Love-15-30-40-Deuce?

Question

Where did these tennis numbers come from? What's the history? The terms are interesting and the numers puzzling, especially since they're not in constant intervals.

Answer 1

As simple as this scoring appears, the running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores of zero to three points are described as "love" (or "zero"), "fifteen", "thirty", and "forty", respectively. The origin of this scoring comes from the (quarterly) stations of the clock, where "forty" was, presumably, easier to say than "forty-five." When stating the score, the server's score is stated first. If the server announces the score as "thirty-love," for example, it means that the server has won two points and the receiver none.

Answer 2

There's a reason for everything, --not necessarily a good reason, but a reason just the same. Tennis scoring has its origin in medieval numerology. The number 60 was considered to be a "good" or "complete" number back then, in about the same way you'd consider 100 to be a nice round figure today. The medieval version of tennis, therefore, was based on 60--the four points when 15, 30, 45 (which we abbreviate to 40) and 60, or game.

There's a common misconception that the equally puzzling "love," or zero, derives from the French l'oeuf, "egg," or, by extension, goose-egg or zero. Actually, it comes from the idea of playing for love, rather than money--the implication being that one who scores zero consistently can only be motivated by a true love for the game. Tennis originated in the 12th or 13th century in France, where it was called jeu de paume ("palm game"). It seems to have derived its present appellation from the French habit of called "tenez!" before serving.

Answer 3

Don't know where they came from, but:

15=1 (point, if you will)
30=2
40=3
Deuce=Both Player have 40
Love=0

Answer 4

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