Origin of "Deck"?

[RSLancastr]

... as in "deck of cards."

I get a lot of questions regarding playing-cards, due to my web site on the suibject.

Recently, someone asked me a very simple question, for which I don't have the answer.

What is the origin of the term "deck," as in "a deck of playing cards?"As far as I know, the term is an American invention, as the term "pack" is used in the UK.

The UK term is more understandable, as "pack" can refer to a collection or bundle (a pack of stamps, gum, money), as well as a group of animals hunting together.

But "deck?"

Evidently, "deck" (at least as it applies to the deck of a ship) comes from the Middle English dekke, meaning a roof or covering. So, the deck of a ship is the roof or covering of what is contained within the ship's hull.

Later, we came to think of it meaning a floor rather than a roof, and the term got applied to things such as a backyard deck for a raised, wooden patio area.

But... a deck of cards?

I am not even certain when the term became popular within the USA. I'll have to do some digging on that. My guess would be that it came about in the Wild West saloons, but that's just a guess.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[crimresearch]

Do they also say 'a stacked pack' in the UK?


Anyway, it's use for cards would seem to predate America per se.

"..."Pack of cards" is 1593, perhaps because they were stacked like decks of a ship."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=deck&searchmode=none

[RSLancastr]

Originally posted by crimresearch
Do they also say 'a stacked pack' in the UK?Not sure. Which brings up the question, was "a stacked deck" originally a nautical term of some sort that became a card-related term, which led to the usage of "deck" as a synonym for "pack?"

Hmm.

Edited to add: scratch that idea according to this page on the same site:

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=stack+the+deck&searchmode=phrase

... "stack the deck" was first recorded in 1825.

Anyway, it's use for cards would seem to predate America per se.

"..."Pack of cards" is 1593, perhaps because they were stacked like decks of a ship."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=deck&searchmode=none Predates America as an independant nation, but the term America was used in reference to the continent prior to 1593. It would be interesting to know what the 1593 source was, and on which side of the ocean it was printed...

[LW]

Originally posted by RSLancastr
It would be interesting to know what the 1593 source was, and on which side of the ocean it was printed...

Shakespere, Henry VI.

[RSLancastr]

Originally posted by LW
Shakespere, Henry VI. Written while on holiday in America, or back at home? :D

Thanks!

[RSLancastr]

From Shakespeares's King Henry VI, Part III:
Gloucester:
Alas, that Warwick had no more forecast,
But, whiles he thought to steal the single ten,
The king was slily finger'd from the deck!So, so much for the term being American in origin, even though it is in far more common usage here than in the UK.

The actual origin of the term may well be lost "in the mists of time," but the theory that it stems from the nautical term, perhaps in reference to a perceived resemblance between a pack of cards and the deck of a ship, is probably as good a theory as any.

[TragicMonkey]

Could it have something to do with the number 10? Did there used to be ten cards per suit, or ten suits, or something?

Do they really not say "deck of cards" in the UK?

I think I use both terms interchangeably, but "deck" more often than "pack". Actually, come to think of it, I call it a "pack" when it's in the little box ("Hand me that pack of cards") and a "deck" when it's out of it and being used ("Don't deal from the bottom of the deck or I'll nail your hand to the table, Grandpa").

[RSLancastr]

Originally posted by TragicMonkey
Could it have something to do with the number 10? Did there used to be ten cards per suit, or ten suits, or something?Someone at work mentioned the possible dec- connection. And there are some decks/packs with ten cards to a suit. But 13 cards to a suit was already a standard in England long before the first recorded use of the term "deck" as a synonym for "pack." So I would doubt this.

Do they really not say "deck of cards" in the UK?According to my card-collecting friends in the UK, and based on books on the subject, apparently they don't. Or at least, not often.
Actually, come to think of it, I call it a "pack" when it's in the little box ... and a "deck" when it's out of it and being usedAn interesting distinction!