fan-tan

[ fan-tan ]

/ ˈfænˌtæn /

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noun

Also fan tan .Also called parliament, sevens. Cards. a game in which the players play their sevens and other cards forming sequences in the same suits as their sevens, the winner being the player who first runs out of cards.

a Chinese gambling game in which a pile of coins, counters, or objects is placed under a bowl and bets are made on what the remainder will be after they have been counted off in fours.

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Origin of fan-tan

First recorded in 1875–80; from Chinese fān tān literally “repeated divisions”

Words nearby fan-tan

fansub, fantabulous, fantail, fantail darter, fantail goldfish, fan-tan, fantasia, fantasied, fantasist, fantasize, fantasm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fan-tan in a sentence

He had just learned to play fan-tan with much the same skill he was wont to display at poker in more familiar climes.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
Taking your daughter into that nasty mess of Chinamen in the steerage, for instance, to watch them play fan-tan.
The Honorable Percival|Alice Hegan Rice
There, from a small quadrangular gallery, he could look down on the “well” of the fan-tan lay out below.
The Shadow|Arthur Stringer
Here cards are generally used instead of dice to separate the players from their money, fan-tan being the favorite game.
Where the Strange Trails Go Down|E. Alexander Powell

I could not manage to make out exactly from the description what the game they play is like, but it was not fan-tan.
A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam'|Annie Allnut Brassey

British Dictionary definitions for fan-tan

fan-tan

noun

a Chinese gambling game in which a random number of counters are placed under a bowl and wagers laid on how many will remain after they have been divided by four

a card game played in sequence, the winner being the first to use up all his or her cards

Word Origin for fan-tan

C19: from Chinese (Cantonese) fan t'an repeated divisions, from fan times + t'an division

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