*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of 1-up

"Extra life" sense borrowed from Japanese 1UP(ワンアップ) (wan'appu) and perhaps popularized by Super Mario Bros. (1985); but the term existed earlier in multi-player pinball and other arcade games in the 1960s, where "1Up" a

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An item that grants the player an extra life in the game, staving off game over by one more try. · In a game with multiple players, an indicator or identifier of player 1.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

"Extra life" sense borrowed from Japanese 1UP(ワンアップ) (wan'appu) and perhaps popularized by Super Mario Bros. (1985); but the term existed earlier in multi-player pinball and other arcade games in the 1960s, where "1Up" and "2Up" were used as flashing notifications to indicate who would play next (or who was "up" next in order). See https://www.inverse.com/gaming/1up-meaning-origin-definition-gaming.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese"
    },
    {
      "name": "ja-r",
      "args": {
        "1": "1UP",
        "2": "ワンアップ"
      },
      "expansion": "1UP(ワンアップ) (wan'appu)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "1UP(ワンアップ)",
      "1UP#Japanese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An item that grants the player an extra life in the game, staving off game over by one more try.",
        "In a game with multiple players, an indicator or identifier of player 1."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "816a417edfe7f3e7f8cf5f35782e7a9b1bc972efd8767189a35a085fff24e860",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b7890a3ff8e270e953276dcb5e43ebfa5d17776418bbdf07ea790c95f7f00c6d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1623817
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for 1-up →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-MS11cA