Pronounced: oh-SELL-us, noun
Notes: Yet another word I simply didn’t know
Yesterday’s word
The word gymkhana means “a meet featuring sporting contests or athletic skills such as competitive games on horseback or a timed contest for automobiles”.
Background
The word originates in India; it is considered to be an alteration of the Hindi gẽdkhāna, which is a ball-playing area similar to a racquetball court. In addition, the first syllable was influenced by our word gymnasium. The first gymkhanas were displays of athletics and equestrian skill. While these are still common, the 1900s introduced a new kind of gymkhana that shows off car handling (instead of horse handling). Modern auto gymkhanas are often held in parking lots, where contestants race over tight, twisting courses marked with cones or pylons.
First usage
The word began to be used in the 1800s.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 