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duckpins

duckpins

8.6
A bowling game with small, short pins and a smaller ball
  • noun
  • /ˈdʌkˌpɪnz/
  • US
translation icon : duckpins
  • Unlike traditional bowling, duckpins require a different technique and a smaller ball.

Examples

  • The alley offers both tenpins and duckpins for bowlers of all ages.

  • He has played duckpins since he was a child growing up in Baltimore.

  • We played duckpins at the local bowling alley.

  • Have you ever tried duckpins bowling?

  • The alley offers both tenpins and duckpins for bowlers of all ages.

  • We played duckpins at the local bowling alley.

  • Have you ever tried duckpins bowling?

Surface Forms

duckpins plural

Morphology

duckpins = duckpin (transparent) = duck + pin + s

The plural is a regular suffixation of 'duckpin', itself a compound of 'duck' + 'pin' denoting a specific kind of pin, so the relation is directly inferable.

Etymology

Duckpins comes from the small, squat bowling pins that people thought looked like a 'duck' and the word pins. So duckpins refers to the kind of bowling played with these short, wide pins and a smaller ball.