Etymology

mancala

M3A1N1C3A1L1A1

Today it means: Any of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits. Full definition →

First used 17th c.Arabic مَنْقَلَة
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The story

  1. Arabic · borrowed fromمَنْقَلَة
  2. Arabic · borrowed fromمَنْقَلَة
  3. English todaymancala

Borrowed from Arabic مَنْقَلَة (manqala).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. Any of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.