DisputedNamed from the place
baccarat
noun · first attested 19th century
The game shares its name with a Lorraine glassmaking town, and nobody can prove the connection.
A card game in which players bet on which hand will come closest to a score of nine.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- DisputedCompeting explanations remain live.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Baccarat
- In English
baccarat
English borrowed the word from French baccarat or baccara in the nineteenth century. Dictionaries note the town of Baccarat in Meurthe-et-Moselle, famous since 1764 for its crystal works, but no record ties the game to the place. The town's own name is first recorded in 1291 and is itself unexplained.
France
All 57 entries 56 more words from France
denimThe cloth is named for Nîmes, not for jeans.NîmesbayonetThe blade is traditionally tied to a port in the Basque country.BayonnechampagneThe drink is a place-name first, a party word second.ChampagnecognacThe brandy is the town’s name in a glass.CognaccayenneThe heat is named for a capital on the Atlantic coast of South America.CayennelimousineThe luxury car is named for a cloak from Limousin.LimogesroquefortThe blue cheese is a village in the Aveyron.Roquefort-sur-SoulzoncamembertThe cheese is a Norman village.Camembert