Kolf
/kɒlf/noun
A Dutch game played with a ball and a club, historically related to golf.
Did you know?Seventeenth-century Dutch paintings depict kolf being played indoors and on ice, helping document the broader family of games that produced modern golf.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Germanic
*kulbōn
“A reconstructed Germanic term associated with a club or striking implement; the precise ancestry is uncertain.”
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch
colf
“A club, bat, or the game played with one.”
16th Century
Dutch
kolf
“A club-and-ball game played in the Netherlands.”
17th Century
Dutch
kolf
“A popular recreational game played on streets, ice, and specially prepared grounds.”
Modern English
English
kolf
“A loanword for the Dutch game, often discussed as a historical relative of golf.”