game English · revision 1773

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡeɪm/^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|game]], West Midland [[m|enm|gome]],^(Barnhart 1995) [[inh|ang|gamen|t=joy, fun, amusement]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD) It has cognates throughout Germanic ([[osx|gaman]], [[goh|gaman|t=sport, merriment]], [[non|gaman]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Klein 1966) Barnhart and Hoad call it of unknown origin;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford identify it with [[got|𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌽|tr=gaman|t=participation, fellowship]], from the collective prefix [[gem-pro|*ga-]] and the word for “person” (see [[man]]), giving a sense of “people together”.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921) The final n was lost, perhaps by being mistaken for a suffix, as in [[clue]], [[eve]] and [[maid]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ''Game'' meaning “lame”, as in “a game leg”, is a separate word first recorded in 1787, originally north Midlands dialect, and of unknown origin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) suggestions include a variant of ''[[gammy]]'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) [[fro|gambi|t=bent, crooked]],^(Weekley 1921)^(LDOCE 2009) and [[ga|cam|t=crooked]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Joy, fun, amusement (Old English ''gamen'', about 725, in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense was “amusement, fun, pleasure”, which Shakespeare still uses (“We have had pastimes here and pleasant game”);^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002) other early meanings were a jest and a laughing stock.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) The sense “a contest played according to rules” is first attested about 1200, of athletic contests, chess and backgammon.^(Etymonline) About 1300 the word was used of the sport of hunting, hawking and fishing, and so of the wild animals hunted, the ''game'' in ''fair game''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Cresswell 2021) Its use for sexual play dates from about 1200;^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) ''on the game'', in prostitution, is from the late 19th century, and in the mid 18th century it was thieves' slang for stealing.^(Cresswell 2021)^(HTOED) ''Playing the game'', acting fairly, is from the early 19th century, popularized by Newbolt's “Play up! play up! and play the game!” (1897).^(Cresswell 2021)^(Weekley 1921) The adjective “plucky, spirited” (1725) comes from ''gamecock'', a cock bred for fighting (1670s);^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hendrickson 2008) “ready and willing”, as in ''game for anything'', followed in the mid 19th century.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) The verb, from Old English [[m|ang|gamenian|t=to play, jest]], was little used after about 1400;^(Etymonline) the modern sense “to gamble” dates from the early 16th century,^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) and ''to game the system'', to exploit its rules, is a later development.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) ''Game plan'' (1941) comes from American football, and ''game show'' is first attested in 1961.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''gamen'', joy, fun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a contest played to rules; sexual play.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * c. 1300 – hunting; the animals hunted.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1460 – ''make game of''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1512 – verb, to gamble.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1658 – the flesh of game animals as food.^(HTOED)

+ * 1725 – adjective, plucky.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1787 – ''game'', lame (a separate word), in Grose's ''Provincial Glossary''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1830 – the number of points needed to win (1674 in the Historical Thesaurus).^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+ * 1941 – ''game plan''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1961 – ''game show''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An activity engaged in for amusement; a [[pastime]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(COED 2004)

+ # A competitive activity or [[sport]] played according to rules; a single contest of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(games)'' An organized meeting of sporting contests: ''the Olympic Games''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A portion of play forming a scoring unit, as in tennis; the number of points needed to win.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A [[video game]] or the equipment for a board game.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+ # A scheme or strategy; a trick: ''what's his game?''.^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD)

+ # Wild animals or birds hunted for sport or food; their flesh.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Black's Law 2004)

+ # ''(informal)'' A line of work: ''the advertising game''.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To play for stakes; to [[gamble]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To take dishonest advantage of; to exploit the rules of: ''game the system''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To play video games.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Plucky and unyielding; spirited.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Ready and willing: ''game for anything''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(of a limb)'' Lame, injured: ''a game leg''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gamely]]

+ * [[gameness]]

+ * [[gamelike]]

+ * [[gameless]]

+ * [[gamer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gamble]]

+ * [[gammon]]

+ * [[gamecock]]

+ * [[gammy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}