Bauhaus. Bauhaus and Bauhaus

Composition 8 by Wassily Kandinsky / Guggenheim (Public domain)

BAUHAUS is a triple-play word for this site as it can be categorized here as the name of a band, the name of a style of graphic design, and a famous school of architecture. It has enough different usages to require a disambiguation page on Wikipedia.

Polyphony by Paul Klee 1932, Public Domain

The Bauhaus is a German artistic movement that lasted from 1919-1933. Its goal was to merge all artistic mediums into one unified approach. It combined an individual's artistry with mass production and function. 

Bauhaus design is often abstract, angular, and geometric, with little ornamentation. Bauhaus artists favored linear and geometrical forms, rather than floral or curvilinear shapes. There was a great interest in technology and Bauhaus workshops were used for developing prototypes of products for mass production. The artists embraced the new possibilities of modern technologies.

Bauhaus building in Dessau designed by Walter Gropius.
It was the longest-serving of the 3 Bauhaus locations (1925–1932)
  CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Now known as Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, this university located specializes in the artistic and technical fields. It was established in 1860 as the Great Ducal Saxon Art School, gained collegiate status in 1910 and in 1919 the school was renamed Bauhaus by its new director.

In 2019, the university celebrated the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus, together with partners all over the world.

Bauhaus performing in 2006    CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Bauhaus is an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978 known for its "gothic rock" and dark image and gloomy sound which also incorporated some glam rock, psychedelia, and funk. Members include Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass).

The band formed under the name Bauhaus 1919. The date was a reference to the first operating year of the German art school Bauhaus, but they shortened this name within a year of formation. 

 

lacrosse

UNC team playing Duke in lacrosse
2009 By Caroline Culler Link

Lacrosse is a sport played on a field between two opposing teams using sticks (crosses) and a ball, whereby one team defeats the other by achieving a higher score by scoring goals within the allotted time.

Lacrosse is based on games played by various Native American communities as early as 1100 AD.  By the 17th century, a version of lacrosse was well-established and was documented by Jesuit missionary priests in what is present-day Canada.

Ball Players by George Catlin, Public Domain, Link

The traditional aboriginal Canadian version was quite different from what we know today. Each team consisted of about 100 to 1,000 men on a field several miles/kilometers long. These games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight and were played as part of a ceremonial ritual, as a kind of symbolic warfare, or to give thanks to the Creator or Master.

"Lacrosse" is borrowed from the Canadian French la crosse (“the stick”).

Lacrosse has historically been played for the most part in Canada and the United States, with small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Recently, however, lacrosse has begun to flourish at the international level, with teams being established around the world, particularly in Europe and East Asia.

2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship
 CC BY 2.0, Link

Leotard

Leotard - a close-fitting one-piece garment, made of a stretchy fabric, that covers a person's body from the shoulders to the top of the thighs - typically worn by dancers or people exercising indoors.

This is a word and a garment I not only associate with dancers, but also with an earlier time. I don't hear the word as much these days and perhaps that is a fashion thing or perhaps dance is not in my life much.

"Erika Fasana, 2010" by Alby.1412.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

The word sounds French, but in checking the origin I find that it is another example of an eponym. The garment is named after a French trapeze artist (not a dancer) named Jules Léotard (1839–70). 

The word and the garment as a fashion trend first appear in the early 20th century.

The leotard is still usually associated with girls and women participating in ballet and gymnastics.

Jules Léotard in the garment that bears his name - Link

Jules designed the one-piece garment so that there would be no loose clothing that could get in the way of his act or jeopardize his safety. His version was tight-fitting with long sleeves and it eventually came to be known by his name.

Leotards are now worn by acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, figure skaters, athletes, actors, wrestlers, and circus performers both as practice garments and performance costumes. 

sample leotard for ballet or gymnastics

They are often worn with ballet skirts on top and with tights or bike shorts as underwear. As a casual garment, a leotard can be worn with a belt, worn as a tight-fitting top with pants, overalls, or short skirts.

There are a plethora of leotards available for women and young girls for ballet, for gymnastics, and as "bodysuits" for everyday wear.

long-sleeved leotard

Mahjong

It should not surprise you that the game of mahjong originates in China. In Chinese, the game was originally called 麻雀 (pinyin: máquè)—meaning sparrow—which is still used in some languages in southern China. The assumed etymology is that the sound of the tiles during shuffling resembles the chattering of sparrows. 

A second origin possibility is that it is an evolution of an earlier card game called Madiao from which mahjong tiles were adopted. Most Mandarin-speaking Chinese now call the game 麻將 (májiàng).

Old Hong Kong mahjong is played with a standard set of 144 tiles. Alternatively, cards may be used - though there will be no chattering sparrow sounds.

Sets often include counters (to keep score), dice (to decide how to deal), and a marker to show who the dealer is and which round is being played. Some sets include racks to hold the tiles, especially if they are larger or smaller than standard tiles or have an odd shape. Mahjong sets originating from the United States, Japan or Southeast Asia will likely have extra tiles or specialized markings. The tiles are split into three categories: suited, honors, and bonus tiles.

standard mahjong tile set
link to larger image

gin, gin rummy, meld

My mom used to play gin rummy with me when I was a kid. I never questioned the name of the card game. Is it from the liquors gin and rum?

Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game variant of rummy. It has been popular as both a social and a gambling game, especially during the mid-twentieth century which is about when I was playing it.

CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Even the simplified explanation on Wikipedia is pretty complicated. The objective in gin rummy is to be the first to reach an agreed-upon score, usually 100 points.

Rummy is a group of matching-card games based on matching cards of the same rank or sequence and the same suit. The basic goal in any form of rummy is to build melds which can be either sets (three or four of a kind of the same rank) or runs (three or more sequential cards of the same suit) and either be first to go out or to amass more points than the opposition.

Several theories about the origin of the name "rummy" exist. One is that it refers to the British slang word rum, meaning odd, strange, or queer. That seem odd as an origin. Others say the origin lies in the game Rum Poker which makes more sense than it coming from the liquor of the same name.

"Gin" as a liquor is an abbreviation of geneva, an alteration of Dutch genever (“juniper”) from Old French genevre (modern French genièvre), and back to Vulgar Latin ieniperus, from Latin iūniperus (“juniper”). Gin gets its distinctive taste from juniper berries.

Gin rummy was first attested in 1941 and is more likely at least partly from Middle English gin, ginne (“cleverness, scheme, talent, device, machine”), from Old French gin, an aphetism of Old French engin (“engine”); and partly from Middle English grin, grine (“snare, trick, stratagem, deceit, temptation, noose, halter, instrument”), from Old English grin, gryn, giren, geren (“snare, gin, noose”). In all of those earlier words, the idea of game strategies and tricks are present.

In card games, a meld is a set of matching cards, typically three or more, that earn a player points and/or allow them to deplete their hand. The word meld is a blend of melt +‎ weld; alternatively, from English melled (“mingled; blended”). It was probably borrowed from Dutch or German melden (“to report, announce”).