Where does “schāch” come from?
schāch (German) comes from Middle High German schāch, from Latin scacci, from Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه, from Persian شاه, from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠, from Old Persian 𐏋, from Proto-Iranian xšáyati — to sire, beget.
Ancestry of “schāch”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | schāch | — |
| 2 | Latin | scacci | chess |
| 3 | Latin | scaccus | API; check |
| 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 |