Meanings
- A card game, formerly played in Persia, with similarities to early versions of poker.
The fact that Old Poker involved 20 cards, five-card hands, and rank-only combinations led some nineteenth-century researchers to derive it from the Persian game of As-Nas, as described by General A. Houtum Schindler in Culin's Chess and Playing Cards (1896).
1990, David Parlett, The Oxford Guide to Card Games, Oxford University Press, page 1121 more example
As nas was a five-handed card game played in Persia (Iran today). Although the earliest written records of the game come from the seventeenth century, we have examples of playing cards suited to the game from the medieval time, so it seems reasonable to conclude that as nas or a very similar game was played during the period.
2002, Sally E. D. Wilkins, Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures, Greenwood Press, page 120 - A variety of playing cards used to play the game.
Origin
- Persianآس ناس
- EnglishAs-Nas
Borrowing from Persian آس ناس.
More words from Persian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
As-Nas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/As-Nas
“As-Nas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/As-Nas. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “As-Nas,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/As-Nas.
Source: As-Nas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.