bil·liard / ˈbilyərd/ • n. (billiards) [usu. treated as sing.] a game usually for two people, played on a billiard table, in which three balls are struck with cues into pockets around the edge of the table: play billiards at home [as adj.] billiard ball billiard room. ∎  (English billiards) a game played on a billiard table with pockets, in which points are made by caroms, pocketing an object ball, or caroming the cue ball into a pocket:

billiards and snooker. Billiards is a game of some antiquity which evolved as a popular pursuit in the 19th cent. A version was played in the 16th and 17th cents. with a hoop and a king-pin as a skittle. A modern billiards room was opened in Covent Garden and then in many London clubs, with a slate base, three balls, and rubber cushions. A Billiards Association was founded in 1885, a Control Club in 1908, and the two amalgamated in 1919 into the Billiards Association and Control Council. Snooker developed from it in the Indian army and is believed to have taken its name from the slang term for a new cadet. Billiards has never achieved wide popularity but snooker acquired a considerable TV following and its simpler variant, pool, is played in many pubs, since the tables are smaller.

J. A. Cannon

billiards XVI. — F. billard name of the game and the cue, f. bille; see BILLET2 and -ARD. Made pllike bowls, etc.