Any sport or game played with a ball, such as baseball, basketball, or soccer; the word is often used metaphorically to mean any situation or competition.
A compound of 'ball' and 'game,' both Old English words. 'Ball' comes from Old Norse 'bǫllr,' while 'game' comes from Old English 'gamen,' meaning play or amusement.
The phrase 'a whole new ballgame' became popular around the 1900s and shows how baseball was so central to American culture that it became a metaphor for any major change!
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