pelota

[puh-loh-tuh, pe-law-tah]

noun

plural

pelotas 

1. a Basque and Spanish game from which jai alai was developed.

2. the game of jai alai.

3. the ball used in pelota and jai alai.

pelota

/ pəˈlɒtə /

noun

1. any of various games played in Spain, Spanish America, SW France, etc, by two players who use a basket strapped to their wrists or a wooden racket to propel a ball against a specially marked wall

Word History and Origins

Origin of pelota¹

1890–95; < Spanish: ball < Middle French pelote; pellet

Word History and Origins

Origin of pelota¹

C19: from Spanish: ball, from Old French pelote; see _pellet

Example Sentences

Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered an intricately carved stone they believe was used as a scoreboard for pelota, a ball game played by the Maya hundreds of years ago.

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Among the constructions preserved to this day is the sunken ballcourt where the Maya played pelota.

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Every village had a pelota court and on some of them kids were playing in the hot sun.

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The archaeologist thinks the site would have also had seven pyramids and a court to play pelota, a game in which players used their hips to propel a rubber ball through stone hoops.

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A petition has been launched, calling for him to be excluded from the Basque pelota team of France and dropped by sponsors.

Read more on The Guardian