fan-tan


fan-tan

F0032500 (făn′tăn′)n.1. A Chinese betting game in which the players lay wagers on the number of counters that will remain when a hidden pile of them has been divided by four.2. A card game in which sequentially higher and lower cards are played starting with the sevens, the first player to run out of cards being the winner.
[Mandarin fān tān : fān, turn (from Middle Chinese fa⋮n) + tān, to spread out (from Middle Chinese than).]

fan-tan

n 1. (Gambling, except Cards) a Chinese gambling game in which a random number of counters are placed under a bowl and wagers laid on how many will remain after they have been divided by four 2. (Card Games) a card game played in sequence, the winner being the first to use up all his or her cards [C19: from Chinese (Cantonese) fan t'an repeated divisions, from fan times + t'an division]

fan-tan

(ˈfænˌtæn)

n. 1. a game in which cards are played in sequences based upon the sevens, the winner being the first to run out of cards. 2. a Chinese gambling game in which bets are made on what the remainder will be after a pile of coins has been counted off in fours. [1875–80; < Chinese fān tān literally, repeated divisions]