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Origin and history of polo

polo(n.)

ball game of eastern origin resembling field hockey played on horseback, 1872, Anglo-Indian polo, from Balti (Tibetan language of the Indus valley) polo "ball," related to Tibetan pulu "ball." An ancient game in south Asia, first played in England at Aldershot, 1871. Water polo is from 1876 (in early versions players sometimes paddled about on barrels or in canoes). Polo shirt (1892) originally was a kind worn by polo players.

also from 1872

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Trends of polo

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

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