chess.
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.
Meaning & usage
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.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tek- Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati Proto-Iranian *xšáyati Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ) Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ) 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”).
Any of several species of grass in the genus Bromus, generally considered weeds.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; perhaps linked to Etymology 1, above, from the sense of being arranged in rows or lines.
One of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.
Where this word comes from
Compare French châssis (“a framework of carpentry”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.