What did the word "arcade" mean before video games? [closed]
A quick dictionary search shows the following:
Arcade:
1: a long arched building or gallery 2 : an arched covered passageway or avenue (as between shops) 3 : a series of arches with their columns or piers 4 : an amusement center having coin-operated games
The video game usage comes from the notion of a covered passageway or gallery. These galleries were often filled with mechanical, coin-operated games. (Penny arcades, etc.) Video games were the descendants of these forms of entertainment, so the name was extended to them.