pinochle

[ pee-nuhk-uhl, -nok- ]
See synonyms for pinochle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a popular card game played by two, three, or four persons, with a 48-card deck.

  2. a meld of the queen of spades and the jack of diamonds in this game.

Origin of pinochle

1
1860–65, Americanism;<Swiss German Binokel, Binoggel<Swiss French binocle literally, pince-nez (see binocle1), probably adopted as synonym of the less current French besicles spectacles, folk-etymological alteration of beziguebezique

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pinochle in a sentence

  • Sometimes the proposed excursion was a pinocle party or a visit to the theatre, but the dénouement was always the same.

    Elkan Lubliner, American | Montague Glass
  • I think it was you and Kamin told me that real estate is a game the same like auction pinocle?

    Elkan Lubliner, American | Montague Glass
  • Martha said she didn't play bridge and upon Annie's timid suggestion of pinocle, said she had never heard of it.

    The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
  • “I am always going to play pinocle with you Sunday forenoons as long as you live, grandmother,” said she.

    The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
  • Would you believe me, Abe, I tried to get up a game of auction pinocle there and I couldn't do it!

    Abe and Mawruss | Montague Glass

British Dictionary definitions for pinochle

pinochle

penuchle, penuckle or pinocle

/ (ˈpiːnʌkəl) /


noun
  1. a card game for two to four players similar to bezique

  2. the combination of queen of spades and jack of diamonds in this game

Origin of pinochle

1
C19: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012