Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “checkmate” come from?

Checkmate comes from Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Persian شاه مات meaning "the king is dead."

checkmate (English): Word called out by the victor when making a move...

Definitions

  1. Word called out by the victor when making a move...

Ancestry of “checkmate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishchekmat—
2Old Frencheschec matAlternative form of eschec et mat
3Arabicشاه مات—
4Persianشاه ماتcheckmate

Words derived from “checkmate”

  • mate
Every word from Persian شاه مات →