cricket

pronunciation

How to pronounce cricket in British English: UK [ˈkrɪkɪt] word uk audio image

How to pronounce cricket in American English: US [ˈkrɪkɪt] word us audio image

Noun:

leaping insect; male makes chirping noises by rubbing the forewings together
a game played with a ball and bat by two teams of 11 players; teams take turns trying to score runs
Verb:

play cricket

Word Origin

cricket: cricket: English has two completely unrelated words cricket. The name of the small grasshopper-like insect [14] comes from Old French criquet, a derivative of the verb criquer ‘click, creak’, which no doubt originated as an imitation of the sound itself. The origins of the name of the game cricket [16] have never been satisfactorily explained. One explanation often advanced is that it comes from Old French criquet ‘stick’, or its possible source, Flemish krick, although it is not clear whether the original reference may have been to the stick at which the ball was aimed (the forerunner of the modern stumps) or to the stick, or bat, used to hit the ball.Another possible candidate is Flemish krickstoel, a long low stool with a shape reminiscent of the early types of wicket.

cricket (n.1): the insect, early 14c., from Old French criquet (12c.) "a cricket," from criquer "to creak, rattle, crackle," of echoic origin.

cricket (n.2): the game, 1590s, apparently from Old French criquet "goal post, stick," perhaps from Middle Dutch/Middle Flemish cricke "stick, staff," perhaps from the same root as crutch. Sense of "fair play" is first recorded 1851, on notion of "cricket as it should be played."