gamer

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪmɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪmə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪmə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English gamer, attested since before 1450 as a common noun and possibly since 1248 in the name of one Johannes le Gamer. Equivalent to game (noun) +‎ -er (occupational suffix).

Noun

gamer (plural gamers)

1. A person who plays any kind of game.
   • 1422, Code of Laws of Walsall:

     […] any dice-player, carder, tennis player, or other unlawful gamer.

   • 2002, Gary Alan Fine, Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games as Social Worlds, page 93:

     These dice are the gamers' weapons […]

2. A person whose hobby is video games.
   • 2019, The Scottish Parliament, Motion S5M-15504 [1]

     That the Parliament congratulates the online gamer, Harry Brewis, who is known by the handle HBomberGuy, […]

3. A person who games the system.
   • 2016, Eric Lovald, Hugely Confused:

     […] the real "takers" in this country are commercial gamers of the system who are only in it to swipe a fast buck from the common trust.

4. (obsolete) A gambler.
   • 1845 The Head Quarters, Volume III, Number 122 (November 19, 1845)

     The gamer is farther from restoration even than the drunkard, because what he does he does in the light of sobriety and reason.

Derived terms

• back-seat gamer
• backseat gamer
• board gamer
• gamer pants
• gamer word
• heated gamer moment
• non-gamer
• power gamer
• pro-gamer
• video gamer

 

Descendants

• → Gulf Arabic: قيمر (gēmar)
• → Danish: gamer
• → French: gamer
• → Persian: گیمر (geymer)
• → Georgian: გეიმერი (geimeri)
• → Swedish: gamer

Translations

player of any game — see player

person who plays video games

• Arabic:

  Gulf Arabic: قيمر m or f (gēmar), گيمر m or f (gēmar)

• Catalan: videojugador m, videojugadora f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 玩家 (zh) (wánjiā)

• Danish: gamer c
• Dutch: gamer (nl) m, speler (nl) m, speelster (nl) f
• Estonian: mängija
• Finnish: pelaaja (fi), videopelaaja
• French: joueur (fr) m (de jeu vidéo (fr))
• Galician: xogador de videoxogos, videoxogador m, videoxogadora f
• Georgian: მოთამაშე (motamaše), გეიმერი (geimeri) (colloquial), ვიდეომოთამაშე (videomotamaše)
• German: Spieler (de) m, Spielerin (de) f, Gamer m
• Italian: videogiocatore m, videogiocatrice f
• Japanese: ゲーマー (gēmā)
• Korean: 게이머 (geimeo)
• Macedonian: ге́јмер m (géjmer) (slang), ге́јмерка f (géjmerka) (slang)
• Persian: گیمر (geymer)
• Russian: игро́к (ru) m (igrók), ге́ймер (ru) m (géjmer), игрома́н (ru) (igromán)
• Spanish: videojugador m, videojugadora f, jugón (es) m, jugona f
• Swedish: datorspelare (sv) c, gamer (sv) c
• Ukrainian: граве́ць m (hravécʹ), ге́ймер (uk) m (héjmer), ґе́ймер m (géjmer), ігрома́н (ihromán)

person who games the system

• Finnish: peluri (fi)

Etymology 2

game (adjective) +‎ -er (comparative suffix)

Adjective

gamer

1. comparative form of game: more game

References

• Gamer on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “gamer”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “gamer”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

• Mager, Marge, e-gram, grame, magre, marge, regma

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English gamer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡ̊ɛjmʌ]

Noun

gamer c (singular definite gameren, plural indefinite gamere)

1. gamer

Inflection

Declension of gamer

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gamer	gameren	gamere	gamerne
genitive	gamers	gamerens	gameres	gamernes

References

• “gamer” in Den Danske Ordbog

Anagrams

• magre

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English gamer. Equivalent to gamen +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡeː.mər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ga‧mer

Noun

gamer m (plural gamers)

1. A gamer, someone who plays video games.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English gamer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ.mœʁ/, /ɡe.mœʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: gamers

Noun

gamer m (plural gamers)

1. a person whose hobby is video games
2. a high-end laptop designed to play video games

Indonesian

Noun

gamer (first-person possessive gamerku, second-person possessive gamermu, third-person possessive gamernya)

1. (Kalimantan) Calophyllum soulattri, a species of bintangor

Synonyms

• bintangur
• kapur naga
• sulatri

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, from Proto-Austronesian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡamer/
• Rhymes: -mer, -er

Noun

gamer (Jawi spelling ݢامر, informal 1st possessive gamerku, 2nd possessive gamermu, 3rd possessive gamernya)

1. hesitate to want to make something out of shame etc.

See also

• janggal (“awkward”)
• malu (“shame”)
• teragak-agak (“hesitate”)

Further reading

• “gamer” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• guêimer (Brazil, rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English gamer.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.meʁ/ [ˈɡeɪ̯.meh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.meʁ/ [ˈɡeɪ̯.meh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.meɾ/ [ˈɡeɪ̯.meɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.meʁ/ [ˈɡeɪ̯.meχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.meɻ/ [ˈɡeɪ̯.meɻ]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɐj.maɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɐj.maɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.maɾ/
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡej.maɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡe.maɾ/

Noun

gamer m or f by sense (plural gamers)

1. gamer (a person who plays video games)

   Synonym: videojogador

Spanish

Etymology

English gamer

Noun

gamer m or f by sense (plural gamers)

1. gamer