ante
UK[ˈænti]US[ˈænti]
prep
(in cards and other games) a stake put up by a player before seeing their hand or receiving cards.
n
a player's stake in a game of chance.
Etymology
The word 'ante' entered English in the 1830s from the Latin preposition and adverb 'ante', meaning 'before'. It was adopted directly into the jargon of poker and other gambling games to denote a mandatory bet placed before cards are dealt. This Latin root is itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂énti, meaning 'in front of, before', a source it shares with other English words like 'ancient', 'anticipate', and 'antique'. The logic of its modern meaning is a direct and literal borrowing: a bet placed before the action begins.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from Latin. It is not productively segmented into smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.
Examples
Each player must place an ante before the cards are dealt.
He upped the ante by doubling the initial stake.
The high-stakes game required a fifty-dollar ante.