croquet English · revision 813

10 Oct 2026, 23:47 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary, Hoad, MED, Word Origins)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈkɹəʊkeɪ/, /ˈkɹəʊki/ ''(UK)''; /kɹoʊˈkeɪ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|fr|croquet]], from a northern French dialect word ''croquet'' “hockey stick”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Old Northern French ''croquet'' “shepherd's crook”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a variant of Old French ''crochet'' “hook” (see [[crochet]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) from ''croc'', from Old Norse ''krókr'' “hook” (see [[crook]]).^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster instead traces it to obsolete French ''croquet'' “sharp blow”, from ''croquer''.^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A lawn game in which wooden balls are driven with mallets through hoops set in the ground (1851 in Etymonline; 1855 in Merriam-Webster; 1858 in the OED and Barnhart).^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The game is said to have originated in Brittany,^(Etymonline) was popularized in Ireland about 1830 and introduced into England about 1850, where it was very popular until the early 1870s.^(Etymonline) From 1858 the word was also a verb, for the shot in which a player drives away an opponent's ball by striking his own ball placed against it,^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and the noun was used of that shot from 1874.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1830 – the game popular in Ireland.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1851 – ''croquet'' in English.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1858 – verb, to drive away an opponent's ball.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1874 – noun, the croquet shot.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An outdoor game in which players use long-handled [[mallet|alt=mallets]] to drive wooden balls through a series of [[wicket|alt=wickets]] or hoops set out on a lawn.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The act of driving away an opponent's ball by striking one's own ball when the two are in contact.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To drive away an opponent's ball by a croquet shot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[roque]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[crochet]]
+ * [[crook]]
+ * [[crotchet]]
+ * [[croquette]]
+ * [[pall-mall]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}