What is the origin of the word 'rubber' as applied to a series of sporting matches more than half of which need to be won by the victor? Sources seem to give up, although there is a mention of its origin in the ancient game of bowls, which points to a link with another phrase 'the rub of the green'. Ideas anyone?

nickol49

could they be speaking of some type of footwear Apr 06 07, 10:13 AM

lanfranco

This site includes the bowls suggestion but also some speculations involving the term's possible origin in a very close contest (the sports term "squeaker" might bear some relationship, it occurs to me) in which the opponents are "rubbing up" against one another. But I prefer the suggestion that the word is a bastardization of a French term that might have been used in 16th-century tennis, when that game was popular in England. I checked to see whether there was a relationship with the term as used in card games but couldn't find one. http://plateaupress.com.au/wfw/rubberma.htm Apr 06 07, 10:47 AM

collect

Blame it on people earlier than Hoyle -- "rubber" is a term in Whist for a series of games --- so it dates prior to 1741 at a minimum. Random House dates it to pre-1600 with "rigin uncertain" but it definitely was applied to card games rather than sporting events early on. What is certain is that it has absolutely nothing to do with erasers, footwear or the like Apr 06 07, 6:53 PM