Etymograph

English

backgammon

Backgammon may come from Middle English gamen.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gamen1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1838backgammon1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English backgammon
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “I have borrowed Mrs. Palmer's backgammon-board," said Isabella, whose…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gamenWiktionary, English backgammonuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1838backgammonWiktionary, English backgammon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “I have borrowed Mrs. Palmer's backgammon-board," said Isabella, whose…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *gamaną ‘pleasure, enjoyment, joy’

gamble, 2 more

through Proto-West Germanic *gaman ‘pleasure, fun, amusement, entertainment’

gamer, 1 more

through Old English gamen ‘amusement, game’

game, 2 more

Today it means

noun A board game for two players in which each has 15 stones which move between 24 triangular points according to the roll of a pair of dice; the object is to move all of one's pieces around, and bear them off the board.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “backgammon”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English gamen / backgammon

Shirt and support for this word