A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.

a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net

Named after Lord Edward `bad' Minton (1817-1926), Attorney General in British India; Pitiful forehand the chap had. The tale that Badminton would be the name of the estate of the Duke of Beaufort in England, where the game is supposedly played for the first time, shouldn't be taken seriously.

Badminton is a racket sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their rackets so that it passes over the net and lands in their opponents' half of the court. A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the ground, and the shuttlecock may only be struck once by each side before it passes over the net.