Jump to content

chess

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Chess

English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Wikibooks has more about this subject:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Wikiquote
A chess game
A chessboard in initial configuration

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • enPR: chĕs, IPA(key): /t͡ʃɛs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

[edit]
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *tek-
Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati
Proto-Iranian *xšáyati
Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ)
Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/)
Classical Persian شاه (šāh)bor.
Arabic شَاه (šāh)der.
Old French eschésbor.
Middle English ches
English chess

    From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/).

    Compare German Schach and Italian scacchi. Compare French échecs (“chess”) and its descendants: Catalan escacs and Dutch schaak. More at check and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”).

    Noun

    [edit]

    chess (usually uncountable, plural chesses)

    2. A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.
      Synonyms: international chess, Western chess
      • 2020 October 1, Aaron Alford, “Cloud9 signs grandmaster chess player Penguingm1”, in Dot Esports‎[1], archived from the original on 19 June 2021:
        At the tender age of 20, Penguingm1 is already one of the best hyperbullet and ultrabullet chess players in the world.
      • 2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE‎[2], archived from the original on 16 March 2025, page 2:
        FIDE appeals to all chess players and federations to accept this view.
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    Translations
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]
    Chess pieces in English · chess pieces, chessmen (see also: chess) (layout · text)
    ♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
    king queen rook, castle bishop knight pawn

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Uncertain; perhaps linked to Etymology 1, above, from the sense of being arranged in rows or lines.

    Noun

    [edit]

    chess (plural chesses)

    1. (now chiefly US) Any of several species of grass in the genus Bromus, generally considered weeds.
      • 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 59:
        Hobbled, loudly gourmandizing the dry chess grass, they were guarded by a pair of dismounted soldiers in long, dusty coats [...].

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    Compare French châssis (“a framework of carpentry”).

    Noun

    [edit]

    chess (plural chesses)

    1. (military, chiefly in the plural) One of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.
      • 1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer:
        the balks are laid and covered with chesses to within 1 foot of the trestle
      • 1885, Edward S. Farrow, Farrow's Military Encyclopedia; A Dictionary of Military Knowledge:
        ach chess consists of three planks.

    References

    [edit]

    “chess”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

    Anagrams

    [edit]
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=chess&oldid=92917282"