Introduction

All English meanings of "check" derive from the chess term:

checklist, checkup, checks and balances, checkers, checking account, checkered past, …

All of them.

Teaser

check, chess, checkers, shah, Xerxes

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *tek- to reach for, to take, to obtain, to receive

  • Proto-Indo-European *téketi primary imperfective

    • Balto-Slavic *tektei

      • Lithuanian tèkti to fall, to happen, to fall on
  • Proto-Indo-European *tkéyeti intransitive imperfective?

    • Indo-Iranian *kšáyati to possess, to rule

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit क्षयति kṣáyati to possess, to rule, to destroy, to burn
      • Indo-Iranian *kšatríyas possessor, ruler

        • Indo-Aryan *kšatríyas

          • Sanskrit क्षत्रिय kṣatriya military aristocratic caste

            • Sauraseni 𑀔𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀺𑀅 khattia

              • Punjabi ਖੱਤਰੀ khatrī

                • English Khatri
                • Hindi खत्री khatrī
            • Middle Chinese 剎帝利 chatdeili kshatriya

              • Mandarin 剎帝利 chàdìlì kshatriya
            • English kshatriya
            • Hindi क्षत्रिय kṣatriy
            • Indonesian kesatria knight, hero
            • Thai กษัตริย์ gà-sàt kshatriya, king
      • Iranian *xšaθríyah

        • Western Iranian

          • Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐎠𐎹𐎰𐎡𐎹 xšāyaθiya king ^[1]

            • Persian شاه šâh king, shah, check ^[2]

              • Arabic شَاه šāh shah, (chess) king, check

                • Vulgar Latin *scaccus check

                  • Western Romance

                    • Old French eschec check

                      • French échec check, failure
                      • Dutch schaak check, chess
                      • English check
                      • Old French eschés checks, chess game

                        • French échecs chess
                        • English chess
                    • Italian scacco chess piece, chess square, check

                      • Italian scacci chess
                  • Vulgar Latin *scaccarium chessboard lit. "place for shahs"

                    • Western Romance

                      • Old French escheker chessboard, checker pattern, accountant's (checkered) table

                        • French échiquier chessboard, treasury, exchequer
                        • English checker

                          • English checkers
                          • English check
                        • English exchequer
                        • English check
                      • Spanish escaque checkerboard
              • English shah
              • Persian شاه مات šâh mât checkmate lit. "The king is stupified/ambushed/abandoned"

                • Arabic شَاهُ مَاتَ šāhu māta checkmate

                  • Old French eschec (et) mat checkmate

                    • French échec et mat checkmate
                    • English checkmate
                  • Italian scacco matto checkmate
              • Persian پادشاه pâdešâh Padishah lit. "master-king" ^[3]

                • English Padishah
            • Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 Xšayāršā King-Hero (personal name)

              • Ancient Greek Ξέρξης Xérxēs

                • Latin Xerxes

                  • English Xerxes
      • Indo-Iranian *kšatrám kingdom, dominion, rule

        • Indo-Aryan *kṣatrám

          • Sanskrit क्षत्र kṣatrá power, kingdom, government
        • Iranian *xšaθram

          • Avestan 𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬚𐬭𐬀 xšaθra control, authority, power
          • Western Iranian

            • Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶 xšaçam kingdom, kingship, realm, reign

              • Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 xšaçapāvā satrap, governor, viceroy lit. "kingdom-protector"

                • Ancient Greek σᾰτράπης satrápēs satrap, governor

                  • Latin satrapēs satrap, governor

                    • English satrap
              • Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçā Truth-Kingdom (personal name)

                • Persian اردشیر Ardešir
                • Ancient Greek Ἀρταξέρξης Artaxérxēs refashioned after Ξέρξης Xérxēs ^[4]

                  • Latin Artaxerxes

                    • English Artaxerxes
  • Proto-Indo-European *tékō noun

    • Celtic

      • Old Irish techt possessions, property
    • Germanic *þegō a receiving, acceptance, a taking

      • West Germanic

        • Old English *þegu

          • Old English bēorþegu beer-drinking

Visual

Collected English words

Khatri, kshatriya, check, chess, checker, checkers, check, exchequer, check, shah, checkmate, Padishah, Xerxes, satrap, Artaxerxes

Footnotes

1. ^

   Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐎠𐎹𐎰𐎡𐎹 (xšāyaθiya, "king") is the full phonetic spelling, is also written with the logogram 𐏋.

2. ^

   Persians introduced calling out checks in chess (or rather, in shatranj), to prevent games ending unsatisfyingly because one player simply missed that their king was in danger. "Shah!" ~ "(Watch your) King!".

   The similarity between shah: "king" (basis of more western names of chess) and chaturanga: "four parts" (basis of more eastern names of chess) is apparently coincidental. But there may have been some influence from shah in Middle Persian's adaption of the Sanskrit chaturanga.

3. ^

   پادشاه pâdešâh: "Padishah, Master-King", pad(i): "master" is the same "master" as in Italic *hostipotis: "guest-master, host", whence "hospitality, host" and as in Greek δεσπότης despotes: "house-master, slave-owner", whence "despot".

4. ^

   I'd never looked at the original Old Persian of Artaxerxes. I did not realize until now that "Artaxerxes" does not actually incorporate the name "Xerxes" in the origina (though they are from the same root)