Bonspiels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Organized curling competitions in which teams of players compete over several rounds of play on ice
2. Multi-day tournaments held for the sport of curling, where rinks face off to win a championship
3. Curling contests, typically hosted over a few days, that bring together teams to compete on the ice

Etymology: "Bonspiels" is the plural of "bonspiel", a Scots word for a multi-day curling tournament. The term was borrowed from Scots, where the Middle Scots form was "bonspele". Its origin is probably Dutch: "bond" meant "league" or "association", and "spel" meant "game", so the compound would have meant something like "league game". That fits the sociable, club-based nature of the event, as curling clubs in Scotland traditionally competed against one another in organised contests. The Dutch link is a plausible but not fully proven explanation, so it is best treated as the leading theory rather than settled fact. What is certain is that the word belongs to the Scottish curling tradition and carries its Scots sound and spelling into English-speaking curling culture.

Synonyms: tournament, competition, contest, meet