# Origin of a Euchre (or cards in general) Term **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011 "2001-05-10T17:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mske](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mske](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mske)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/1 "2001-05-10T17:27:35Z")
While playing Euchre at lunch, someone asked why the remaining part of the deck that you turn the first card up from is called the “Kitty”. Is this a common term for it? Does anyone else call it that, or have another term for it? And does anyone know the origin of the term “Kitty”? Thank You! ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/2 "2001-05-10T18:54:52Z")
According to my dictionay, it derives from the Middle English word _kitt_, meaning _wooden tub_; presumably a wooden tub the cards were kept in. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/3 "2001-05-11T03:43:08Z")
**Cabbage** you have the greatest dictionary. I’ve often wondered what it is. ---
**Author:** ![mske](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mske](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mske)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/4 "2001-05-11T11:31:28Z")
Wow - interesting. Thank you for the answer **Cabbage**. Makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/5 "2001-05-11T14:15:29Z")
Well, since that one was so quick, how about _trump_ and _trick_? ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/6 "2001-05-11T14:32:53Z")
“Trump” is apparently simply an alteration of the word _triumph_. “Trick” on the other hand, I’m not quite as sure of. [http://www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) gives the following etymology: Middle English trik, from Old North French trique, from trikier, to deceive, probably from Vulgar Latin \*triccare, from Latin tricari, to play tricks, from tricae, tricks. I suppose the connection could be that deception often plays a part in winning tricks; sometimes it’s _tricky_ to win _tricks_. And a small follow up on _kitty_, also from [http://www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com): Middle English kitte, wooden tub, probably from Middle Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-a-euchre-or-cards-in-general-term/65011/7 "2001-05-11T15:19:52Z")
To follow up on **Cabbage** ’s post, he’s correct that _trump_ comes from _triumph_. What’s interesting is that the Latin _triumphus_ is related to a Greek word (which I don’t know how to reproduce) that means “hymn to Bacchus,” who of course was the God of wine. So there’s an etymological link between drinking and gambling. The term _trick_ relating to cards goes back to the 1500s. _Trick_ can imply to “skill” in addition to “deception,” so maybe it’s the skill of winning a trick. As far as _kitty_ goes, the term more properly refers to a pool of money or cards. The original usage was for a pool of money to cover expenses of the game. In poker, it’s the pool of money that goes to the winner of the hand. In other games (e.g. hearts), it is the pool of extra cards that goes to the winner. I’m not familiar with euchre, but if it is like gin, you are talking about the pile of cards you can pick from each turn. I’ve never heard that pile called the kitty but rather the “stack” or “pile.” Getting back to the origin of _kitty_ in relation to cards, the OED puts this definition along side the one for the definition of “prison, jail” which comes from _kidcote_, which as meant “prison” since at least the 1500s. The OED speculates that there was a specific prison named kidcote (or kydcotte), and eventually the name was used to refer to prisons in general. In this sense, the _kitty_ is a pool of money/cards that is temporarily set aside (put in prison).