Since the US Open is going on in New York right now, I thought a little tennis terminology might be appropriate.I learned today's word, amorti, about four years ago when I moved here. I began watching tennis on French tv and had to learn a lot of the sportscasters' jargon. Most of it was obvious, but some words had me stumped for a bit.
Un amorti, I found out, is the classic drop shot. It comes from the verb amortir, which derives from the popular Latin admortire, itself from mortus and mori, meaning "to die." Which is exactly what the ball does in a well executed drop shot. Now, was that so hard ?
Another common word from the same root is amortisseur, which is French for shock absorber.
Image from : www.usopen.org
Just taught me a new expression, Walt ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks! But then I'm not very knowledgeable as far as tennis is concerned. Did you notice that the say Flushing Miiiidow on French TV? It drives me nuts!