mah-jongg

[mah-jawng, -jong, -zhawng, -zhong]
noun
1.
a game of Chinese origin usually played by four persons with 144 dominolike pieces or tiles marked in suits, counters, and dice, the object being to build a winning combination of pieces.
verb (used without object)
2.
to win a game of mah-jongg.
Also, mah-jong.


Origin:
1920–25; < dialectal Chinese; compare Guangdong dial. màh-jéuk, Chinese máquè literally, sparrow (depicted on the first tile of a set), equivalent to hemp + què bird

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
mah jong or mah-jongg (ˌmɑːˈdʒɒŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a game of Chinese origin, usually played by four people, in which tiles bearing various designs are drawn and discarded until one player has an entire hand of winning combinations
 
[from Chinese, literally: sparrows]
 
mah-jongg or mah-jongg
 
n
 
[from Chinese, literally: sparrows]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Mahjong is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mah-jongg
1922, from dial. Chinese (Shanghai) ma chiang, name of the game, lit. "sparrows," from ma "hemp" + chaing "little birds." The game so called from the design of the pieces. It had a vogue in Europe in the 1920s and for a time threatened to supplant bridge in popularity.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences from the web
Mahjong involves skill, strategy, and calculation, as well as a certain degree of chance.
This is the first known written account of mahjong in any language other than chinese.
Hong kong movies have often included scenes of mahjong games.
Mahjong tiles are split into these categories suits, honor and flowers.
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