squash

Definition

A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets.

Etymology

From Middle English squachen, squatchen, from Old French esquacher, escachier, from Vulgar Latin *excoāctiāre, from Latin ex + coāctāre. Probably influenced by Middle English quashen, quassen, from Old French esquasser, escasser (“to crush, shatter, destroy, break”), from Vulgar Latin *exquassare, from Latin ex- + quassare (“to shatter”) (see quash).

Example Sentences

• "She plays squash every Saturday."
• "Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall."
• "The bat, as a racquet used to be called, is the chief tool of the squash tradesman."

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