Where does “check” come from?
Check comes from Old French eschequier, from Latin scaccus meaning a chessboard or game of chess, ultimately derived from Old Persian 𐏋.
check (English): A situation in which the king is directly...
Definitions
- A situation in which the king is directly...
Ancestry of “check”, step by step
check traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chequer
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chequer | The edible fruit of the wild service tree,... |
| 2 | Old French | eschequier | exchequer |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | scaccarium | chess board; chessboard; exchequer |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | scaccus | chess |
| 5 | Arabic | شَاه | king in chess; king; king or check at chess, shah |
| 6 | Persian | شاه | king; shah; king; Something that is the biggest... |
| 7 | Middle Persian | 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 | king |
| 8 | Old Persian | 𐏋 | king |
| 9 | Proto-Iranian | xšáyati | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | kšáyati | he rules, he has power over |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | teḱ- | to sire, beget |
via Middle English chekken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | chekken | — |