Where does “cheat sheet” come from?
cheat sheet (English) comes from English cheat, from Middle English chete, from Middle English achete, from Middle English eschete, from Old French eschet, from Old French escheoir, from Latin excadēre, from Latin cadēre — to fall.
cheat sheet (English): A sheet of paper (or a digital analogue thereof) containing notes used to assist (with or without permission) on a test; especially, such a sheet used secretly and improperly
Definitions
- A sheet of paper (or a digital analogue thereof) containing notes used to assist (with or without permission) on a test; especially, such a sheet used secretly and improperly
Ancestry of “cheat sheet”, step by step
cheat sheet traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English cheat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cheat | To violate rules in order to gain advantage from... |
| 2 | Middle English | chete | cottage |
| 3 | Middle English | achete | Escheat; the acquisition of property left without an inheritor |
| 4 | Middle English | eschete | The taking of property from a feudal subject due to extinction of their line or crimes committed; escheat |
| 5 | Old French | eschet | — |
| 6 | Old French | escheoir | to fall; to happen |
| 7 | Latin | excadēre | fall out |
| 8 | Latin | cadēre | — |
| 9 | Latin | cadō | to fall, to fall out |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | kadō | fall, sink |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱad- | to fall |
via English sheet
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sheet | A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a... |
| 2 | English | shit | Solid excretory product evacuated from the... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | schite | — |
| 4 | Old Dutch | skīta | — |
| 5 | Old Saxon | skiti | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skītaz | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱeyd- | to shade; to cut off; to part with, separate, cut... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱēy- | to shine; to shimmer; shadow; luster, gloss,... |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | skaidą | separation, distinction |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | skÁit- | to cut, part, spearate, divide; to cut, part,... |