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chess

Chess is named after its king, and English chess is just the plural of check. Persian šāh passed through Arabic and Medieval Latin to Old French, whose plural eschés ('the kings, the chessmen') became English chess; the same call gave check and checkmate, and Russian named the game shakhmaty after šāh māt.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Middle Persian to Persian

From Medieval Latin to Italian

From Arabic to Middle High German, German

From Persian to Russian

From Middle High German to Czech, Polish

From German to Hungarian

From German to Swedish

From Middle High German to Yiddish

From Medieval Latin to Catalan

From Old French to French

From Old French to Middle Dutch, Dutch

From English to Japanese

520 BCEOld Persian

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

chess

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The road to English

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