Rink


Margaret asked about the word rink, as in roller rink or ice rink. The original rink (15th c.) was a space for jousting. It became a course for riding or running on. Then it became the bout, encounter, or race itself.

Eventually, it became a team in curling or in bowling. From there, it was an easy step to a portion of ice measured off and set aside for play. It was also the measured-off portion of a bowling green.

Now it has become a sheet of ice used for skating and for ice sports, and that lead once upon a time to the phrase rink rat, an ice-skating fanatic. The word rink has a connection to rank, a line of soldiers or people engaged in jousting.


SIDEBAR: Traverse City Roller Derby


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