Almost everyone knows what a "deck" is. However, not everyone knows that this term has several meanings. First of all, a deck of playing cards comes to mind, but this is also an old Russian measure, and a hive, and a device for punishments, and much more. About what a "deck" is, about its various meanings, read further in the article.
Dictionary term
Considering the meaning of the word “deck”, it is necessary to turn to the dictionary, where all its interpretations are set forth in detail. As mentioned earlier, this is a multi-valued term, namely, this:
- A thick, short piece of log, sometimes called chock. Also called products made from it, for example, a trough, a lintel, a cutting table for carcasses of animals from butchers.
- In the old days, this word was called a fallen tree, and in Smolensk province so-called logs having a certain length (12 to 20 m) and width (about 23 cm), which were used in the construction of plows (river ships).
- The hive, which was made from a hollow piece of wood, also called the “simplest” one.
- An ancient Russian measure, which is mentioned in the Annals of Pereslavl of Suzdal, which describes the feast of Vladimir the Great. At present, the exact value of this measure has not been established, but it is known that it was quite voluminous and amounted to more than 3,770 liters.
- The punishment tool, which was a quadrangle made of bars, with special openings for legs and arms made in it. They were fixed using this design, depriving the punished of the ability to move normally.
- In the old Russian old account system, this term denoted 100 million.
- A set of playing cards, which may consist of 36 or 52 pieces.
- A set of cards in one of the most popular virtual online games.
- The name of the river in Karelia, which is a tributary of Vodla.
- Name of villages in the Mogilev and Pskov regions.
- Lake in the Arkhangelsk region, near the village of Ichkovo.
As you can see from the list, the word “deck” has quite a lot of meanings, some of which will be described in more detail below.
Playing cards
Studying what a "deck" is, it is necessary to mention playing cards. Initially, they appeared in the countries of East Asia. It is believed that the very first copies of playing cards originated in China, and then in Korea. The earliest references to them date back to the reign of the Tang Dynasty, who led the Celestial Empire from 618 to 907.
The first card decks were more massive, as they were not located on paper, but on oblong wooden tablets, bamboo and ivory. Gradually, spreading farther from China, the maps changed shape and appearance. So, for example, in India there were round decks of cards - "ganjif".
Appearance in Europe
How maps were distributed throughout Europe, there is no exact data today. For the first time in European history, they are mentioned in the chronicles of the city of Bern in 1367. It should be noted that the cards immediately fell under the ban, as it was believed that they came from the devil.
However, they did not stop playing them, and gradually they became widespread among commoners and among the nobility. I must say that they played solely for money or things, the rich could even put their land holdings and castles.
Currently, cards are one of the most popular gambling games. In the capital of excitement - Las Vegas, millions of hands are dealt daily in various card games, for example, in Black Jack or Hold'em Poker. According to the latter, the largest tournaments with a multi-million prize pool and thousands of participants are held annually.
In this regard, the value of the deck of cards for gambling people, as before, is very great. After all, as in medieval times, today you can win a huge fortune, and quite legally.
"Shaman's deck"
Currently, the gaming industry has gone very far. Man is offered entertainment not only in the real, but also in the virtual world. A good example of this is the online game Hearthstone, which combines maps and the virtual universe of Warcraft.
It is a symbiosis of collecting using different methods of a card collection with characters having various magic skills, ranks and capabilities. Each character of the players has its own health scale, which must be reduced to zero and thereby achieve victory.
Considering what a "deck" in the game Hearthstone, it must be said that the card set itself plays an important role. Sets can be different, for example: a warrior, a warlock, a hunter, a druid, a priest, a shaman, etc. Sets of such decks are diverse in composition of cards, strengths and capabilities. It is impossible to briefly describe this game, since it has a huge number of cards, characters and options for playing with them.
Here are so many meanings of the word “deck” that is usual at first glance.