Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. A board game for two players in which each has 15...

Ancestry of “backgammon”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbackNear the rear; Not current; Far from the main...
2Frenchbacferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A...
3Frenchbaccalauréatbaccalaureat; bachelor's degree
4Medieval Latinbaccalaureatusbachelor's degree
5Latinbaccalaureusbachelor
6Latinlaurealaurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of...
7Latinlauruslaurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel
8English-aceousOf, relating to, resembling or containing the...
9Latin-āceus—
10Latin-āx—
11Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
12Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
13Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
14Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “backgammon”

  • backgammon
  • backgammon
  • backgammon
  • 백개먼
  • backgammon
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →