Plural of 'ante': the stakes put up by a player in poker or other gambling games, or more broadly, something put up as a risk or initial contribution.
From Latin 'ante' (before, in front of), used in poker to mean 'before' the main betting begins; popularized in English through 19th-century gambling terminology.
The poker term 'antes' reveals how English borrowed from Latin through everyday practice—poker players needed a word for the initial bet, and 'ante' (meaning 'before') was perfect because the ante comes before the main action.
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