Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʃek/[1]

check1 restraint; examination

Etymology

The chess term and its many extensions are inherited from Middle English chek, borrowed from Old French eschec (“check at chess; repulse”) (earlier eschac),[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin scaccus,[4][2] which came through Arabic from Persian shāh, “king”, the chief piece in chess.[2][5][4] Barnhart traces the Persian word to Old Persian xšāyathiya- (“king”).[3] The verb is from Old French eschequier (“to play chess, put in check”).[6][4][7] It is related to shah, chess, checkmate, exchequer and cheque.[5][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In chess, a call warning that the opponent's king is under attack: about 1300.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The American Heritage Dictionary explains that the many later senses grew out of the idea of checking the king.[5] Already about 1300 check meant a harmful event,[2] and before 1303 a rebuff,[3] and the verb “to stop, arrest” appears before 1387, in Piers Plowman.[3] “A sudden stop” is from 1526,[3] “to restrain” from the 1620s, and “to verify by comparison” from the 1690s.[2][10] A counterfoil used to guard against forgery was a cheque in 1706, probably after exchequer,[3] and a written order on a bank from 1798, in the letters of John Jay.[3][2] A token for property left in someone's care, as in hat check, is from 1812, and to check baggage from 1846.[2] A mark on a list showing that an item has been examined is from about 1856.[2][3] Check up is from 1883, check in and check out from 1909, and check out, “to look at”, from 1959.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – check at chess; a harmful event.[2]
  • before 1387 – verb, to stop (Piers Plowman).[3]
  • 1526 – a sudden stop.[3]
  • 1690s – to verify.[2]
  • 1706 – a counterfoil.[3]
  • 1798 – a bank cheque.[3][2]
  • 1812 – a token, as in hat check.[2]
  • 1856 – a check mark.[2]
  • 1909 – check in, check out.[2]
  • 1959 – check out, to look at.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Something that stops or holds back; a restraint.
  2. An abrupt halt.
  3. An examination or test, as of accuracy or quality.
  4. (chess) The position of a king under direct attack.
  5. (US) A written order to a bank to pay money; a cheque.
  6. A ticket or token for something left in someone's care.
  7. A mark (✓) showing that something has been examined.

Verb

  1. To stop abruptly; to hold back or curb.
  2. To examine so as to find out accuracy or condition; to verify.
  3. To put a check mark against.
  4. To hand over for safekeeping: check a coat.
  5. (chess) To put the opponent's king in check.

Interjection

  1. Used to declare that the opponent's king is in check, or, informally, to signal agreement.

check2 pattern of squares

Etymology

The pattern is a shortening of chequer, also spelled checker,[3][2][8][4] which goes back to Old French eschequier (“chessboard”), from eschec, the source of check1.[2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pattern of squares: about 1400.[3][2][8]

Semantic evolution

A fabric woven in such a pattern has been a check since the 1610s.[2] The verb “to mark with squares” is from the early 15th century.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – a pattern of squares.[3]
  • early 15th century – verb, to mark with squares.[2]
  • 1610s – a checked fabric.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A pattern of small squares like a chessboard.
  2. A fabric with such a pattern.

Verb

  1. To mark with a pattern of squares.
  2. Of paint or wood, to crack in a pattern of small squares.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press