蹴しゅう球きゅう

noun

football (soccer, rugby, American football, etc.; esp. soccer)

Archaic term for football, especially soccer. In modern Japanese, サッカー is the standard word for soccer, while フットボール may be used for other codes. 蹴球 is now mainly encountered in historical contexts or older literature.

• 戦せん前ぜんの日本にほんでは、蹴しゅう球きゅうは主おもにサッカーを指さす言こと葉ばだった。

  In pre-war Japan, 蹴球 was a word that mainly referred to soccer.