Meaning

noun a game resembling ice hockey that is played on an open field; two opposing teams use curved sticks try to drive a ball into the opponents' net

noun a game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of six skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with angled sticks

origin16th century, of unknown origin. Possibly related to hook due to the curvature of the stick, akin to hock (“hook”) + -ey, or from Middle French hoquet (“shepherd's staff, crook”), which resembles a hockey stick, via a diminutive form of Old French hoc from Middle Dutch hoec (“hook”), a cognate of Old English hōc.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0