'cardplay' originates from the combination of 'card' and 'play', where 'card' refers to the playing cards and 'play' refers to the act of engaging in a game.

'Cardplay' evolved from the Middle English 'carde' and 'pleyen', eventually becoming the modern English word 'cardplay'.

Initially, it meant 'the act of playing cards', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.