Club (redirected from British Club)

club

1. a stick or bat used to strike the ball in various sports, esp golf

2. short for Indian club

3. a commercial establishment in which people can drink and dance; disco

4. 

a. the black trefoil symbol on a playing card

b. a card with one or more of these symbols or (when pl.) the suit of cards so marked

5. Nautical a spar used for extending the clew of a gaff topsail beyond the peak of the gaff

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Club 

a social organization bringing a group of people together on a voluntary basis for the purpose of exchanging ideas on political, scientific, artistic, or sports subjects among others, as well as for relaxation and pleasure; it is financed by dues paid by the members.

Clubs first appeared in England in the 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century Friday Street, one of the oldest English clubs, was founded, with Shakespeare as one of its members. Later political clubs appeared in England. Many of them became centers in which opposition and revolutionary elements met, prompting Charles II to issue an edict in 1675 banning clubs. However, they continued to exist. In the 18th century literary clubs emerged, followed by sports, yachting, and other kinds of clubs. In France political clubs developed on a large scale during the Great French Revolution (the Jacobin Club). They became widespread in the USA during the second half of the 18th century. The Hoboken Turtle, organized in 1797, still exists. The Metropolitan, a millionaires’ club, was founded in New York in 1891. Later other clubs of the financial oligarchy were organized (Links, Knickerbocker, and others) to make big financial deals and conduct behind-the-scenes political negotiations. In many US cities there are numerous political clubs for supporters of the Republican and Democratic parties.

In Great Britain and the USA there are women’s clubs whose activity is connected with the women’s liberation movement. The General Confederation of Women’s Clubs was created in 1889 in the USA. In several countries there are workers’ clubs, the majority of which are organized through the trade unions; there are also church clubs that bring religious workers together.

In Russia the first club (the English Club) was opened in 1770 in St. Petersburg. It was popular among the upper strata of society and in literary circles; its members included N. M. Karamzin, A. S. Pushkin, V. A. Zhukovskii, and I. A. Krylov. Later the English Club was organized in Moscow as well. By the turn of the 19th century there were gentry clubs (gentry assemblies and “noble” assemblies) in all the provincial centers and in many of the chief district towns of Russia; membership in these clubs was restricted. The officers’ clubs (officers’ assemblies) were of the same closed character. In the 1860’s clubs for merchants and salesmen began to emerge; card-playing, billiards, and other games prevailed, and they hardly differed at all from gambling houses.

Workers’ clubs arose in Russia during the Revolution of 1905–07, but they were closed down with the onset of reaction. Legally there were only the houses for popular reading and people’s houses created by liberal-bourgeois organizations.

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Club 

an ancient striking or throwing weapon that appeared in the Paleolithic period. Clubs were made of solid, heavy wood. Later a stone head was added, and in the Bronze Age a metal head replaced the stone one. Clubs are still used by some primitive tribes of Africa, South America, and Oceania. Among some peoples the club was modified from a striking into a piercing weapon (for example, the Bushman kirry). The boomerang developed from the throwing club.

The club was the simplest hand weapon of the ancient Russian warrior; it had a thick end, usually bound with iron or barbed with large iron nails and spikes. The mace and the shestoper were derived from the club.