Did you know that "stave off" comes from bull baiting? That "deadlock" originated in wrestling? That "desultory" derives from horseback riding?

Many words from sports and games have run off the playing field and leaped into the stands of everyday language. And some of these terms have plunked themselves down permanently among the spectators.

This conjures up a ludicrous image, I know. In fact, the word "ludicrous" itself derives from the Latin "ludus" (game, play). A situation that was laughable or hilarious because of an obvious absurdity or incongruity reminded people of the amusement derived from sports, so they described such an odd event as "ludicrous."

One popular "game" during the Middle Ages was to sic several snarling dogs on a bull and watch what happened. Some fun.

If the dogs succeeded in seriously wounding the bull, the bull's owner would often use a barrel stave to drive off the dogs. By the 1500s, "stave off" had become a general term for warding off or forestalling a disaster.

Wrestling was popular in medieval Britain. If a wrestler thought he was going to lose, he would sometimes make a move that, while holding an opponent indefinitely, couldn't force submission. Because this hold immobilized the action, it was called a "deadlock," which soon became a general term for any stalemate.

You probably wouldn't associate "desultory," meaning "haphazard, random, having no set plan," with athletics. But, in fact, the term was first used to describe skilled Roman horsemen who were capable of leaping from one mount to another. These equestrian acrobats were called "desultors," from the Latin "de-" and "salto" (to leap), and so "desultory" came to mean "moving from one thing to another."

In French, "dé but" meant "from the mark" and referred to the first stroke in billiards or the first throw in a dice game. The French soon coined the verb "débuter" (to lead in a game), which they eventually shortened to "début." The meaning of "début" soon extended to a person's very first appearance in other realms, e.g., theater, music and society.

"Fluke" also originated in billiards, meaning an accidental stroke of good fortune or luck. "Hazard," which originally referred to an Arabic dice game imported to France during the Crusades, soon came to mean any risk or peril. So now you've met the flukes of "hazard."

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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