The meaning of words is fraught with a lot of interesting points. Did you know that the simple word "solitaire" came to us from the country of romantics of France, and the reason for the emergence of the well-known game is connected with shackles and bars? And what is solitaire? We suggest expanding your vocabulary, and at the same time find out some interesting facts from history.
Ace, king, jack and queen
The most venerable cards in any deck. Has it always been like this? The specific country or period when the maps first appeared on earth is not known for certain. According to legend, it was Ancient Egypt. When the enemies approached the borders of the kingdom, the pharaohs called the wisest priests and they created tablets - maps, where there were 78 sheets. They were called lasso. Four suits meant four elements: fire, air, earth and water.
Others believe that the cards were created in China, since one of the sages, Ching Jie Tung, indicated in his manuscripts the date 1120, as the period of the creation of the cards, and after 12 years wrote about their large-scale distribution. They only made them from ivory or wooden planks.
The European and Eastern versions of historians date the birth of maps in the thirteenth century, when they were brought by some nomadic peoples. Initially, the authorities did not attach importance to this entertainment of the people, but over time, they saw this as a reflection of evil spirits.
In short, maps could appear at about the same time, but on different continents and in different states, reflecting their culture and ethnic characteristics. Years have transformed the Tarot from 78 cards to 52, and later to 36 and 32 cards. Used most often for fortune telling, for which, during the heyday of the Inquisition, they were almost destroyed throughout Europe.
Classic tarot cards are 52 cards - by the number of weeks in a year. The suits, as in Ancient Egypt, are the seasons, and the 13th suit card is 13 weeks in each season.
Meaning of the word solitaire
Since the word itself arose in France, then, in translation from French, “solitaire” is a card meleda, the layout of cards in different order for fun, sometimes for fortune telling.
Another option involves not only sorting a bunch of cards, but also getting, in case of luck, a specific figure or system. Depending on the rules of a particular solitaire. In such cases, they say: "Solitaire came out / Solitaire did not go out."
In the modern dictionary for solitaire, a more specific explanation is given indicating the French source: “solitaire” (from French - patience, lit. - “patience”), the folding of playing cards according to certain rules to get the right combination.
Now back to the meaning of the word. The meaning of solitaire is patience. But why?
Firstly, it’s not uncommon to lay out cards from the beginning to the end, you really need a lot of patience, because the lesson can last up to an hour or more.
Secondly, the history of patience is connected with fortune telling. Often, solitaire is laid out "for something", trying to find out their future, most often, or the outcome of some business. Therefore, the completion of such actions also requires patience. And courage, since sacred manipulations have different meanings for everyone.
Solitaire History
The birth of this term occurred in France during the reign of Louis XIII. The game has become very widespread among prisoners, hence another reason for the name. A person doomed to imprisonment must have considerable patience in order to wait for the day of liberation. And since solitaire can be played alone, then, of course, the prisoners willingly whiled away time for this matter.
However, among the inhabitants of the prison this fun was so popular that it eventually migrated to the entire population, regardless of social status. Even in salons and palaces, the nobility willingly played solitaire.
Species and significance in our time
Now solitaire is a game with which you can pass the time alone or play a tournament among a noisy company. Do not forget about fortune-telling on the cards in the XXI century. The spread has reached such proportions that for many years in the standard package of Windows games there are several simple solitaire games. Thus, they are in almost every home.
There are more than a hundred types of solitaire games, so choosing a specific one will not be easy, for example, Spider, Kosinka, Sultan, Red and White, and many others.