Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of player

player(n.)

Middle English pleiere, from Old English plegere "one who takes part in pastimes or amusements," an agent noun from play (v.). The stage senses of "performer of plays, professional actor," also "one who performs on a musical instrument" are from c. 1400. The meaning "contestant in field or martial games" is from early 15c.; of table games, late 14c. As a pimp's word for himself (also playa), it is attested from 1974 (the sexual senses of play (v.) go back to 13c.). Player-piano is attested from 1901.

Friends, who on a domestic stage allot parts to each other, and repeat a drama, are actors, but not players. Many a libertine has taken to the stage for a maintenance, and has become a player without becoming an actor. The great theatres engage those who act well ; the strolling companies those who play cheap. [William Taylor, "English Synonyms Discriminated," 1813]

Entries linking to player

play(v.)

Middle English pleien, from Old English plegan, plegian "move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music." It is from Proto-West Germanic *plegōjanan "occupy oneself about" (source also of Old Saxon plegan "vouch for, take charge of," Old Frisian plega "tend to," Middle Dutch pleyen "to rejoice, be glad," German pflegen "take care of, cultivate"). This apparently is connected to the root of plight (v.), but the ultimate etymology is uncertain and the phonetic development is difficult to explain.

The meaning "take part in" a martial or athletic game is from c. 1200. It has been opposed to work (v.) since late 14c. The meaning "perform or act on the stage" (transitive) is by late 14c., as are the senses of "take the role of" and "make a pretense of, make believe" and "act thoughtlessly or wantonly."

The sense of "put forward, move, throw, lay on the table, etc." in the course of a game or contest is by 1560s of chess pieces, 1670s of playing cards. The sense of "operate or cause to operate with continuous or repeated action" is from 1590s. The meaning "to cause (a recording) to reproduce what is on it" is by 1903, probably from the "make music" sense. Related: Played; playing.

Many expressions are from the stage, sports and games, or music, and it is not always easy to say which is from which. To play up "emphasize" is from 1909 (perhaps originally "play music more vigorously"); to play down "minimize" is from 1930; to play along "pretend to agree or cooperate" is from 1929. To play fair "be nice" is from mid-15c. To play house as a children's activity is from 1958.

To play for keeps is from 1861, originally of marbles or other children's games with tokens. To play (something) safe is from 1911; to play favorites is attested from 1902. To play second fiddle in the figurative sense is from 1809 ("Gil Blas"). To play into the hands (of someone) "act in such a way as to give the advantage to one's opponent or a third party" is from 1705.

For play the _______ card see card (n.1). For play the field see field (n.). To play with oneself "masturbate" is from 1896 (to play with "have sexual intercourse with" is from mid-13c.). Playing-card "one of a pack of cards used for playing games" is from 1540s.

ballplayer(n.)

also ball-player, "one who plays a ball game," mid-15c., from ball (n.1) + player.

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trends of player

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

actor

late 14c., "an overseer, guardian, steward," from Latin actor "an agent or doer; a driver (of sheep, etc.)," in law, "accuser, plaintiff," also "theatrical player, orator," from past-participle stem of agere "to set in motion, drive, drive forward," hence "to do, perform," also "

jackpot

prize," 1944, from slot machine sense (1932), from now-obsolete poker sense (1881) in reference to antes that begin when no player...In a jack-pot each player puts up an equal stake and receives a hand....The pot must then be opened by a player holding a hand of the value of a pair of knaves (jacks) or better....If no player holds so valuable a hand the deal passes and each player adds a small sum to the pot or pool....

carol

Perhaps from Medieval Latin choraula "a dance to the flute," from Latin choraules "flute-player," from Greek khoraulēs "flute...player who accompanies the choral dance," from khoros "chorus" (see chorus) + aulein "to play the flute," from aulos "reed...

grandstand

The verb meaning "to show off" is student slang from 1895, from grandstand player, attested in baseball slang from 1888....It's little things of this sort which makes the 'grand stand player.'...

file

Meaning "line of squares on a chessboard running directly from player to player" is from 1610s....

stalemate

1765, in chess, "position in which a player not in check has no available moves in his turn," from stale "stalemate" (mid..."In England from the 17th c. to the beginning of the 19th c. the player who received stalemate won the game" [OED]....

discard

1590s, "throw out or reject a card dealt to a player, in accordance with the rules of the game," literally "to throw a card...

star

"celestial body appearing as a luminous point," Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra "star," from Proto-Germanic *sternan- (source also of Old Saxon sterro, Old Frisian stera, Dutch ster, Old High German sterro, German Stern, Old Norse stjarna, Swedish stjerna, Danish

stand-by

also standby, 1796, "that which stands by one," originally nautical, of a vessel kept nearby for emergencies, from verbal phrase stand by "await, support, remain beside" (mid-13c.), earlier "stand near, stand and watch" (late 12c.); see stand (v.) + by (prep); also compare bystan

supernumerary

"exceeding a stated or prescribed number," c. 1600, from Late Latin supernumarius "excess, counted in over" (of soldiers added to a full legion), from Latin super numerum "beyond the number," from super "beyond, over" (see super-) + numerum, accusative of numerus "number" (see nu

Share player

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trending

Dictionary entries near player

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.