Playing Cards Carried Europe's Suits Across Borders
A card is a piece of stiff paper. The playing card gave English a long list of everyday idioms.
A card is a piece of stiff paper or plastic used for messages, identification, games or payment. Playing cards reached Europe from the Islamic world in the 1300s, and each country reshaped the suits: Italy and Spain use cups, coins, swords and clubs; Germany uses hearts, bells, leaves and acorns; the French hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs won out in English-speaking countries because they were cheaper to print. A second *card*, meaning to comb wool, is a different word.
- A piece of stiff paper. *A birthday card.*
- A playing card. *A deck of cards.*
- A payment card. *Pay by card.*
- On the cards — likely. *It is on the cards.*
- Greek — *khartes*, papyrus. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | card | A card. |
| Plural | cards | Cards. |
| Verb | card | Carded. |
| Compound | cardboard | Cardboard. |
| Greek | khartes | Papyrus. |
- He sent a card for her birthday.Message.
- Shuffle the cards.Game.
- French suits won on cost.History.
Card idioms
- On the cards — likely to happen, from fortune telling
- Play your cards right — handle a situation well
- Hold all the cards — have every advantage
- A house of cards — a fragile arrangement
- Show your hand — reveal your intentions
Old French *carte*, from Latin *charta*, from Greek *khartes*, a leaf of papyrus.
Why do English cards use French suits?
The French designs used simple flat shapes that were cheap to print with stencils, so they spread faster than the Italian or German suits.
Is carding wool the same word?
No. That comes from Latin carduus, a thistle, whose heads were once used to comb wool.