Etymologically
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badminton

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbæd.mɪn.tən/, /ˈbæd.mɪt.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is named after Badminton, the country seat of the Duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England,[2][3][4][5][6] where the game was first played in England.[4][3] British officers had brought it from India, where it was called poona.[3][4] The place name is Old English Badimyncgtun (972), “estate of a man called Baduhelm”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cooling summer drink made with claret, sugar and soda water (1845).[7][1]

Semantic evolution

Like the drink, the game took its name from the Beaufort estate.[7] The game sense is recorded from 1874[7][3][4][5] and is now the only common one.[2][5][6]

Timeline

  • 1835–45 – Random House's dating.[6]
  • 1845 – a summer drink.[7]
  • 1874 – the game.[7][3][4][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A game played on a court with light, long-handled rackets, in which a shuttlecock is hit back and forth over a high net.
  2. (dated) A summer drink of claret, sugar and soda water.
  • shuttlecock
  • battledore
  • tennis

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press