Gamed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have played or engaged in a game or sport
2. To have participated in strategic activity that often involves competition or entertainment
3. To have manipulated a situation for personal advantage or to achieve a desired outcome

Etymology: The verb "game" carries a meaning that has little to do with play on its surface, yet its oldest sense was simply joy. Old English "gamen" meant sport, mirth, pastime or pleasure, and it traces back to a Proto-Germanic word that literally suggested "participation" or "people together," perhaps built from a collective prefix plus the word for "man." Companionship and shared merriment sat at the heart of the idea from the start. Over time the sense of play narrowed into contests with rules and stakes, and the word spread across the Germanic languages: Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic all keep relatives meaning fun or merriment. English "game" is also related to "gamble" and "gammon," a fellow traveller along the same root. The sense of manipulating a situation for advantage grew out of the idea of playing a contest strategically, treating life or other people as a game to be won. It is a short step from playing to win to bending the rules, which is where "gamed" now lives.

Synonyms: played, competed, gambled, bet, risked

Antonyms: abstained, ignored, neglected, avoided, refrained