marbles

Etymology

noun

1. Any of several children's games played with small balls (made of marble or more commonly glass).
   Egyptian boys played marbles before the days of Moses.
2. (figurative, usually in a limited number of expressions) Sanity.
   Grandpa's lost his marbles, but at least he still recognizes us.
   Granny's still got all her marbles.
   His lack of marbles is becoming ever more apparent.
   There are times when you are certain that the person speaking to you has completely misplaced his marbles. As I leaned away in reaction I felt confident […] Ed had lost his. 2005, Sue Henry, The Serpents Trail, page 86
   —Her daddy's crazy. […] Think she's looking for something? —Treasure, I expect. That or maybe her daddy's marbles. 2012, J. T. Petty, Bloody Chester, First Second, page 63
3. (motor racing) Bits of rolled-up rubber shed by the tires of race cars that accumulate at the edges of the track, especially at the corners.
   Some corners are littered with marbles, off the racing line. 2014, Amen Zwa, Going Nowhere Fast In Assetto Corsa (2015-05-01), page 395

noun

1. plural of marble
   Marbles were among the treasures found buried in the ruins of Pompeii.

verb

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of marble