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endgame

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Etymology and origin of the English word endgame

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1749 a letter of Mary Delany
Ultimate origin
Old English endian,gamen
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English end
English endgame
From the same root
English weekend ← end

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɛnd.ɡeɪm/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English end + game.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The final stage of a game, especially of chess or bridge, when few pieces or cards are left: 1749, in a letter of Mary Delany.[2] Etymonline dates the chess sense to 1850,[3] Merriam-Webster to 1881,[4] and Wiktionary to 1884.[1]

Semantic evolution

In chess the endgame has no exact definition, but it is reckoned to begin when most of the pieces have left the board.[3][5] The word was later used of the final stage of any extended process or series of events (1967),[2][5] and of the ultimate goal of an action, the outcome one wants (1938).[2] Since the 2000s fans of a series have used it as an adjective for a couple meant to end up together (2009, on Twitter),[2] and Wiktionary records it for what has become part of the canon by the end of a work of fiction.[1]

Timeline

  • 1749 – the final stage of a game, especially chess or bridge.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1850, in chess.[3]
  • 1938 – the ultimate goal or desired outcome.[2]
  • 1967 – the final stage of an extended process.[2][5]
  • 2009 – adjective, of a couple destined to be together.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The final stage of a game of chess, after most of the pieces have been removed from the board.[5][4][2]
  2. The final stage of a game of bridge or another game, when few cards or pieces remain.[2][1]
  3. The final stage of some extended process or course of events: the endgame of the peace talks.[5][4][2]
  4. The ultimate goal of doing something; the outcome aimed at.[2]

Adjective

  1. (of a couple in a story) Destined in the end to be together romantically.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Endgame.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/endgame. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·