card game, 1864, from German Skat (by 1838), from earlier scart (said to have been a term used in the old card game called taroc, which was of Italian origin), from Italian scarto "cards laid aside," which is said to be a back-formation from scartare, from Latin ex- "off, away" + Late Latin carta (see card, n.1). The German game is perhaps so called because it is played with a rump deck, or because two cards are laid aside at the start of the game, or because discarding is an important part of the game. Compare French card game écarté, literally "cards removed."