Online Etymology Dictionary

tennis: 1345, most likely from Anglo-Fr. tenetz "hold! receive! take!," from O.Fr. tenez, imperative of tenir "to hold, receive, take," which was used as a call from the server to his opponent. The original version of the game (a favorite sport of medieval Fr. knights) was played by striking the ball with the palm of the hand, and in O.Fr. was called la paulme, lit. "the palm," but to an onlooker the service cry would naturally seem to identify the game. The use of the word for the modern game is from 1874, short for lawn tennis, which originally was called sphairistike (1873), from Gk. sphairistike (tekhne) "(skill) in playing at ball," from the root of sphere. It was invented, and named, by Maj. Walter C. Wingfield and first played at a garden party in Wales, inspired by the popularity of badminton.
"The name 'sphairistike,' however, was impossible (if only because people would pronounce it as a word of three syllables to rhyme with 'pike') and it was soon rechristened." ["Times" of London, June 10, 1927]
racquet: c.1500, "device used in tennis, etc.," probably originally "tennis-like game played with open hand" (c.1385), from Fr. requette "racket, palm of the hand," perhaps via It. racchetta or Sp. raqueta, both from Arabic rahat, a form of raha "palm of the hand." Racquetball first recorded 1972.
racket (2): "bat used in tennis, etc.," see racquet.
Davis Cup: donated 1900 as a national tennis championship trophy by U.S. statesman Dwight Filley Davis (1879-1945) while still an undergraduate at Harvard.
smash (n.): 1839, "failure, financial collapse," from smash (v.). Tennis sense is from 1882. Meaning "great success" is from 1923 ("Variety" headline, Oct. 16, in ref. to Broadway productions of "The Fool" and "The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly").
tank (v.): "to lose or fail," 1976, originaly in tennis jargon, but said there to be from boxing, from tank (n.) in some sense. Tanked "drunk" is from 1893.
backhand: as a tennis stroke, 1650s, from back (adj.) + hand. The fig. sense of "indirect" is from c.1800.
seed (v.): "to produce seed," late 14c.; "to sow with seed," c.1440; from seed (n.). Sporting (originally tennis) sense (1898) is from notion of spreading certain players' names so as to insure they will not meet early in a tournament. The noun in this sense is attested from 1933.
forehand: tennis stroke, 1889, from fore + hand.
overhand: 1579, "upside down," from over + hand. Sense in tennis, etc., in ref. to hand position above that which is gripped, is first recorded 1861. Of cricket and baseball throws or bowls, "done with the hand raised above the shoulder" it is first recorded 1828.
ping-pong (n.): 1900, as Ping-Pong, trademark for table tennis equipment (Parker Brothers). Both words are imitative of the sound of the ball hitting the paddle; from ping (q.v.) + pong, attested from 1823. The verb is from 1901; in the figurative sense, 1952.
volley: 1573, "discharge of a number of guns at once," from M.Fr. volee "flight" (12c.), from V.L. *volta, fem. noun from L. volatum, pp. of volare "to fly." Sporting sense (originally in tennis) is from 1819 (v.), 1862 (n.), from notion of hitting the ball in flight. Volleyball is attested from 1896.
pillar: early 13c., from O.Fr. piler, from M.L. pilare, from L. pila "pillar, stone barrier." Figurative sense of "prop or support of an institution or community" is first recorded early 14c. Phrase pillar to post is c.1600, originally of tennis, exact meaning obscure.
bandy (v.): 1570s, "to strike back and forth," from M.Fr. bander, from root of band (2). The sense apparently evolved from "join together to oppose," to opposition itself, to "exchanging blows," then metaphorically, to volleying in tennis. Bandy was a 17c. Irish game, precursor of field hockey, played with curved a stick (also called a bandy), hence bandy-legged (1680s).
