martingales

Noun

martingale (plural martingales)

1. A piece of harness used on a horse to keep it from raising its head above a desired point.
   • I’ll be bound, Lady Ashton understands every machine for breaking in the human mind, and there are as many as there are cannon-bit, martingales, and cavessons for young colts.1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume III (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable...

   Synonyms:

   tie-down

2. A spar, or piece of rigging that strengthens the bowsprit.
3. A stochastic process for which the conditional expectation of future values given the sequence of all prior values is equal to the current value.
   • If a gambler plays a fair game repeatedly, his payoff over time is a martingale.
4. A strategy in which one doubles the stake after each loss.
5. A strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.

See all 6 meanings of martingale