🦆 A duck 🏇 A horse sport

pato

1 9.9

A traditional Argentine sport played on horses where players throw a ball with handles into a goal

noun
/ˈpɑːtoʊ/

: pato

Learning the rules of pato helped her appreciate Argentina's unique sporting traditions.

Examples

The players raced across the field on horseback, competing fiercely in the game of pato.
The game of pato is unique to Argentina.
During his visit to Buenos Aires, he attended a thrilling pato match at a local ranch.
Many people enjoy watching pato matches on weekends.
In the traditional Argentine sport of pato, players on horseback aim to score by throwing a ball into the opposing team's goal.
During the annual pato tournament, spectators gathered to watch the thrilling matches played on horseback.
The rules of pato require players to work as a team to maneuver their horses and score points by tossing the ball.

Surface Forms

pato singular

patos plural

Etymology

Pato names a traditional Argentine horse game and comes from the Spanish pato meaning 'duck'. One popular story says players once used a real duck as the ball, which is why the sport kept that name.