Etymology

pachisi

P3A1C3H4I1S1I1

Today it means: An ancient Indian board game in which players, throwing dice, shells, etc. to determine the distance of each move, attempt to be the first to take all of their counters around the board. Full definition →

Hindi पचीसी
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The story

  1. Hindi · borrowed fromपचीसी“twenty-five”
  2. English todaypachisi

Borrowed from Hindi पचीसी (pacīsī, “twenty-five”), referring to the largest score that can be thrown with the cowrie shells. First attested in the 19th century.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.