gambit
GAM-bit · noun
Origin
English borrowed gambit from Italian gambetto, meaning 'act of tripping' or 'gambit,' itself formed from gamba ('leg') plus the diminutive suffix -etto. It's first attested in English in 1656.
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Journey
The Italian word originally described the literal act of tripping someone with the leg; English picked it up specifically in the sense of a strategic opening move or sacrifice, as in chess.
Related words
Gamba, the Italian word for 'leg,' is the root here, and it survives in English musical terminology like 'viola da gamba,' a leg-held instrument.
More words
From Late Latin
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