baccarat

Meaning

Noun

• A card game resembling chemin de fer with many forms - usually entailing the player(s) betting against two or three hands dealt - also bearing some similarities to blackjack.

Origin

• Borrowed from French baccarat, baccara , likely named after the French town Baccarat (noted for glassmaking) in Grand Est, of ultimately unclear and debated origin . If by some Vulgar Latin *Bacchara, the town is possibly named from Latin Bacchi ara ("altar of Bacchus"; the original pagan reference of the name was forgotten), name of an ancient Roman castellum, of which there remains a relic called the "Tower of Bacha" on the heights of Deneuvre, from whence Baccarat is an ancient suburb. Other hypotheses have also been suggested, including descent from Celtic.
• Probably linked to Provençal baccara, although if the town etymology is correct, this may present some geographic difficulty.