DCHP-2

Can-Am CanAm DCHP-2 (April 2016)

• adj. — generally Sports

  designating an event as affiliated with Canada and the US or as open to players with citizenship in either or both countries; Canadian-American.

  Type: 5. Frequency — The abbreviation Can-Am is used to classify an event or occasion as open to Canadian (Can) and American (Am) participation (see the 1955 and 1999 quotations). Accordingly, the term Can-Am is used to designate a variety of sports leagues, such as hockey (see the 1931 quotation), basketball (see the 1999 quotation) or baseball (see the 2014 quotation). Moreover, Can-Am appears to also be used to describe players who are both Canadian and American in nationality (see the 1961 quotation). The term Can-Am commonly occurs in newspaper headlines, likely due to its brevity. Note that the abbreviation Can-Am is also commonly used to refer specifically to the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, a sports car racing series held from 1966 to 1987 (see Can-Am reference). As Chart 1 shows, the term is used more often in Canada when compared to the US, making this a Canadianism by virtue of frequency.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "Can-Am", which is marked "Cdn".