shuttlecock

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the lightweight, cone-shaped object with a rounded cork or rubber base that players hit in badminton

   The shuttlecock landed just inside the back line.

2. 2
   verb

   to send a person or thing rapidly back and forth between sides or places

   The two departments shuttlecocked the application back and forth for weeks.

Simplified etymology

Shuttlecock, recorded from the early 16th century, was originally shuttle-cork and is formed from shuttle and cork. Battledore and shuttlecock was the general name for longstanding forms of the game from which the more competitive game of badminton developed.

A compound of shuttle + cock. Shuttle referred to the object's darting back-and-forth flight, like the loom tool; cock referred to its crown of feathers, resembling a male bird's tail. The verb transfers the game's repeated volleys to people, messages, or responsibilities sent between sides.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary