Kabaddi

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌbədi/

Definitions

1. A team sport originating in India involves two teams trying to tag opponents while holding their breath and chanting a word
2. The game features a player who 'raids' into the opposite half to score points through tagging opponents without being caught
3. An athletic competition that combines elements of wrestling and tag, contributing to both offensive and defensive strategies among players

Etymology: Kabaddi is a contact sport in which a player raids into the opponent's half and tries to tag defenders while holding their breath and chanting "kabaddi" without drawing another breath. The name, though, is older than the game's modern rules. It comes to English from Hindi "kabaḍḍī", which was taken from Tamil "kapaṭi", a shortening of "kaippiṭi", built from "kai" meaning "hand" and "piṭi" meaning "catch" or "grasp". The literal sense is roughly "holding hands", a fitting name for a game built on grappling and tackling.