backgammon
backgammon Lexical Profile
backgammon Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A classic two-player board game in which players move fifteen checkers along twenty-four triangular points according to rolls of two dice, aiming to be the first to bear all their pieces off the board.
"Every afternoon, the two grandfathers sat on the shaded porch drinking tea and playing backgammon."
A victory in the game of backgammon worth triple the value of a normal game, achieved when the winner bears off all fifteen checkers while the loser has not borne off any and still has at least one checker on the bar or in the winner's home board.
"By trapping his opponent's final piece on the bar, he secured a decisive backgammon and won triple points."
• verb
To defeat an opponent in backgammon by bearing off all of one's checkers before the opponent has borne off any and while the opponent still has at least one checker in the winner's home board or on the bar.
"She easily backgammoned her opponent in the final round of the tournament."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the mid-17th century from 'back' + 'gammon' (an archaic variant of 'game' from Old English 'gamen'), probably because the pieces are frequently sent back to start over during play.