gamer

EnglishEdit

PronunciationEdit

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪmɚ/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡeɪmə/
Rhymes: -eɪmə(ɹ)

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle English gamer, attested since before 1450 as a common noun^[1] and possibly since 1248 in the name of one Johannes le Gamer. Equivalent to game (“noun”) +‎ -er (“agent suffix”).

NounEdit

gamer (plural gamers)

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 […]
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, […]
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.
(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 termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

→ Gulf Arabic: قيمر‎ (gēmar)
→ Danish: gamer
→ French: gamer
→ Persian: گیمر‎ (geymer)
→ Swedish: gamer

TranslationsEdit

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)
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 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 2Edit

game (“adjective”) +‎ -er (“former of comparatives”)

AdjectiveEdit

gamer

comparative form of game: more game

ReferencesEdit

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.

ReferencesEdit

^ a. 1450, Code of Laws governing Walsall, in Willmore Hist. (167): "Also it is ordeyned, that who soevyr suffer eny dise-player, carder, tenys player, or other unliefull gamer, to use unlifull games in their house, to lese for ev[er]y suche defaute vi s. viii d."