Where does “checklist” come from?
Checklist comes from English check and English list, where check derives from English chequer, from Proto-Germanic līstǭ, from Latin scaccus meaning chessboard, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European lewk- meaning to shine or look.
checklist (English): A list of tasks to be completed, names to be...
Definitions
- A list of tasks to be completed, names to be...
Ancestry of “checklist”, step by step
checklist 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 |