Come, come thou bleak December wind,
And blow the dry leaves from the tree!
Flash, like a Love-thought, thro' me, Death
And take a Life that wearies me.
A gambit is a strategic move or opening action in which something is deliberately risked or sacrificed in order to gain an advantage later. The term is commonly used in chess, but it also applies to conversations, negotiations, business decisions, and everyday life.
a clever action in a game or other situation that is intended to achieve an advantage and usually involves taking a risk
(in chess) an opening move in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of a compensating advantage.
“chess opening in which a pawn or piece is risked for advantage later,” 1650s, gambett, from Italian gambetto, literally “a tripping up” (as a trick in wrestling), from gamba “leg,” from Late Latin gamba “horse’s hock or leg” (see gambol (n.)).
Applied to chess openings in Spanish in 1561 by Ruy Lopez, who traced it to the Italian word, but the form in Spanish generally was gambito, which led to French gambit, which has influenced the English spelling of the word. The broader sense of “opening move meant to gain advantage” in English is recorded from 1855.
Gambit captures the balance between risk and strategy. It reminds us that thoughtful risks—when taken intentionally—can open doors to opportunity, creativity, and growth. The word is both intellectually rich and highly versatile, making it useful across many contexts.
What does gambit mean to you?
Have you ever taken a calculated risk that paid off?
Where have you seen this word used—in books, games, or real life?
Share your thoughts in the comments below. Your perspective may be featured in a future Vocabulary Tuesdays post.
Vocabulary Tuesdays at Emerald Book Club is a space to explore language, sharpen communication skills, and connect through words. Whether you’re a reader, writer, or simply curious, you’re welcome to take part.
Discover something new—one word at a time.
If faithful souls be alike glorified
As angels, then my fathers soul doth see,
And adds this even to full felicity,
That valiantly I hells wide mouth o'erstride:
But if our minds to these souls be descried
By circumstances, and by signs that be
Apparent in us, not immediately,
How shall my mind's white truth by them be tried?
They see idolatrous lovers weep and mourn,
And vile blasphemous conjurers to call
On Jesus name, and Pharisaical
Dissemblers feign devotion. Then turn,
O pensive soul, to God, for he knows best
Thy true grief, for he put it in my breast.
At the round earth's imagined corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go,
All whom the flood did, and fire shall, o'erthrow,
All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,
Despair, law, chance, hath slain, and you whose eyes,
Shall behold God, and never taste death's woe.
But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space;
For, if above all these, my sins abound,
'Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace,
When we are there. Here on this lowly ground,
Teach me how to repent; for that's as good
As if thou hadst seal'd my pardon with thy blood.
I am a little world made cunningly
Of elements and an angelic sprite,
But black sin hath betray'd to endless night
My world's both parts, and oh both parts must die.
You which beyond that heaven which was most high
Have found new spheres, and of new lands can write,
Pour new seas in mine eyes, that so I might
Drown my world with my weeping earnestly,
Or wash it, if it must be drown'd no more.
But oh it must be burnt; alas the fire
Of lust and envy have burnt it heretofore,
And made it fouler; let their flames retire,
And burn me O Lord, with a fiery zeal
Of thee and thy house, which doth in eating heal.
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