Pinochle
[PEE-nək-əl]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Unknown, mid-19th century
1.
A card game for two or more players using a 48-card deck consisting of two of each card from nine to ace, the object being to score points for various combinations and to win tricks.
2.
The combination of queen of spades and jack of diamonds in this game.
Examples of Pinochle in a sentence
"Let's get a group together to play some pinochle this weekend."
"I held back a smile as I looked at the double pinochle in my hands."
About Pinochle
Pinochle is a noun for a card game played with a special double deck. Within the game, you can also hold a combination of cards called a "pinochle" — the queen of spades and jack of diamonds. Gather both, and you have a double pinochle.
Did you Know?
A standard 52-card deck of playing cards is called a French-suited deck, and it can be designed in various patterns, but it contains the same cards: 13 cards in each suit of "trèfles" (clubs), "carreaux" (diamonds), "cœurs" (hearts), and "piques" (spades). Each set has numerals one (ace) through 10, and there are three face cards: the "valet" (jack), the "dame" (queen), and the "roi" (king). Depending on the game, you might drop certain numbers, bringing the deck down by fours. However, a pinochle deck is different from the French-suited deck. It contains 48 cards, with two copies of each card from nine through ace (nine, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace), from each suit.
