To sport something to have or wear something in a proud way:
- to sport a beard,
to sport a beard,
- she was sporting a T-shirt with the company's logo on it. (OLD)
she was sporting a T-shirt with the company's logo on it. (OLD)
The etymology of sport as a verb doesn’t appear to refer to the above usage:
c. 1400, "to take pleasure, to amuse oneself," from Old French desporter, deporter "to divert, amuse, please, play; to seek amusement," literally "carry away" (the mind from serious matters).
and the only later connotation I could find of sport as a noun that seems somewhat related is:
Sense of "stylish man" is from 1861, American English, probably because they lived by gambling and betting on races. (Etymonline)
Questions:
A) Where does the above connotation come from?
B) Is it a recent slang usage or does it have an older origin?