Where does “cheat” come from?
Cheat comes from Middle English chete, from Old French escheoir meaning to fall to, ultimately from Latin ex meaning out.
cheat (English): To violate rules in order to gain advantage from...
Definitions
- To violate rules in order to gain advantage from...
Ancestry of “cheat”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | chete | cottage |
| 2 | Middle English | achete | Escheat; the acquisition of property left without an inheritor |
| 3 | Middle English | eschete | The taking of property from a feudal subject due to extinction of their line or crimes committed; escheat |
| 4 | Old French | eschet | — |
| 5 | Old French | escheoir | to fall; to happen |
| 6 | Latin | excadēre | fall out |
| 7 | Latin | cadēre | — |
| 8 | Latin | cadō | to fall, to fall out |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kadō | fall, sink |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱad- | to fall |