bezique

[ buh-zeek ]

/ bəˈzik /

noun Cards.

a game resembling pinochle, originally played with 64 cards and now more commonly with 128 cards and, sometimes, 192 or 256 cards.

Nearby words

bez antler, beza, bezaleel, bezant, bezel, bezique, bezoar, bezold's abscess, bezonian, bezwada, bezzant

Origin of bezique

1860–65; < French bésigue, bézigue, perhaps < Italian bazzica a similar game, derived variously from bazza trump card, stroke of luck, or bazzicare to frequent, haunt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bezique

"While waiting for you to return we'll play a game of bezique," said Mme Maloir after a short silence.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille|Emile Zola
It used to be different when me and Maria could stick it out over a game of bezique.
Foe-Farrell|Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Christabel played and sang, while the Major and Jessie Bridgeman sat at bezique.
Mount Royal, Volume 1 of 3|Mary Elizabeth Braddon
She knew that bezique was a game of cards—or a game of something else.
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis

A card game of similar name was played in this country half a century ago; it was a kind of bezique.
Mazes and Labyrinths|W. H. Matthews

British Dictionary definitions for bezique

bezique

/ (bɪˈziːk) /

noun

a card game for two or more players with tricks similar to whist but with additional points scored for honours and sequences: played with two packs with nothing below a seven

(in this game) the queen of spades and jack of diamonds declared together

Word Origin for bezique

C19: from French bésigue, 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