Variations of “ames-ace” have appeared in various spellings over the centuries. The word, which means both “bad luck” and either a pair of aces or a roll of dice for two ones, can be spelled “ambsace” or “ambs-ace” in modern usage. It was “ambbes aas” and “aumbys as” in pre-14th-century texts, “almesace” in the 1500s, and “alms-ace” and “ammez-ace” in the 1600s. Spelling was not standardized in English until the 18th century, so it was up to the writer to determine spelling. The origin is the Latin “ambō,” meaning “both,” and “as,” a common Roman coin that is the root of the word “ace.” Then in Old French, it was “ambes as,” meaning “both aces.” Today, the term is reserved for gambling and gaming contexts, usually in an expression that implies a measure of extreme closeness. For example, “to roll within ames-ace of a win” means to come as close as possible to victory without actually winning.