Where does “checker” come from?
Checker comes from English chequer, from Latin scaccus, ultimately derived from Old Persian 𐏋.
checker (English): One who checks or verifies something; One who...
Definitions
- One who checks or verifies something; One who...
Ancestry of “checker”, step by step
checker traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English check
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | check | A situation in which the king is directly... |
| 2 | English | chequer | The edible fruit of the wild service tree,... |
| 3 | Old French | eschequier | exchequer |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | scaccarium | chess board; chessboard; exchequer |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | scaccus | chess |
| 6 | Arabic | شَاه | king in chess; king; king or check at chess, shah |
| 7 | Persian | شاه | king; shah; king; Something that is the biggest... |
| 8 | Middle Persian | 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 | king |
| 9 | Old Persian | 𐏋 | king |
| 10 | Proto-Iranian | xšáyati | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | kšáyati | he rules, he has power over |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | teḱ- | to sire, beget |
via Middle English cheker
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cheker | A chessboard (checkerboard) |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | escheker | chessboard; exchequer; checkered pattern |
| 3 | Latin | scaccārium | chessboard |
| 4 | Latin | -ārium | used primarily to form nouns of purpose from other nouns, such as places where things are kept or objects used for a particular end |
| 5 | Latin | -um | nominative neuter singular of -us; accusative... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *-om | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | *-oHom | — |