slice (n.): c.1300, "a fragment," from O.Fr. esclis "splinter," a back-formation from esclicier "to splinter," from Frank. *slitan "to split" (cf. O.H.G. slizan; see slit). Meaning "piece cut from something" emerged c.1420. Meaning "a slicing stroke" (in golf, tennis) is recorded from 1886. Slice of life (1895) translates Fr. tranche de la vie, a term from Fr. Naturalist literature.
advantage: early 14c., "position of being in advance of another," from O.Fr. avantage, from avant "before," probably via an unrecorded L.L. *abantaticum, from L. abante (see advance). The -d- is a 16c. intrusion on the analogy of Latin ad- words. Meaning "a favoring circumstance" (the opposite of disadvantage) is from late 15c. Tennis score sense is from 1640s, first recorded in writings of John Milton, of all people. Phrase to take advantage of is first attested late 14c.
rebound (v.): c.1300, "to spring, leap," also "return to afflict" (early 15c.), from O.Fr. rebondir "leap back, resound," from re- "back" + bondir "leap, bound" (see bound (v.)). Sense of "to spring back from force of impact" is recorded from late 14c. Sports use probably first in tennis; basketball sense is attested from 1954. The noun is first recorded 1520s.
seed (n.): O.E. sed, sæd, from P.Gmc. *sædis, *sæda- (cf. O.N. sað, O.S. sad, O.Fris. sed, M.Du. saet, O.H.G. sat, Ger. Saat), from root *sæ- "to sow," from PIE base *se- "to sow" (see sow (v.)). Meaning "offspring, progeny" was in O.E., rare now except in biblical use. Sporting (originally tennis) sense is from notion of spreading certain players' names so as to insure they will not meet early in a tournament (1924). Seedy is 1440, originally "fruitful, abundant," meaning "shabby" is from 1749, probably in allusion to the appearance of a flowering plant that has run to seed.
return: c.1366, "to come back," from O.Fr. retorner "turn back, return," from re- "back" + torner "to turn" (see turn). Transitive sense is attested from c.1420. The noun is first attested c.1390, "act of coming back;" in the tennis sense, it is from 1886. Meaning "official report of election results" is attested from 1459. Meaning "a yield, a profit" is recorded from 1626. Many happy returns of the day was used by Addison, 1716.
fault (n.): late 13c., "deficiency," from O.Fr. faute "lack, deficiency," from V.L. *fallita "a shortcoming, falling," noun use of fem. pp., from L. falsus, pp. of fallere "deceive, disappoint" (see false). The -l- was restored 1400s, probably in imitation of L., but was not pronounced till 18c. Sense of "physical defect" is from early 14c.; that of "moral culpability" is first recorded late 14c. Geological sense is from 1796. The use in tennis (c.1600) is closer to the etymological sense. The verb is first recorded 1550s in the sense "to find fault with." Faulty is from late 14c.
rally (1): "bring together," 1603, from Fr. rallier, from O.Fr. ralier "reassemble, unite again," from re- "again" + alier "unite" (see ally). The noun is first recorded 1651, originally in the military sense of "regroup for renewed action after a repulse." Sense of "mass meeting to arouse group support" first attested 1840, Amer.Eng. Sense of "gathering of automobile enthusiasts" is from 1932, from Fr. Sports sense of "long series of hits" in tennis, etc., is from 1887. Rally round the flag (1862) is a line from popular Amer. Civil War song "Battle Cry of Freedom."
court: late 12c., from O.Fr. curt, from L. cortem, acc. of cors (earlier cohors) "enclosed yard," and by extension (and perhaps by association with curia "sovereign's assembly"), "those assembled in the yard; company, cohort," from com- "together" + stem hort- related to hortus "garden, plot of ground" (see yard (1)). The verb meaning "woo, offer homage" (as at court) is first recorded 1570s. Sporting sense is from 1510s, originally of tennis. Legal meaning is from late 13c. (early assemblies for justice were overseen by the sovereign personally). Courtroom is recorded from 1670s.
