libero

From Italian libero (literally “free one”). So called because he has no direct opponent to mark and is therefore free to join in the offensive. The volleyball use is younger.

(volleyball) A designated back-row player intended to be used as a ball-control specialist.


ace

→ Japanese: エース (ēsu)

→ Korean: 에이스 (eiseu)

→ Russian: эйс (ejs)

→ Swedish: ess

(?) → Finnish: ässä

Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”). Doublet of as. Likely related or deriving ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs, or otherwise taking from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”) in the sense of "singular".

der

(tennis, volleyball) A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.

punt directe

tennis: point scored without the opponent hitting the ball


deuce

From Middle English dewes (“two”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French deus, from Latin duo. The word was used by Ford to describe a model of car they made in 1932 due to it being a two-seater.

(tennis, table tennis, volleyball) A tied game where either player can win by scoring two consecutive points.

iguals

tennis: tie, both players able to win by scoring two additional points


kill

From Middle English killen, kyllen, cüllen (“to strike, beat, cut”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots kele, keil (“to kill”).
* Perhaps from Old English *cyllan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwulljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwuljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw, hit, hurt by throwing”).
* Or, possibly a variant of Old English cwellan (“to kill, murder, execute”) (see quell).
* Or, from Old Norse kolla (“to hit on the head, harm”), related to Norwegian kylla (“to poll”), Middle Dutch kollen (“to knock down”), Icelandic kollur (“top, head”); see also coll, cole).
Compare also Saterland Frisian källe (“to hurt”), Middle Dutch kellen (“to kill, hurt”), Middle Low German kellen, killen (“to ache strongly, cause one great pain”), Middle High German kellen (“to torment; torture”).

cog

l-vocalizing: UK, General Australian, New Zealand

As a senior in 1993, Turner had a kill percentage of 40.8, which was a school record at the time and the best in the SAC. Turner concluded her volleyball career with 1,349 kills, ranking fifth all-time at Catawba.

2011, the 34th Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame, in Catawba College's Campus Magazine, Spring/Summer 2011, page 21

(volleyball) The grounding of the ball on the opponent's court, winning the rally.


dig

en-verb

dig (third-person singular simple present digs, present participle digging, simple past and past participle dug or (archaic) digged)

digs (present singular third-person)
digging (participle present)
dug (participle past)
dug (past)
digged (archaic participle past)
digged (archaic past)

From Middle English diggen (“to dig”), alteration of Old English dīcian (“to dig a ditch, to mound up earth”) (compare Old English dīcere (“digger”)) from dīc, dīċ (“dike, ditch”) from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz, *dīkiją (“pool, puddle”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stab, dig”). Additionally, Middle English diggen may derive from an unrecorded suffixed variant, *dīcgian. Akin to Danish dige (“to dig, raise a dike”), Swedish dika (“to dig ditches”). Related to Middle French diguer (“to dig”), from Old French dikier, itself a borrowing of the same Germanic root (from Middle Dutch dijc). More at ditch, dike.

der

he who digs a pit for others falls in himself

(volleyball) To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball


dig

(volleyball) A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.


attack

Borrowed from French attaque, derived from the verb attaquer, from Italian attaccare (“to join, attach”) (used in attaccare battaglia (“to join battle”)), from Frankish *stakka (“stick”). Doublet of attach. Displaced native Old English on rǣsan (“to attack”) and onrǣs (“an attack”).

aanval

attempt to cause damage, injury, or death

(volleyball) Any contact with the ball other than a serve or block which sends the ball across the plane of the net.

aanval

volleyball: hit other than serve or block that sends the ball over the net


set

en-verb

set (third-person singular simple present sets, present participle setting, simple past set, past participle set or (dialectal) setten)

sets (present singular third-person)
setting (participle present)
set (past)
set (participle past)
setten (dialectal participle past)

desctree

→ Japanese: セット (setto)
→ Hokkien: siat-to͘h

From Middle English setten, from Old English settan, from Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti, causative of *sed- (“to sit”).

set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the Devil

(transitive, volleyball) To direct (the ball) to a teammate for an attack.

lægge op til

to direct the ball to a teammate for an attack


set

From Middle English set, sete, sette (“that which is set, the act of setting, seat”), from Old English set (“setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold”) and Old English seten (“a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land”), related to Old English settan (“to set”). Compare Middle Low German gesette (“a set, suite”), Old English gesetl (“assembly”). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette (“a religious sect”), from Medieval Latin secta (“retinue”), from Latin secta (“a faction”). See sect. It is quite possible that the modern word is more of a merger between both, however.

cog

(volleyball) A complete series of points, forming part of a match.

