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START / NODE 210Present-Day English14th century–today
checkmate
An inescapable chess defeat and, figuratively, complete thwarting; a compound transmitted through French, Arabic, and Persian chess language.
“Checkmate does not securely mean “the king is dead.” The death reading is ancient and possible, but the better-supported Persian analysis is a king left helpless or at a loss.”OPEN COMPLETE WORD DOSSIER ↗
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01
PARENT ROUTES1 REVIEWED RELATIONSHIP
Present-Day Englishcheckmate
an inescapable chess defeat; complete thwarting
↑GO DEEPER
Middle English · 14th–15th centurieschekmaten / chekmatto checkmate or frustrate; the mating position
- SOUND CHANGE
- Middle English chekmaten / chekmat stabilizes as modern checkmate.
- SEMANTIC CHANGE
- Chess defeat and complete frustration continue together into modern English.
- SCHOLAR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- CONFIDENCE
- established — Merriam-Webster records frustrate alongside the chess meaning already in Middle English.
- CHRONOLOGY
- Fourteenth century to modern English.
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