Where does “backgammon” come from?
Backgammon comes from English back and an unattested element, with back deriving from French bac, Old English -ian, Old Swedish nattbakka, Latin bassus, Ancient Greek βάσις, and Proto-Indo-European gʷémtis.
backgammon (English): A board game for two players in which each has 15...
Definitions
- A board game for two players in which each has 15...
Ancestry of “backgammon”, step by step
backgammon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English back
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | back | Near the rear; Not current; Far from the main... |
| 2 | French | bac | ferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A... |
| 3 | French | baccalauréat | baccalaureat; bachelor's degree |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | baccalaureatus | bachelor's degree |
| 5 | Latin | baccalaureus | bachelor |
| 6 | Latin | laurea | laurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of... |
| 7 | Latin | laurus | laurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel |
| 8 | English | -aceous | Of, relating to, resembling or containing the... |
| 9 | Latin | -āceus | aceous; resembling, having the nature of, forming, belonging to |
| 10 | Latin | -āx | ish, -y |
| 11 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 12 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 13 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via Middle English gamen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | gamen | To entertain or enjoy oneself; to display... |
| 2 | Old English | gamen | game, sport, or pastime; joy, mirth, or pleasure |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | gaman | pleasure, fun, amusement, entertainment |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | gamaną | a fellow human, associate, companion; pleasure,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 8 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 9 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 10 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |