Origins of Hopscotch

Hopscotch is played all over the world. Hopscotch began in ancient Britain during the early Roman Empire. The original hopscotch courts were over 100 feet long and used for military training exercises. Roman foot-soldiers ran the course in full armour to improve their footwork, much the same way modern football players run through rows of truck tyres today. Roman children copied the Roman soldiers and drew their own smaller courts. The children also added a scoring system. Some historians think that "Hopscotch" spread to Britain, France, Germany, and throughout Europe by the Roman soldiers.

The outdoor game of hopscotch has different names depending on the country it is played in. In  France it is called “Escargot”. In Germany it is called "Templehupfen", "Hinkelbaan" in the Netherlands, "Ekaria Dukaria" in India, "Pico" in Vietnam and "Rayuela" in Argentina. In Bolivia it is called “La Thunkuna” . It is known as “Pele” in Aruba. In the American city of New York ‘hopscotch’ is referred to as “Potsy”. In Greece it is called “Koutso”.

The English term "Hopscotch" comes from "hop" meaning "to jump" and "escocher", an Old French word meaning "to cut". The latter word is also where we get the term "scratch", as well as "scotch a rumour" (or scratch it out) and "butterscotch", a hard candy that's made in large sheets and then "scotched" or cut into small pieces.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document
Court: an area specially prepared and marked to play a game.
Armour: strong protective metal or leather covering worn in battle.
To improve their footwork: to make the movement of their feet more skilful. Imitation: a copy of (someone's behaviour).
Old French: an older version of the French language, not used today.
Latter: the second of two.