(volleyball) The act of directing the ball to a teammate for an attack.


tool

en-verb

tool (third-person singular simple present tools, present participle tooling, simple past and past participle tooled)

tools (present singular third-person)
tooling (participle present)
tooled (participle past)
tooled (past)

From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) + -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").

cog

(transitive, volleyball) To intentionally attack the ball so that it deflects off a blocker out of bounds.


block

→ Dutch: block

→ German: Block

→ Irish: bloc

→ Manx: block

→ Maori: poraka

→ Norwegian: blokk

→ Polish: blok

desctree

→ Russian: блок (blok)
→ Armenian: բլոկ (blok)
→ Yakut: блок (blok)

→ Spanish: block

→ Vietnamese: lốc

From Middle English blok (“log, stump, solid piece”), from Old French bloc (“log, block”), from Middle Dutch blok (“treetrunk”), from Old Dutch *blok (“log”), from Proto-West Germanic *blokk, from Proto-Germanic *blukką (“beam, log”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵ- (“thick plank, beam, pile, prop”). Cognate with Old Frisian blok, Old Saxon blok, Old High German bloh, bloc (“block”), Old English bolca (“gangway of a ship, plank”), Old Norse bǫlkr (“divider, partition”). More at balk. See also bloc, bulk.

طَابُوقَة

substantial often approximately cuboid piece

թաղամաս

group of buildings demarcated by streets

Something that prevents something from passing.

(sports) An action to interfere with the movement of an opposing player or of the object of play (ball, puck).

(volleyball) A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitter’s court.


spike

From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swedish spik (“spike, nail”), Dutch spijker (“nail”), Old English spīcing (“spike”), and Latin spīca (“ear of corn”), which may have influenced some senses.

шпайкове

informal: running shoes with spikes in the soles

(volleyball) An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.


spike

en-verb

spike (third-person singular simple present spikes, present participle spiking, simple past and past participle spiked)

spikes (present singular third-person)
spiking (participle present)
spiked (participle past)
spiked (past)

terästää

to covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance into a drink

(volleyball) To attack from, usually, above the height of the net with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.


server

→ Danish: server

→ Dutch: server

→ German: Server

→ Hindi: सर्वर (sarvar)

→ Hungarian: szerver

→ Italian: server m

→ Japanese: サーバー (sābā)

→ Korean: 서버 (seobeo)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: server, sørver

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: server, sørvar

→ Persian: سرور

→ Polish: serwer

→ Portuguese: server

→ Romanian: server n

→ Russian: се́рвер (sérver)

desc

→ Thai: เซิร์ฟเวอร์ (sə́əp-wə̂ə)

→ Thai: เซิร์ฟเวอร์ (sə́əp-wə̂ə)

→ Turkish: server

From Middle English servere, equivalent to serve + -er.

(tennis, volleyball) The player who serves the ball.

One who serves.
The player who serves the ball.


double double

Norwegian Bokmål: dobbel-dobbel

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-double double.wav

(coffee): Used by the Tim Hortons restaurant chain.

Nonetheless, the team gave a good accounting of themselves, and freshman Kara Rogers scored a double/double in kills and digs in her first collegiate game.

2012, Garrett, Burdeshaw, Spearman, Legacy of the Blues: a Century of Athletics at the W, page A-261:

(volleyball) Achieving two kills and two digs by a single player in one game.


pancake

en-noun

pancake (countable and uncountable, plural pancakes)

→ Cantonese: 班戟 (baan¹ gik¹)

→ Mandarin: 班戟 (bānjǐ)

→ Cebuano: pankeyk

→ French: pancake

→ German: Pancake

desc

→ Hijazi Arabic: بانكيك (bānkēk, pānkēk)

→⇒ Irish: pancóg

→ Japanese: パンケーキ (pankēki)

→⇒ Khmer: នំផេនខេក (num pheenkheek)

→ Korean: 팬케이크 (paenkeikeu)

