goli

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Malay:

guli

expand for details Detailed etymology

definitions

noun

  1. a marble; a small, often ornamented sphere of glass or other hard material used as a toy

    2. Things like goli/marbles, kuti kuti or flag erasers were favourites of students, not to forget bottle cap soccer and the rubber band game where you jump over the rope without touching it.

    — OneDollarOnly, "TRADITIONAL GAMES IN SINGAPORE WE USED TO PLAY". https://onedollaronly.com.sg/blogs/the-dollar-blog/traditional-games-in-singapore-we-used-to-play

  2. a game played using marbles. While rules vary, one version has players place a number of their marbles in a circle drawn on the ground, then take turns throwing marbles from a line a distance away, with the aim to knock their opponents' marbles out of the circle. Players would get to keep the marbles that they managed to knock out.

    3. Marbles, or goli, was one of the favourite games among the boys. ... In the eighties, there were also the solid clay marbles and stainless steel ones (called tee zee in Hokkien), where the boys found joy in smashing their rivals’ marbles into pieces.

    — 2018 January 27. Remember Singapore, "Our Favourite Games of Yesteryears". https://remembersingapore.org/2018/01/27/traditional-games-of-yesteryears/


usage notes

The game is also popular in other countries, especially India (where it likely originated), where it is also known by other names, such as Golli, Pili Goli, Golli Gundu, Kanche, or Marbles.


categories:

games