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Origin and history of team

team(n.)

Middle English teme "a family, tribe, native stock" (senses now obsolete), from Old English team "descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood;" also "company, band;" from Proto-Germanic *tau(h)maz (source also of Old Norse taumr, Old Frisian tam "bridle; progeny, line of descent," Dutch toom, Old High German zoum, German Zaum "bridle"), probably literally "that which draws" (Watkins), from PIE *douk-mo-, from root *deuk- "to lead."

It was applied in Old English to groups working together for some purpose, such as "set of draft animals yoked together," in early Middle English especially as a legal term, "group of people acting together to bring suit."

The modern general sense of "persons associated in some joint action" is from 1520s. Especially "one of the parties or sides in a contest or match" (1846, in cricket). Team spirit is recorded by 1879 in U.S. sports jargon; perhaps suggested by esprit de corps. Team player is attested by 1886, originally in baseball. Team sport is by 1964.

The older senses relating to offspring or capacity for childbearing are more evident in teem (v.1).

team(v.)

1550s, "harness beasts in a team," from team (n.). It is attested from 1841 as "drive a team." The meaning "come together as a team" (usually with up) is attested from 1932. The transitive sense "use (something) in conjunction" (with something else) is from 1948. Related: Teamed; teaming. The Old English verb, teaman, tieman, is attested only in the sense "bring forth, beget, engender, propagate" (compare teem (v.1)).

also from 1550s

Entries linking to team

teem(v.1)

[abound, swarm] Middle English tēmen "produce offspring, breed," from Old English teman (Mercian), tieman (West Saxon) "beget, give birth to, bring forth, produce, propagate," from Proto-Germanic *tau(h)mjan (denominative), from PIE root *deuk- "to lead."

It is the corresponding verb to team (n.) in that word's now-obsolete sense of "family, brood of young animals." The meaning "abound, swarm" is attested by 1590s, on the notion of "be full of as if ready to give birth," and in this sense it is probably influenced by or confused with teem (v.2). Related: Teemed; teeming.

double-team(v.)

"attack two-on-one," 1860, American English; see double (adj.) + team (v.). Related: Double-teamed; double-teaming. Earlier as a noun it meant "a double team of horses" (used in plowing, pulling, etc.), by 1830, and this might be the origin of the verb.