Tennis

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Dr. Goodword
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Tennis

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat May 17, 2014 10:51 pm

• tennis •


Pronunciation: ten-is • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass

Meaning: A game played with rackets and a light ball by two players or two pairs of players on a rectangular court of grass, clay, or asphalt, divided by a net over which the ball is hit.

Notes: Remember that in 1874 the equipment and rules for lawn tennis were patented under the name of sphairistike. Since this name was too difficult to pronounce, it was replaced by tennis. Recall also that the scoring in tennis has the peculiar word for "zero": love (see the Word History of love for that story).

In Play: In US parks, visitors are warned against leaving cans of tennis balls in their cars. Why? Tennis balls come in sets of three in elongated cans about the same size as the cans of certain machine-made potato chips (crisps). Bears in some parks have learned that they can find a nice treat inside these odd-sized cans but, since they still cannot read, they cannot tell the difference between the two types of cans. Could you bear a game of tennis knowing this?

Word History: Today's healthy and stimulating game was introduced in Florence by French knights in 1325 under the name of tenes. It is mentioned under this name in La Cronica di Firenze by Donato Velluti, who died in 1370. The game originated in France, where it was called la paume. Apparently, French knights called out, Tenez! "Hold! Keep (in hand)!" at the beginning of each serve and the Italians took this word for the name of the game. English borrowed the game and its name from the Italians, for its name began in Old English as tenneys, though with the French accent on the end. Tenez is the plural or polite imperative of the French tenir "to hold, keep". Its present participle tenant "holding, keeping" is visible in lieutenant, from lieu "place" + tenant "holding, holder".
• The Good Dr. Goodword

bnjtokyo

Re: Tennis

Postby bnjtokyo » Mon May 19, 2014 4:49 am

Henry V, Act I Scene 2 (Shakespeare)

FIRST AMBASSADOR
. . . .
He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit,
This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this,
Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim
Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks.

KING HENRY V
What treasure, uncle?

EXETER
Tennis-balls, my liege.

KING HENRY V
We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us;
His present and your pains we thank you for:
When we have march'd our rackets to these balls,
We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set
Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.
Tell him he hath made a match with such a wrangler
That all the courts of France will be disturb'd
With chaces. And we understand him well,
How he comes o'er us with our wilder days,
Not measuring what use we made of them.
We never valued this poor seat of England;
And therefore, living hence, did give ourself
To barbarous licence; as 'tis ever common
That men are merriest when they are from home.
But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state,
Be like a king and show my sail of greatness
When I do rouse me in my throne of France:
For that I have laid by my majesty
And plodded like a man for working-days,
But I will rise there with so full a glory
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,
Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us.
And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones; and his soul
Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance
That shall fly with them: for many a thousand widows
Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands;
Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down;
And some are yet ungotten and unborn
That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn.
But this lies all within the will of God,
To whom I do appeal; and in whose name
Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on,
To venge me as I may and to put forth
My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd cause.
So get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin
His jest will savour but of shallow wit,
When thousands weep more than did laugh at it.
Convey them with safe conduct. Fare you well.

Exeunt Ambassadors

maevek
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:28 am
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: Tennis

Postby maevek » Mon May 19, 2014 9:29 am

Don't overlook,
Latin,
teneo, tenere, tenant

(or something like that -- my latin is rusty)

David Myer
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1140
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:21 am
Location: Melbourne

Re: Tennis

Postby David Myer » Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:08 am

Thanks bnj. Just discovered this post and much amused by the Shakespeare extract.

bnjtokyo
Lexiterian
Posts: 384
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:16 pm

Re: Tennis

Postby bnjtokyo » Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:39 pm

David, it was just so much bardolatry.


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