Provençal dialect
The current form of the game originated in 1907 or 1910 in La Ciotat, in Provence, France. The French name "pétanque" (borrowed into English, with or without the acute accent) comes from "petanca" in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language, deriving from the expression "pè tancat" , meaning 'foot fixed' or 'foot planted' (on the ground).