game

English Online Dictionary. What means game‎? What does game mean?

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: gām, IPA^(key): /ɡeɪm/
• Rhymes: -eɪm

Etymology 1

From Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game", literally "participation, communion, people together”), from *ga- (collective prefix) + *mann- (“man”); or alternatively from *ga- + a root from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think, have in mind”).

Cognate with Old Frisian game, gome (“joy, amusement, entertainment”), Middle High German gamen (“joy, amusement, fun, pleasure”), Swedish gamman (“mirth, rejoicing, merriment”), Icelandic gaman (“fun”). Related to gammon, gamble.

Noun

game (countable and uncountable, plural games)

2. A playful or competitive activity.
   2. A playful activity that may be unstructured; an amusement or pastime.

      Synonyms: amusement, diversion, entertainment, festivity, frolic, fun, gaiety, gambol, lark, merriment, merrymaking, pastime, play, prank, recreation, sport, spree

      Antonyms: drudgery, work, toil

   3. (countable) An activity described by a set of rules, especially for the purpose of entertainment, often competitive or having an explicit goal.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:game

   4. (UK, in the plural) A school subject during which sports are practised.
   6. (countable) A particular instance of playing a game.

      Synonym: match
   8. That which is gained, such as the stake in a game.
   10. The number of points necessary to win a game.

       See also: for the win

   12. (card games) In some games, a point awarded to the player whose cards add up to the largest sum.
   14. (countable) The equipment that enables such activity, particularly as packaged under a title.

   16. One's manner, style, or performance in playing a game.
   18. (countable) Ellipsis of video game.
4. (now rare) Lovemaking, flirtation.
6. (slang) Prostitution. (Now chiefly in on the game.)
8. (countable, informal, nearly always singular) A field of gainful activity, as an industry or profession.

   Synonym: line

10. (countable, figuratively) Something that resembles a game with rules, despite not being designed.
12. (countable, military) An exercise simulating warfare, whether computerized or involving human participants.

    Synonym: wargame

14. (countable) A questionable or unethical practice in pursuit of a goal.

    Synonyms: scheme, racket
16. (uncountable) Wild animals hunted for food.
18. (uncountable, informal, used mostly for men) The ability to seduce someone, usually by strategy.
20. (uncountable, slang) Mastery; the ability to excel at something.
21. (uncountable, archaic) Diversion, entertainment.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Brazilian Portuguese: game
• → Dutch: gamen, game
• → Irish: géim
• → Japanese: ゲーム
• → Korean: 게임 (geim), 겜 (gem)
• → Norman: gamme
• → Norwegian: gamen, game
• → Spanish: game
• → Welsh: gêm
• → Finnish: geimit

Translations

Adjective

game (comparative gamer, superlative gamest)

1. (colloquial) Willing and able to participate.

   Synonyms: sporting, willing, daring, disposed, favorable, nervy, courageous, valiant

   Antonyms: cautious, disinclined
2. (of an animal) That shows a tendency to continue to fight against another animal, despite being wounded, often severely.
3. Persistent, especially in senses similar to the above.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

game (third-person singular simple present games, present participle gaming, simple past and past participle gamed)

1. (intransitive) To gamble.
2. (intransitive) To play card games, board games, or video games.
3. (transitive) To exploit loopholes in a system or bureaucracy in a way which defeats or nullifies the spirit of the rules in effect, usually to obtain a result which otherwise would be unobtainable.
4. (transitive, seduction community, slang, of males) To perform premeditated seduction strategy.

Derived terms

• game the system
• gamer

Translations

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

game (comparative more game, superlative most game)

1. (of a limb) Injured, lame.

See also

• game on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• MEGA, Mega, mage, mega, mega-

Chinese

Alternative forms

• (leetspeak) 驚 / 惊 (geng¹)

Etymology

From English game (Cheung, 2007, page 220).

Pronunciation

Noun

game

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) game (especially video games and online games) (Classifier: 隻／只 c)

Derived terms

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːm/
• Hyphenation: game
• Rhymes: -eːm

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English game.

Noun

game m (plural games, diminutive gamepje n)

1. a video game, an electronic game

   Synonyms: videogame, videospel

Hyponyms

• computerspel
• videospel

Related terms

• gamen
• gamer

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

game

1. inflection of gamen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative
   4. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English gamen / gomen, from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną, of disputed origin.

Alternative forms

• gamen, gemen, gomen, gome, gammen, gaume, gamme, gamin, gomin, gomyn, gomun, gam, geme

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaːm(ə)/, /ˈɡam(ə)/, /ˈɡaːmən/, /ˈɡamən/
• (from OE gomen) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɔːm(ə)/, /ˈɡɔːmən/
• (Kent) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛːm(ə)/, /ˈɡɛːmən/

Noun

game (plural games or game)

1. Entertainment or an instance of it; that which is enjoyable:
   1. A sport or other outdoor or physical activity.
   2. A game; a codified (and often competitive) form of entertainment.
   3. Sexual or romantic entertainment or activity (including intercourse in itself).
   4. An amusing, joking, or humorous activity or event.
2. Any kind of event or occurrence; something that happens:
   1. An endeavour; a set of actions towards a goal.
   2. Any kind of activity having competition or rivalry.
3. The state of being happy or joyful.
4. Game; wild animals hunted for food.
5. (rare) One's quarry; that which one is trying to catch.
6. (rare) Gamesmanship; gaming behaviour.
7. (rare) The reward for winning a game.

Derived terms

• gameful
• gamely
• gamen

Descendants

• English: game (see there for further descendants); (dialectal gam)
• ⇒ Fingallian: gamshoge
• Scots: gemme, gem, gyem, game
• Yola: gaame, gaume, gaaume

References

• “gāme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-07-09.

Etymology 2

From Old English gæmnian, gamnian, gamenian.

Verb

game

1. Alternative form of gamen

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English game.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡejm/, /ˈɡej.mi/

Noun

game m (plural games)

1. (Brazil) electronic game (game played on an electronic device, such as a computer game, a video game or the like)

   Synonyms: videojogo, jogo

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:game.

See also

• jogo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɨ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mi
• Hyphenation: ga‧me

Verb

game

1. inflection of gamar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Noun

game m (plural games)

1. (tennis) game

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English game. Attested since 1900.

Pronunciation

• Homophone: gem

Noun

game n

1. (tennis, squash) game
2. (slang) game (ability to seduce someone)

   Synonym: rizz

Declension

Derived terms

• gammal i gamet

References

• game in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• game in Svensk ordbok (SO)

Vietnamese

Etymology

English game

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣem˧˧], [ɣɛm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣem˧˧], [ɣɛm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣem˧˧], [ɣɛm˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: ghêm, ghem

Noun

game

1. (video games) Synonym of trò chơi điện tử (“a video game”)

See also

• game thủ