Where does “chessclock” come from?
chessclock (English) comes from English chess, from Middle English ches, from Old French eschés, from Arabic شَاه, from Persian شاه, from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠, from Old Persian 𐏋, from Proto-Iranian xšáyati — to sire, beget.
Ancestry of “chessclock”, step by step
chessclock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chess
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chess | A board game for two players with each beginning... |
| 2 | Middle English | ches | A set for playing chess; a chess board and chess... |
| 3 | Old French | eschés | chess; inflection of eschec: ## oblique plural ##... |
| 4 | Arabic | شَاه | king in chess; king; king or check at chess, shah |
| 5 | Persian | شاه | king; shah; king; Something that is the biggest... |
| 6 | Middle Persian | 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 | king |
| 7 | Old Persian | 𐏋 | king |
| 8 | Proto-Iranian | xšáyati | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | kšáyati | he rules, he has power over |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | teḱ- | to sire, beget |
via English clock
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clock | An instrument used to measure or keep track of... |
| 2 | Middle English | clokke | clock, timekeeping device |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | clocke | bell; something bell-shaped |
| 4 | Old Dutch | *clocca | bell |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *klokkā | bell |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | clocca | bell; travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so... |
| 7 | Old Irish | cloc | bell; clock |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | klokkos | bell |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | klēg- | — |