king

head

king (nominative plural kinges, also the early forms kingas or kingæs)

kinges (nominative plural)
the early forms kingas (also)
kingæs (also)

English: king (see there for further descendants)

Scots: keeng, king

Yola: kinge, king

Inherited from the Old English cyning, from Proto-West Germanic *kuning, from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz. The forms kug (attested in the compounds kugdom, kuglond, and kugriche) and gug (attested in the compound guglond) show the influence of the Old Norse konungr, whence they borrow their root vowel. The early forms featuring syncope (chinge, chinȝ, cing, and cinȝ) may have long ī.


stale

English: stale

Borrowed from Old French estal, from Frankish stal, from Proto-Germanic *stallaz, earlier *staþlaz.

‘Off mate?’ quod sche...‘thou has fundin stale This mony day’.


mat

English: mate

From Old French mat, a backformation from eschec mat (“checkmate”).

(chess) Said when the opponent's king is captured.


maten

maten (infinitive)
to maten (infinitive)
mate (infinitive)
mate (first-person present singular)
mated (first-person past singular)
matest (present second-person singular)
matedest (past second-person singular)
mateth (present singular third-person)
mated (past singular third-person)
mate (present singular subjunctive)
mated (past singular subjunctive)
mate (imperative present singular)
maten (plural present)
mate (plural present)
mateden (past plural)
matede (past plural)
mateth (imperative plural present)
mate (imperative plural present)
matynge (participle present)
matende (participle present)
mated (participle past)
mat (participle past)
ymated (participle past)
ymat (participle past)

English: mate

From Middle French mater (“to checkmate”); equivalent to mat (“checkmate”) + -en (infinitival suffix).

af

To checkmate (capture the king in chess)


quene

English: queen (see there for further descendants)

Scots: queen, wheen

Yola: queen

From Old English cwēn (“woman, wife, queen”) (the final schwa is by analogy with other Old English feminine nouns, such as Etymology 2), from Proto-West Germanic *kwāni, from Proto-Germanic *kwēniz, from a derivative of *gʷḗn (“woman, wife”). Cognates include:
* Ancient Greek γυνή (gunḗ), Greek γυναίκα (gynaíka)
* Old Prussian genna
* Persian زَن (zan)
* Sanskrit जनि (jani)
* Proto-Slavic *žena

(rare, Late Middle English) The queen (chess piece introduced towards the end of the ME era)


fers

→ English: fers, ferz

Borrowed from Old French fierce, from Medieval Latin ferzia, from Persian فرزین (farzin).


ches

English: chess

Scots: chess

From Old French eschés, plural of eschéc, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh), from Persian شاه (šâh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (šāh), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/); compare chek.

(rare) Chess pieces (pieces for playing chess).


knyght

English: knight

Scots: knicht

Yola: nickht

From Old English cniht, from Proto-West Germanic *kneht.


drawen

enm-verb

drawen (third-person singular simple present draweth, present participle drawinge, first-/third-person singular past indicative drogh or drew, past participle drawen)

draweth (present singular third-person)
drawinge (participle present)
drogh (first-person indicative past singular third-person)
drew (first-person indicative past singular third-person)
drawen (participle past)
drawen (infinitive)
to drawen (infinitive)
drawe (infinitive)
drawe (first-person present singular)
drogh (first-person past singular)
drew (first-person past singular)
drawest (present second-person singular)
drowe (past second-person singular)
drewe (past second-person singular)
drogh (past second-person singular)
drew (past second-person singular)
draweth (present singular third-person)
drogh (past singular third-person)
drew (past singular third-person)
drawe (present singular subjunctive)
drowe (past singular subjunctive)
drewe (past singular subjunctive)
drawe (imperative present singular)
drawen (plural present)
drawe (plural present)
drowen (past plural)
drowe (past plural)
drewen (past plural)
drewe (past plural)
draweth (imperative plural present)
drawe (imperative plural present)
drawynge (participle present)
drawende (participle present)
drawen (participle past)
drawe (participle past)
ydrawen (participle past)
ydrawe (participle past)

English: draw

Scots: draw

Yola: dra

From Old English dragan, from Proto-West Germanic *dragan. Many senses are calqued from Latin trahere.

To draw, push, or impel towards (oneself); to attract:

(chess) To make a move; to move a piece.


poynt

English: point

Yola: pint, peint

Borrowed from Old French point, puint, pointe and Anglo-Norman puingte.


escheker

English: exchequer, Exchequer

/ɛsˌt͡ʃɛˈkeːr/

/ɛsˈt͡ʃɛkər/

From Anglo-Norman escheker, from Medieval Latin scaccarium. Doublet of cheker.

The Exchequer (English fiscal department)


meyne

English: meinie (archaic)

Scots: menyie, menzie

Yola: meany

From Anglo-Norman meine, meignee and Old French mesne, from Vulgar Latin *mānsiōnāta. Compare mansioun.

Dowglas h[is] menȝe faſt gan chaß, / And þe flearis þ[air] wayis tays / Till þe caſtell in full gꝛet hy[…]

c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2), Ouchtirmunſye: Iohannes Ramſay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 435-437; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:

Douglas's host starts moving fast / while the escapees cut a path / to the castle with incredible haste […]

A band (group of people):
An army or troop; a group of armed men.

That for the tyraunt is of greater might / By force of meyne, to ſlee downe right / And brenne houſe & home, & make al playn, / Lo therfore is he called a capitayne / And for the outlawe hath but ſmal meyne

1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Manciples Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC, folio xcix, recto, column 2:

A band (group of people):
A retinue; a band of attendants.

A band (group of people):
A crowd (large, disordered group)


chek

English: check

From Old French eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh), borrowed from Persian شاه (šâh), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”). Compare ches.

(chess) Said when the opponent's king is under attack. [from 14th c.]


chek

English: check, cheque (see there for further descendants)

(chess) The threatening of a king. [from 15th c.]


jupartie

English: jeopardy

Scots: jeoparty

From Old French jeu parti, from Medieval Latin iocus partītus. The pronunciation with /d/ may be influenced by -ard.

The state of being unknown or uncertain; uncertainty.


pown

English: pawn

Scots: poun

From Anglo-Norman poun, paun, from Late Latin pedōnem.


awfyn

English: alfin, alphin

From Middle French alfin, from Old Spanish alfil, arfil, from Arabic الفِيل (al-fīl, “the elephant”).


cheker

English: checker, chequer (checkers, chequers)

From Anglo-Norman escheker, from Medieval Latin scaccarium; equivalent to chek + -er. Doublet of escheker.

A chessboard (checkerboard):
A chess set; chess equipment.

A game played with a chessboard; chess, checkers.

(by extension) The Exchequer (English fiscal department)


chekmat

English: checkmate

/ˈt͡ʃɛːkˌmaːt/

From Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] amazed”), perhaps conflated with Arabic مَاتَ (māta, “to die”). Equivalent to chek + mat.

der

Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta)

(chess) Said when the opponent's king is captured. [from 14th c.]