Cards
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Cards. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
oblong pieces of pasteboard, inscribed with certain figures and points, and used in various games of skill and hazard. The origin of this invention is obscure. While it has by some been erroneously attributed to the Romans, by others it has been traced, perhaps with more plausibility, to an Asiatic source. The figures of the four suits were symbolical representations of the four great classes of men, and the names attached to these figures in England arose from a misapprehension of the names originally assigned to them. Thus, by the hearts are meant the gens de chœur (cœur), the choir-men or ecclesiastics, and hence these are called copas, or chalices, by the Spaniards; whose word espada, sword, indicating the nobility and warriors of the State, has been corrupted into the English spade. The clubs were originally trèfles (trefoil leaves), and denoted the peasantry; while the citizens and merchants were marked by the diamonds (carreaux, square tiles). The modern pack of cards consists of fifty-two cards, in four suits -two red, hearts and diamonds, and two black, spades and clubs; each suit consisting of three court or picture cards, the king, queen, and knave, and ten other cards distinguished by the number of their "pips" or spots, from ten to one respectively. The lowest of these is always called the "ace," and the two and three are often called the "deuce," and "tray." The natural rank of the cards in each suit is, king highest, and so on down to ace lowest; but in many games this rank is varied, d, as in Whist, where the ace is put highest of all, above the king. Sometimes the pack of cards is reduced to 32 by excluding the six, five, four, three, and two of each suit; it is then called a "piquet pack." An immense variety of games are played with cards, some involving chance only, some combining chance and skill, the best of them furnishing very agreeable and intellectual amusement. Some are round games, in which any number of persons may join, as Poker, Hearts, Loo, Pope Joan, etc.; some are for four persons, as Whist, and Euchre; some for two, as Piquet, Écarté, Bézique, Cribbage; and even for one, called Solitaire.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
oblong bits of pasteboard used in playing various games. A pack of ordinary playing cards consists of four suits of thirteen cards each, or fifty-two cards in all. The suits are marked with hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades respectively. Each suit contains a king, queen, knave, and ten cards ranging from a ten spot down to a one spot known as an ace. The cards rank in the order named, though in some games exceptions are made. In whist, for instance, ace is the highest. In euchre the knaves or jacks, as they are also called, outrank. In most games a particular suit is called trumps, in which case any card of that suit outranks even a king or an ace of any other suit. In many games a fifty-third card, called a joker, is added. The joker is always a trump and is the highest card in the pack. Cards are thought to be of eastern origin. They made their way westward along the lines of caravan travel, and may have been introduced into Europe by the Saracens. The modern figures on cards are said to have been invented in France fifty years before the discovery of America. The four suits stood for four ranks in society. Hearts is an English corruption of a French word meaning choirmen or clergy; spades is likewise a corruption of a Spanish word signifying the sword. They represent the soldiers; clubs, the clover leaf, is the suit of the peasantry; and diamonds represent the square tiles or caps of the merchants. These names are by no means universal. The suits in an Italian and Spanish deck of cards were known as cups, swords, money, and clubs. The German suits were hearts, leaves, bells, and acorns. The Hindus played with geese, birds, camels, and horses. Some games of cards, as poker and hearts, may be played by a circle. The different games of whist are played by four persons. Two may play at cribbage, penuchle, and bezique. Solitaire, in all its forms, is a game to be played alone. See Games