What is "pall-mall"

Pall-mall \Pall`-mall"\, n. [OF. palemail, It. pallamagio; palla a ball (of German origin, akin to E. ball) + magio hammer, fr. L. malleus. See 1st Ball, and Mall a beetle.] A game formerly common in England, in which a wooden ball was driven with a mallet through an elevated hoop or ring of iron. The name was also given to the mallet used, to the place where the game was played, and to the street, in London, still called Pall Mall. [Written also pail-mail and pell-mell.]
--Sir K. Digby.
--Evelyn.

see mall.

n. a 17th century game; a wooden ball was driven along an alley with a mallet

Pall-mall, paille-maille, palle-maille, pell-mell, or palle-malle (, , or ) is a lawn game that was mostly played in the 16th and 17th centuries, a precursor to croquet.