Where does “games” come from?
Game comes from Middle English gamen, from Old English gamen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm meaning "together," reflecting the social nature of play.
games (English): plural of game; Third-person singular simple...
Definitions
- plural of game; Third-person singular simple...
Ancestry of “games”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | game | A playful or competitive activity; A video game;... |
| 2 | Middle English | game | Entertainment or an instance of it; that which is... |
| 3 | Old English | gamen | game, sport, or pastime; joy, mirth, or pleasure |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gaman | pleasure, fun, amusement, entertainment |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gamaną | a fellow human, associate, companion; pleasure,... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | ga- | Indicates association or togetherness; co-;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 9 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 10 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 11 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 12 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 13 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |