Hey, we're in the dictionary!
Interesting history, too. I never knew this!
Katie K.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: word@M-W.COM [mailto:word@M-W.COM]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2002 2:00 AM
> To: MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM
> Subject: gymkhana: M-W's Word of the Day
> The Word of the Day for October 9 is:
>
> gymkhana \jim-KAH-nuh or jim-KAN-uh\ (noun)
> : a meet featuring sports contests; especially
> : a contest
> of automobile-driving skills
>
> Example sentence:
> Steven easily won the gymkhana, steering his
> car through
> the tricky course in record time without so much as
> brushing a
> single cone.
>
> Did you know?
> Both the word "gymhkhana" and the event it
> describes
> originated in 19th-century India. The word is
> probably an
> alteration of the Hindi "gedkhana," which describes
> a ball-
> playing area similar to a racket ball court. Early
> gymkhanas
> were displays of athletics and equestrian skill, but
> 20th-
> century varieties usually test car handling. They
> are often
> held in parking lots, and contestants race over
> tight, twisting
> courses marked with cones or pylons.
> ----------------
> Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
> http://www.Merriam-Webster.com
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