volleyball

Meaning

1. A game played on a rectangular court between two teams of two to six players which involves striking a ball back and forth over a net.
2. The inflated ball used in such a game.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈvɒlibɔ(ː)l/

Etymology

From volley + ball.
In 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan created a new game called Mintonette, a name derived from the game of badminton. After an observer, Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfield College), the game quickly became known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two words: "volley ball")