pachinko

[puh-ching-koh]

noun

a Japanese pinball game played on a vertical machine in which slots struck by the player's ball release other balls that in turn are exchanged for noncash prizes.

Origin of pachinko

1950–55; < Japanese, equivalent to pachin click! (imitative) + -ko diminutive suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for pachinko

pachinko

noun

a Japanese game similar to pinball

Word Origin for pachinko

C20: possibly from Japanese pachin, imitative of the sound of a ball being fired by a trigger

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

Word Origin and History for pachinko

1953, from Japanese, "pinball machine," also "slingshot, handgun," from pachin, of echoic origin, + diminutive suffix -ko.