piquet

or pic·quet

[pi-key, -ket]

noun

a card game played by two persons with a pack of 32 cards, the cards from deuces to sixes being excluded.

Origin of piquet

From French, dating back to 1640–50; see origin at pic², -et

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

Examples from the Web for piquet

Historical Examples of piquet

Can you spare a day from the tennis-court, or an evening from piquet?
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
I was only going to say that he gave me a pack of cards; would you like a game of piquet?
The Rescue
Joseph Conrad
Often through compliance I played at piquet with my husband.
The Autobiography of Madame Guyon
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon
Maurice and piquet—then the widow and the divorcée for dinner—and now alone again!
Man and Maid
Elinor Glyn
He thanks you not, his pride is in piquet, Newmarket-fame, and judgment at a bet.
Essay on Man
Alexander Pope

British Dictionary definitions for piquet

piquet

noun

a card game for two people playing with a reduced pack and scoring points for card combinations and tricks won

Word Origin for piquet

C17: from French, of unknown origin; compare pique ²

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 piquet

card game, 1640s, from French piquet, picquet (16c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps a diminutive of pic "pick, pickaxe, pique," from phrase faire pic, a term said to be used in the game.