serve: late 12c., "to render habitual obedience to," from O.Fr. servir "to serve," from L. servire "to serve," originally "be a slave," related to servus "slave," perhaps from an Etruscan word (cf. Etruscan proper names Servi, Serve). Meaning "to attend to (a customer)" is first recorded mid-14c.; that of "to set food on (a table)" is from late 14c. Sporting sense, in tennis, badminton, etc., first recorded 1585; the noun in this sense is from 1680s. To serve (someone) right "to treat as he deserves" is recorded from 1580s. To serve the time "shape one's views to what is in favor" is from 1550s, translating L. tempori servire; time-server first recorded 1580s.
kill (v.): c.1200, "to strike, hit, beat, knock." Sense of "to deprive of life" first recorded early 14c. Perhaps from an unrecorded variant of O.E. cwellan "to kill" (see quell), but the earliest sense suggests otherwise. The noun meaning "an act of killing (an animal)" is from 1852. Lawn tennis serve sense is from 1903. The kill "the knockout" is boxing jargon, 1950. Killer in slang sense of "impressive person or thing" first recorded 1937; as an adj., 1979. Killjoy is first recorded 1776; formerly used with other stems (cf. kill-courtesy "boorish person," kill-cow "bully, big man," etc.). Sense in to kill time is from 1728. Killer whale is from 1725. Killing "large profit" is 1888, Amer.Eng. slang. Kill-devil, colloquial for "rum," especially if new or of bad quality, is from 1630s.
table (n.): c.1175, "board, slab, plate," from O.Fr. table "board, plank, writing table, picture" (11c.), and late O.E. tabele, from W.Gmc. *tabal (cf. O.H.G. zabel, Ger. Tafel), both from L. tabula "a board, plank, table," originally "small flat slab or piece" usually for inscriptions or for games, of uncertain origin, related to Umbrian tafle "on the board." The sense of "piece of furniture with the flat top and legs" first recorded c.1300 (the usual L. word for this was mensa; O.E. writers used bord). The meaning "arrangement of numbers or other figures for convenience" is recorded from c.1386 (e.g. table of contents, 1460). Tablecloth is from 1467; tablespoon is 1763; tableware first recorded 1852. Fig. phrase turn the tables (1634) is from backgammon (in O.E. and M.E. the game was called tables). Table talk is attested from 1569, translating L. colloquia mensalis. To table-hop is first recorded 1956. The adj. phrase under-the-table "hidden from view" is recorded from 1949; under the table "passed out from excess drinking" is recorded from 1921. Table tennis is recorded from 1887.
love (n.): O.E. lufu "love, affection, friendliness," from P.Gmc. *lubo (cf. O.Fris. liaf, Ger. lieb, Goth. liufs "dear, beloved;" not found elsewhere as a noun, except O.H.G. luba, Ger. Liebe), from PIE *leubh- "to care, desire, love" (cf. L. lubet, later libet "pleases;" Skt. lubhyati "desires;" O.C.S. l'ubu "dear, beloved;" Lith. liaupse "song of praise"). Meaning "a beloved person" is from early 13c. The sense "no score" (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of "playing for love," i.e. "for nothing" (1670s). Love-letter is attested from mid-13c.; love-song from early 14c. To be in love with (someone) is from c.1500. Love life "one's collective amorous activities" is from 1919, originally a term in psychological jargon. Phrase make love is attested from 1580 in the sense "pay amorous attention to;" as a euphemism for "have sex," it is attested from c.1950. Love child "child born out of wedlock," first attested 1805, from earlier love brat (17c.). Lovesick is attested from 1530; lovelorn from 1630s (see lose). Phrase for love or money "for anything" is attested from 1580s. To fall in love is attested from early 15c. The phrase no love lost (between two people) is ambiguous and was used 17c. in ref. to two who love each other well (c.1640) as well as two who have no love for each other (1620s).