The meaning of words is fraught with a lot of curious moments. Did you know that the simple word "solitaire" came to us from the country of the romantics of France, and the reason for the emergence of the well-known game is connected with shackles and bars? What is solitaire? We offer to expand the vocabulary, and at the same time learn some interesting facts from history.
Ace, king, jack and queen
The most "venerable" cards in any deck. Has it always been like this? The specific country or period when cards first appeared on earth is not known for certain. According to legend, it was Ancient Egypt. When the enemies approached the borders of the kingdom, the pharaohs called together the wisest priests and they created tablets - maps, where there were 78 sheets. They were called arcana. Four suits meant four elements: fire, air, earth and water.
Some believe that the maps were created in China, because one of the sages, Ching Tse Tung, indicated the date 1120 in his manuscripts as the period of map creation, and 12 years later wrote about their large-scale distribution. They were only made of ivory or woodenboards.
The European and Eastern version of historians dates the birth of maps to the thirteenth century, when they were brought by some nomadic peoples. Initially, the authorities did not attach importance to this entertainment of the people, but over time, they saw in this a reflection of evil spirits.
In a word, the cards could have appeared at about the same time, but on different continents and in different states, reflecting their culture and ethnic characteristics. Over the years, the Tarot turned from 78 cards to 52, and later to 36 and 32 cards. They were used, most often, for divination, for which, during the heyday of the Inquisition, they were almost destroyed throughout Europe.
Classic Tarot is 52 cards - according to the number of weeks in a year. The suits are like in ancient Egypt, the seasons, and the 13 card of the suit is 13 weeks in each season.
Meaning of the word solitaire
Since the word itself originated in France, then, accordingly, in translation from French "solitaire" is a gambling meleda, the layout of cards in different order for fun, sometimes for fortune telling.
Another option involves not only sorting a bunch of cards, but also getting, in case of luck, a certain figure or system. Depending on the rules of a particular solitaire game. In such cases, they say: “Solitaire out / Solitaire out.”
In the modern dictionary for solitaire, they give a more specific explanation, indicating the French source: "solitaire" (from the French - patience, lit. - "patience"), laying out playing cards according to certain rules to obtain the desired combination.
Now back to the meaningthe words. The meaning of solitaire is patience. But why?
First of all, it's not uncommon to actually lay out the cards from start to finish, and you really need a lot of patience, since the lesson can last up to an hour or more.
Secondly, the history of patience is related to divination. Often solitaire is laid out "for something", trying to find out their future, most often, or the outcome of some business. Therefore, the accomplishment of such actions also requires patience. And courage, because sacred manipulation has a different meaning for everyone.
The history of solitaire
The birth of this term occurred in France during the reign of Louis XIII. The game has become hugely popular among prison inmates, hence another reason for the name. A man condemned to imprisonment must have a great deal of patience to wait for the day of release. And since solitaire can be played alone, then, of course, the prisoners willingly whiled away the time for this case.
However, among the inhabitants of the prison, this fun was so popular that eventually migrated to the entire population, regardless of social status. Even in salons and palaces, the nobility willingly played solitaire.
Types and meaning in our time
Now solitaire is a game with which you can pass the time alone or play a tournament among a noisy company. In the 21st century, they did not forget about fortune-telling on cards. Distribution has reached such proportions that for many years there have been several simple solitaire games in the standard package of Windows games. Thus, they are in almost everyhome.
There are more than a hundred types of solitaire, so choosing a specific one will not be easy, for example, "Spider", "Kerchief", "Sultan", "Red and White" and many others.
