Dice (plural of die), small cubes of ivory marked on their sides with black dots, from one to six. The points on the opposite sides of the dice should always sum seven—i.e. ace should be opposite to six (pronounced size); deuce to cinque (pronounced sanke); and trey to quatre (pronounced kater). Two dice are called a pair.
By 13 Geo. II. chap. 19, 'all games invented or to be invented with one or more die or dice' were prohibited, except backgammon and games played on a backgammon board. Hence hazard is illegal, and also raffles with dice, the latter being also forbidden as lotteries even if dice are not used. By 9 Geo. IV. chap. 18 (1828), a duty of twenty shillings was imposed on every pair of dice; in 1862 the duty was abolished.
The invention of dice is attributed to Palamedes (circa 1244 B.C.). But the use of cubes with numbered sides for gambling purposes is probably much earlier. See HAZARD.