→ Nauruan: epankeik

→ Portuguese: panqueca, (dated) panqueque, (dated) pancake

→ Russian: панкейк (pankejk)

→ Spanish: (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay) panqueque, (Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico) pancake, (Venezuela) panqueca

→ Thai: แพนเค้ก (pɛɛn-kéek)

→ Turkish: pankek

→ Azerbaijani: pankek

→ Yoruba: pan̄kéèkì

Inherited from Middle English pancake, panne cake, pankake, ponkake, equivalent to pan + cake.
Perhaps adapted from Middle Low German pankôke, pannekôke, from Old Saxon *pannakōko (suggested by derivatives Old Saxon pannakōkilo and pannakōkilīn), where the compound is much older; compare Old High German phankuohho (8th century), whence Middle High German phankuoche, German Pfannkuchen (“pancake”); further
Saterland Frisian Ponkouke, Ponkuuke (“pancake”), West Frisian pankoek (“pancake”), Dutch pannenkoek (“pancake”), German Low German Pannkook (“pancake”).
The juggling sense is by analogy with a pancake being tossed in a pan.

(countable, volleyball) A defensive play in which the ball bounces off the top of a hand that has been pressed flat against the floor.


camel toe

When contacting the ball with one hand, it must be cleanly hit with the heel or palm of the hand (a roll shot), with straight, locked fingertips (a cobra), knurled fingers (a camel toe), or the back of the hand from the wrist to the knuckles.

1997, Steven Boga, Volleyball, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 83:


marker

marker interface → marker interface pattern

(Philippines, informal, basketball, volleyball) A point, unit of scoring in a game or competition.


set point

(tennis, volleyball) A situation where if one of the two players wins the next point, (s)he will win the set (but not the match).


screening

en-noun

screening (countable and uncountable, plural screenings)

→ German: Screening

→ Spanish: screening

due diligence

performing the work needed to uncover latent problems

(volleyball) Action done by the serving team to prevent the opposing team from seeing the server and the flight path of the ball.


setter

→ Czech: setr

→ Danish: setter

→ Finnish: setteri

→ French: setter

→ German: Setter

→ Italian: setter

→ Russian: сеттер (setter)

→ Swedish: setter

From Middle English settere, equivalent to set + -er. Compare West Frisian setter, Dutch zetter, German Low German Setter, German Setzer.
The hunting dogs are so named because when they scent the game, they set (that is, strike a certain stance).

(volleyball) The player who is responsible for setting, or passing, the ball to teammates for an attack.


chicken-wing

en-verb

chicken-wing (third-person singular simple present chicken-wings, present participle chicken-winging, simple past and past participle chicken-winged)

chicken-wings (present singular third-person)
chicken-winging (participle present)
chicken-winged (participle past)
chicken-winged (past)

Don't chicken-wing it!

(volleyball, humorous) To pass a hard-hit ball with the upper arm extended out from the body. This usually has the lower arm pulled in toward the body and is reminiscent of a chicken's wings when trussed.


freeball

Just about every play in the game, service reception, general play and freeball, involves the use of the front A and/or back A, although they are not always set.

1981, National Volleyball Coaches Association Technical Journal:

Areas of emphasis can be: team blocking, serve reception, attack combinations, freeball execution, and spiker coverage.

1985, Bob Bertucci Tina Kogut Bertucci, Ralph Hippolyte, Championship Volleyball Drills: Combination and complex training, page 99:

By serving tough, using effective downball placement, not giving easy freeballs and simply attacking smartly and in a tough manner.

1998, The American Volleyball Coaches Association, Coaching Volleyball, page 34:

(volleyball) A ball that has been hit from below the top of the net.


freeball

freeball (third-person singular simple present freeballs, present participle freeballing, simple past and past participle freeballed)

freeballs (present singular third-person)
freeballing (participle present)
freeballed (participle past)
freeballed (past)

But we can't just freeball it to them because they will kill it right back at you.

2017 September 6, Josh Seguin, “Hodsdon nets 500th career kill as STA sweeps Hilltoppers”, in Seacoastonline:


sideline cut

If it is too far back he can't get as sharp a downward angle or sideline cut.

1959 September, “Volleyball is a Rugged Game”, in Boys' Life, volume 49, number 9, page 56:

(volleyball) A shot where the ball is angled sharply toward the sideline, just barely in bounds.