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racquet

[rak-it]
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noun
  1. racquets, (used with a singular verb) a game played with rackets and a ball by two or four persons on a four-walled court.
  2. racket2(defs 1, 2, 4).
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Origin of racquet

variant of racket2
Can be confusedracket racquet

racket2

[rak-it]
noun
  1. a light bat having a netting of catgut or nylon stretched in a more or less oval frame and used for striking the ball in tennis, the shuttlecock in badminton, etc.
  2. the short-handled paddle used to strike the ball in table tennis.
  3. rackets, (used with a singular verb) racquet(def 1).
  4. a snowshoe made in the form of a tennis racket.
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Also rac·quet (for defs 1, 2, 4).

Origin of racket2

1490–1500; < Middle French raquette, rachette, perhaps < Arabic rāḥet, variant of rāḥah palm of the hand
Related formsrack·et·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for racquet

racquet

noun
  1. a variant spelling of racket 2
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racket1

noun
  1. a noisy disturbance or loud commotion; clamour; din
  2. gay or excited revelry, dissipation, etc
  3. an illegal enterprise carried on for profit, such as extortion, fraud, prostitution, drug peddling, etc
  4. slang a business or occupationwhat's your racket?
  5. music
    1. a medieval woodwind instrument of deep bass pitch
    2. a reed stop on an organ of deep bass pitch
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verb
  1. (intr often foll by about) rare to go about gaily or noisily, in search of pleasure, excitement, etc
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Word Origin

C16: probably of imitative origin; compare rattle 1

racket2

racquet

noun
  1. a bat consisting of an open network of nylon or other strings stretched in an oval frame with a handle, used to strike the ball in tennis, badminton, etc
  2. a snowshoe shaped like a tennis racket
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verb
  1. (tr) to strike (a ball, shuttlecock, etc) with a racket
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See also rackets

Word Origin

C16: from French raquette, from Arabic rāhat palm of the hand
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 racquet

n.

"handled hitting device used in tennis, etc.," c.1500, probably originally "tennis-like game played with open hand" (late 14c.), from Middle French rachette, requette (Modern French raquette) "racket for hitting; palm of the hand," perhaps via Italian racchetta or Spanish raqueta, both from Arabic rahat, a form of raha "palm of the hand." Cf. French jeu de paume "tennis," literally "play with the palm of the hand" (cf. tennis).

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racket

n.1

"loud noise," 1560s, perhaps imitative. Klein compares Gaelic racaid "noise." Meaning "dishonest activity" (1785) is perhaps from racquet, via notion of "game," reinforced by rack-rent "extortionate rent" (1590s), from rack (n.1).

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racket

n.2

"handled paddle or netted bat used in tennis, etc.;" see racquet.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper