Editing Mahjong (section)

== Etymology ==
The game was originally called {{lang|zh|麻雀}} ({{zh|j=maa<sup>4</sup>zoek<sup>3–2</sup>|hp=máquè}}){{mdash}}meaning [[Old World sparrow|sparrow]]{{mdash}}which is still used in several [[Sinitic languages|Chinese languages]], mostly in the south, such as [[Cantonese]] and [[Hokkien]]. It is said that the clacking of tiles during shuffling resembles the chattering of sparrows. It has also been suggested that the name came from an evolution of an earlier card game called [[Madiao]] from which mahjong tiles were adapted.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The complete book of Mah-Jongg|last=Millington|first=A. D.|date=1977|publisher=A. Barker|isbn=0213166224|location=London|oclc=3069655}}</ref> In Chinese, {{zh|t=麻雀戰|s=麻雀战|p=máquè zhàn|out=t|labels=no}} denotes a form of guerilla warfare tactics colloquially called 'sparrow warfare (tactics)'. Other languages, such as [[Sichuanese dialects|Sichuanese]], [[Shanghainese]] and [[Standard Mandarin]], now call the game {{lang|zh|麻將|}} ({{zh|hp=májiàng|labels=no}}), which is a [[Nasal consonant|nasal]] [[erhua]] form of the original name. Its name is similar in other languages, except in [[Thai language|Thai]], where it is called {{lang|th|ไพ่นกกระจอก}} ({{transliteration|th|phai nok krachok}}), a [[calque]] meaning "sparrow cards".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gambling, the State and Society in Siam, C.1880–1945 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28815/1/10672983.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531043856/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28815/1/10672983.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>