dominoes
dominoes Lexical Profile
dominoes Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any of various tabletop games played with small, flat, rectangular tiles marked on one face with two square groups of spots or left blank, in which players typically match tiles with identical values end to end.
"Every Sunday afternoon, the elders gather in the park to play a competitive game of dominoes."
The small, flat, rectangular blocks or tiles, each divided on one side into two halves that are either blank or marked with one to six dots (pips), used as game pieces or stood on end in rows to topple sequentially.
"The children spent hours lining up hundreds of dominoes across the living room floor just to watch them fall."
Loose, hooded cloaks worn together with half-masks concealing the upper part of the face, historically worn at masquerades, or the small eye masks themselves.
"The guests arrived at the Venetian masquerade ball wearing silk dominoes that concealed their identities."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the game itself, 'dominoes' is plural in form but takes a singular verb (e.g., 'Dominoes is a popular game').
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 18th century from French domino, which originally referred to a long, hooded black cloak worn by priests in winter; the game tiles were likely named for the resemblance of their black undersides and white dotted faces to the priest's black cloak over a white surplice.