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n. A game of French origin in which metal balls are thrown toward a target ball, played outside on a roughly surfaced rectangular court. [French, from Provençal petanco, foot planted like a stake, pétanque (in reference to the fact that players must throw boules from within a small designated area and with both feet touching the ground) : pè, foot (from Old Provençal, from Latin pēs, ped-; see ped- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + tanco, stake, pole (from tancar, to fix firmly, close with a bar, back-formation from Old Provençal estancar, to stop up (taken as es-, out + tancar), from Vulgar Latin *stanticāre, to make stagnant, from Latin stāns, stant-, present participle of stāre, to stand (as in aqua stāns, standing water); see stā in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] |
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