What a Name for
a Game
“Hey, how about a game of sphairistike?”
Fortunately the game survived but the name did not. Major Wingfield chose sphairistike, a Greek word meaning “ball game,” for the game he sought to patent in 1874. Much of Wingfield’s “invention” was based on a game played in 13th Century France called jeu de paume—literally “game of the palm.” This game was played indoors by hitting a ball over a net with a bare hand. The game was a popular recreation among monks in their monasteries.
Jeu de Paume evolved into a game called real tennis or royal tennis that became popular among French royalty. In the early 1500s, the French monarch, Francis I even had a royal tennis court built on his personal battleship.
Tennis Anyone?
By the time Major Wingfield introduced his
friends to sphairistike at a Christmas party,
there is evidence that similar games were
already being played in England. Major T.H.
Gem of Britain and J.B. Perera of Spain
had marked out a tennis court on a lawn
as early as 1858. But they were not the
one’s who wrote down what they had
done and sought a patent, so today it is
Wingfield who is considered the father of
the game. (Note to self: be sure to write
down all those games you’re dreaming
up.)
The name “tennis” apparently also goes back to jeu de paume. The French would yell, “Tenetz!” before they hit the ball. The word means, “Take heed.”
