Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who plays games, especially a gambler.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A merry, frolicsome person.
- n. One who competes at athletic games.
- n. A swan-keeper.
- n. A prostitute.
- n. plural In billiards, contestants whose scores are exactly even.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A merry, frolicsome person.
- n. A person who plays at games; esp., one accustomed to play for a stake; a gambler; one skilled in games.
- n. A prostitute; a strumpet.
Examples
“When Shakuni, the son of Subala, and the mighty Uluka, called the gamester's son, that hero at the head of his forces, have been slain, what can it be but destiny?”
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
“Sir, I do not call a gamester a dishonest man; but I call him an unsocial man, an unprofitable man.”
Life Of Johnson
“Far more intense than the passion of the gamester was the frantic yet sublime desire that mastered the breast of Glyndon.”
“He also often used "gamester" to refer to a gambler or a chance-taker.”
“I have often wondered why a man who indulged in this sport was called a gambler, as the term "gamester," used many years ago, seems decidedly more appropriate.”
As I Remember Recollections of American Society during the Nineteenth Century
“Earl Russell -- that he knows exactly how far he can step with safety; then such a "gamester," however terrible the risks to which he may have exposed his country, is a great man.”
“‘Sir, I do not call a gamester a dishonest man; but I call him an unsocial man, an unprofitable man.”
“Other terms, such as gamester, appear only in connection with sharper or some other such appellation.”
“Director's Favorite Line: "When lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner.”
The Wall Street Journal: Five Acts in the Summer of the Bard
yarb Citation on solfeggio. Oct 9, 2008