne golfeissanne elative golfistanne golfeistanne illative golfiinne golfeihinne adessive golfillanne golfeillanne ablative golfiltanne golfeiltanne allative golfillenne golfeillenne essive golfinanne golfeinanne translative golfiksenne golfeiksenne instructive — — abessive golfittanne golfeittanne comitative — golfeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative golfinsa golfinsa accusative nom. golfinsa golfinsa gen. golfinsa genitive golfinsa golfiensa partitive golfiaan golfiansa golfejaan golfejansa inessive golfissaan golfissansa golfeissaan golfeissansa elative golfistaan golfistansa golfeistaan golfeistansa illative golfiinsa golfeihinsa adessive golfillaan golfillansa golfeillaan golfeillansa ablative golfiltaan golfiltansa golfeiltaan golfeiltansa allative golfilleen golfillensa golfeilleen golfeillensa essive golfinaan golfinansa golfeinaan golfeinansa translative golfikseen golfiksensa golfeikseen golfeiksensa instructive — — abessive golfittaan golfittansa golfeittaan golfeittansa comitative — golfeineen golfeinensa

Synonyms

• kolopallo

Derived terms

• verbs: golfata

Compounds

compounds

• golfhousut
• golfinpelaaja
• golfkenttä
• golfkierros
• golfklubi
• golfmaila
• golfosake
• golfpallo
• minigolf
• pienoisgolf
• ratagolf

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

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. golf

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

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfok
accusative	golfot	golfokat
dative	golfnak	golfoknak
instrumental	golffal	golfokkal
causal-final	golfért	golfokért
translative	golffá	golfokká
terminative	golfig	golfokig
essive-formal	golfként	golfokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	golfban	golfokban
superessive	golfon	golfokon
adessive	golfnál	golfoknál
illative	golfba	golfokba
sublative	golfra	golfokra
allative	golfhoz	golfokhoz
elative	golfból	golfokból
delative	golfról	golfokról
ablative	golftól	golfoktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	golfé	golfoké
non-attributive possessive - plural	golféi	golfokéi

Possessive forms of golf
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	golfom	golfjaim
2nd person sing.	golfod	golfjaid
3rd person sing.	golfja	golfjai
1st person plural	golfunk	golfjaink
2nd person plural	golfotok	golfjaitok
3rd person plural	golfjuk	golfjaik

Derived terms

• golfoz
• golfozik

 

Compound words

• golfklub
• golfnadrág
• golfpálya

 

Further reading

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

Icelandic

Etymology

From English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔlv/
• Rhymes: -ɔlv

Noun

golf n (genitive singular golfs, no plural)

1. golf

Declension

declension of golf

n-s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	golf	golfið
accusative	golf	golfið
dative	golfi	golfinu
genitive	golfs	golfsins

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 (first-person possessive golfku, second-person possessive golfmu, third-person possessive golfnya)

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

• bergolf
• pegolf

 

Further reading

• “golf” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic 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

• golfbane
• golfer
• golfklubb
• golfkølle
• golfspiller

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

Etymology

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔlf/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlf
• Syllabification: golf

Noun

golf m inan

1. golf
2. turtleneck, polo-neck

Declension

Declension of golf

	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfy
genitive	golfu	golfów
dative	golfowi	golfom
accusative	golf	golfy
instrumental	golfem	golfami
locative	golfie	golfach
vocative	golfie	golfy

Noun

golf m anim

1. Volkswagen Golf car

Declension

Declension of golf

	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfy
genitive	golfa	golfów
dative	golfowi	golfom
accusative	golfa	golfy
instrumental	golfem	golfami
locative	golfie	golfach
vocative	golfie	golfy

Further reading

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

Portuguese

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. Alternative spelling of golfe

Romanian

Etymology 1

From French golfe.

Noun

golf n (plural golfuri)

1. gulf

Declension

Declension of golf

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) golf	golful	(niște) golfuri	golfurile
genitive/dative	(unui) golf	golfului	(unor) golfuri	golfurilor
vocative	golfule		golfurilor

Etymology 2

From English golf.

Noun

golf n (uncountable)

1. golf

Declension

declension of golf (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) golf	golful
genitive/dative	(unui) golf	golfului
vocative	golfule

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

golf m (Cyrillic spelling голф)

1. golf

Declension

Declension of golf

	singular
nominative	golf
genitive	golfa
dative	golfu
accusative	golf
vocative	golfe
locative	golfu
instrumental	golfom

Derived terms

• golfaš
• golfer

Slovak

Noun

golf m inan (genitive singular golfu, nominative plural golfy, genitive plural golfov, declension pattern of dub)

1. golf
2. (geography) bay, gulf

Declension

Declension of golf

	singular	plural
nominative	golf	golfy
genitive	golfu	golfov
dative	golfu	golfom
accusative	golf	golfy
locative	golfe	golfoch
instrumental	golfom	golfmi

Derived terms

• golfový
• golfský

Further reading

• golf in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English golf.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

golf m (uncountable)

1. golf

Derived terms

• bola de golf
• campo de golf
• golfista
• golfito
• palo de golf
• pelota de golf
• salsa golf

 

Further reading

• “golf”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Noun

golf c

1. gulf, bay
2. golf; a sport
3. Obsolete spelling of golv

Declension

Declension of golf
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	golf	golfen	golfer	golferna
Genitive	golfs	golfens	golfers	golfernas

Declension of golf 2
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	golf	golfen	—	—
Genitive	golfs	golfens	—	—

Related terms

• golfa
• golfare
• golfbana
• golfklubb
• golfklubba
• Mexikanska golfen

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣon˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣoŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ɣoŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic: 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