Standard Lemma guide

martingale

noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M AA1 R T IH0 NG EY2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A piece of harness used on a horse to keep it from raising its head above a desired point.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: equestrianism, hobbies, horses, lifestyle, pets, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tie-down

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A spar, or piece of rigging that strengthens the bowsprit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A stochastic process for which the conditional expectation of future values given the sequence of all prior values is equal to the current value.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: mathematics, sciences

Examples

  • If a gambler plays a fair game repeatedly, his payoff over time is a martingale.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: gambling, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: fencing, government, hobbies, lifestyle, martial-arts, military, politics, sports, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To employ the martingale strategy in gambling.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: gambling, games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

spar under the bowsprit of a sailboat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dolphin striker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spar

8

noun

Meaning 8

a harness strap that connects the nose piece to the girth; prevents the horse from throwing back its head

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stable gear, saddlery, tack

History

Etymology

From Middle French martingale, from Occitan martegalo, feminine form of martegal, an inhabitant of Martigues, which is from Latin maritima. Possibly merged with Spanish almártaga. The meaning in gambling may come from an old usage of à la martingale to mean absurdly or foolishly.https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/class/sem/html/home/notes/martingales/martingales.pdf

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: martingala — piece of harness
  • Czech: martingal — piece of harness
  • Finnish: martingaali — piece of harness
  • French: martingale — piece of harness
  • German: Martingal — piece of harness
  • Hungarian: martingál — piece of harness
  • Irish: iall bhrád — piece of harness
  • Japanese: 鞅 (munagai) — piece of harness
  • Māori: mātinikera — piece of harness
  • Māori: mātini — piece of harness
  • Norwegian Bokmål: martingal — piece of harness
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: martingal — piece of harness
  • Polish: wytok — piece of harness
  • Portuguese: gamarra — piece of harness
  • Russian: мартинга́л (martingál) — piece of harness
  • Spanish: gamarra — piece of harness
  • Catalan: martingala — bowsprit strengthening
  • Finnish: vesiharus — bowsprit strengthening
  • French: martingale — bowsprit strengthening
  • Catalan: martingala — a stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values
  • Chinese Mandarin: 平賭 /平赌 (píngdǔ) — a stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鞅 (yāng) — a stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values
  • French: martingale — a stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values
  • Hungarian: martingál — a stochastic process relating random variables to earlier values
  • Chinese Cantonese: 纜 /缆 — a gambling strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss
  • French: martingale — a gambling strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss
  • Russian: мартинге́йл (martingéjl) — a gambling strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss