Word of the Day:

1 : sand hills especially along the seashore

2 : golf course

Numerous celebrity golfers took to the links this weekend to raise money for charity.

The game of golf originated on the sandy hills of Scotland, on a type of terrain known as "links" or "linksland." Eventually, the game's layout came to be called by the same name as the land, and "links" developed the meaning of "a golf course built on the coastline," which eventually broadened to include any golf course. "Links" is ultimately derived from the Old English word "hlincas" (the plural of "hlinc," meaning "ridge"). Recorded evidence of "hlinces" (a variant of "hlincas") goes back as far as 931, but "links" began appearing in English only in the 15th century. Britain has a number of old-fashioned links courses (built to resemble the Scottish landscape and located on the coastline), and there are a few in the United States as well.