backgammon

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.

Noun

  1. 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.
    • "I have borrowed Mrs. Palmer's backgammon-board," said Isabella, whose notion of an elderly gentleman's amusements of an evening was derived from what she had seen Mr. Palmer do. - 1838 (date written), L[etitia]...
  2. A victory in the game when the loser has not borne off a stone, and still has one or more stones in the winner's inner home row or on the bar.

Origin

Probably from back + Middle English gamen, from Old English gamen (“amusement, game”).

Forms

backgammons

Related

gammon tick-tack tric-trac trick-track

Derived

Dutch backgammon Russian backgammon

Verb

  1. To win at a backgammon game with the opponent having one or more pieces in the winner’s inner home row or on the bar.

Forms

backgammons backgammoning backgammoned

Wikipedia

Backgammon