Quoits

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kɔɪts/

Definitions

1. A traditional game involving the tossing of flat rings at a stake in order to score points
2. A sport where players throw metal or plastic rings at a target, often played in gardens or at fairs
3. A leisure activity where participants aim to encircle a peg with rings thrown from a distance for fun or competition

Etymology: "Quoits" is the plural of "quoit", the name for the flat ring thrown at a peg in the game of the same name. The singular "quoit" descends from Middle English "coyte", meaning "flat stone", which came from Old French "coite" and ultimately from Latin "culcita", a word for a cushion or mattress. The connection is one of shape and softness rather than stone: a mattress or cushion is a flat, padded object, and early English applied the same flat-shaped idea to stones. The word is a doublet of "quilt", meaning that both English words descend from the same Latin source, "culcita", but reached English by different routes and took on different meanings. "Quilt" kept the bedding sense, while "quoit" moved toward the stone and eventually the throwing game.

Synonyms: ring, hoop