Volleyball
/ˈvɒliˌbɔːl/noun
A game played by two teams who hit a ball over a net without letting it touch the ground.
Did you know?Volleyball was coined in 1895 as a new name for Morgan’s original game, then called mintonette, because the ball was meant to be volleyed back and forth over the net.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhel-
“to blow, swell, or inflate”
Old French
OF
bal
“a ball; a round object”
Middle English
ME
volleien
“to discharge a volley, especially of missiles”
16th Century
English
volley
“a simultaneous discharge of projectiles; later, a return hit in games”
1895
English
volleyball
“a newly coined name for a net game in which the ball is volleyed back and forth”