A group of four people, especially four people playing golf or another game together.
From Old English 'feower' (four) combined with the suffix '-some' meaning 'a group of' (as in twosome, threesome). The suffix '-some' comes from Proto-Germanic and originally meant 'marked by or characterized by.'
Golf courses love foursomes! The four-player format became standardized because it was the sweet spot—fast enough to keep the game moving, but with enough people that the course could manage groups efficiently. It's why you'll hear 'fore!' called out (a warning from 'ahead'), which only became necessary once groups got large enough to hit into each other.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.