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Sportive. [Obs.] -- Lu"di*bund*ness, n. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt; sportive. Broome. A chapter upon German rhetoric would be in the same ludicrous predicament as Van Troil's chapter on the snakes of Iceland, which delivers its business in one summary sentence, announcing, that snakes in Iceland -- there are none. De Quincey.…

Used in play; sportive; playful. [Obs.] Bp. Sanderson.

y; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play ; sportive. They drank, and were merry with him. Gen. xliii. 34. I am never merry when I hear sweet music. Shak.

A name given in contempt, derision, or sportive familiarity; a familiar or an opprobrious appellation.

Not very distinct; obscure; rudimental; imperfectly developed; abortive.

To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute; as, to play tricks. Nature here Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will Her virgin fancies. Milton.

Sportive; gamboling; frolicsome; indulging a sportive fancy; humorous; merry; as, a playful child; a playful writer. -- Play"ful*ly, adv. -- Play"ful*ness, n.

Playful; wanton; sportive. [R.] R. Browning. -- Play"some*ness, n. [R.]

Cheerful; enlivening; gay; sprightly; humorous; sportive; as, pleasant company; a pleasant fellow. From grave to light, from pleasant to serve. Dryden.

A gay or sportive action; a ludicrous, merry, or mischievous trick; a caper; a frolic. Spenser. The harpies . . . played their accustomed pranks. Sir W. Raleigh. His pranks have been too broad to bear with. Shak.

Relating to quizzing: given to quizzing; of the nature of a quiz; farcical; sportive. -- Quiz"zic*al*ly, adv.

A wife; -- in allusion to Eve, as made out of Adam's rib. [Familiar & Sportive] How many have we known whose heads have been broken with their own rib. Bp. Hall. Chuck rib, a cut of beef immediately in front of the middle rib. See Chuck. -- Fore ribs, a cut of beef immediately in front of the sirloin. -- Middle rib,…

A sportive or unbecoming trick; a frolic.

In a playful or sportive manner.

To leap lightly; to move in leaps and hounds; -- commonly implying a sportive spirit. The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day, Had he thy reason, would he skip and play Pope. So she drew her mother away skipping, dancing, and frisking fantastically. Hawthorne.

utch women from sitting over their stoves; also, an abortion, in a figurative sense; an abortive scheme. Fruits of dull heat, and sooterkins of wit. Pope.

To give utterance to in a sportive manner; to throw out in an easy and copious manner; -- with off; as, to sport off epigrams. Addison. To sport one's oak. See under Oak, n.

Sportiveness. [Obs.]

Done in jest, or for mere play; sportive. They are no sportful productions of the soil. Bentley. -- Sport"ful*ly, adv. -- Sport"ful*ness, n.