Image source: Vlad Sargu / Unsplash.com
Chess, the game of kings, is one of the only games I can think of where there is no element of luck at all. More importantly than this for us, my language-learning friends, is the rich and fascinating array of word origin stories that chess offers us.
Checkmate!
It’s not customary to begin at the end, but this dramatic declaration that signals the end of the game is where I’m going to start. “Checkmate” has fascinating etymological roots, originating from the Persian term Shah mat, where Shah means "king," and mat means "helpless" or "defeated." Together, Shah mat translates to "the king is helpless" or "the king is dead." This phrase made its way into European languages through Arabic influence during the early medieval period, so when you hear someone state that “checkmate” derives from the Arabic, "Shāh māta”, they are basically correct, but the origin is even more ancient.
The German word for chess is simply Schach.
Spanish
In Spanish, the game of chess is called ajedrez, a term derived from the Arabic al-shatranj which actually means “chess”. The Spanish word for "checkmate" is jaque mate, which closely aligns with its Persian and Arabic origins.
If you allowed yourself to ponder the linguistic connections, it might occur to you that the Spanish word matador (bullfighter) signifies an end or death. However, this similarity between this and the Persian mat that we have been dealing with is purely coincidental. The Spanish word derives, as usual, from the Latin: mactare, meaning "killer" or "slayer," although its original meaning was that of honouring the gods with a sacrifice.
French
In French, chess is called échecs, a word that also means "failures" or "setbacks." This dual meaning is another coincidence and stems from the Old French eschecs, whereas the French name for the board game in question derived from the Arabic al-shatranj.
The bishop
Whereas most of the pieces on the board have been standardised between cultures over the centuries, the piece that the Anglophone world refers to as the bishop is fascinatingly varied.
· In French it is le fou which, yes, means “crazy”. I suppose in the days of the royal courts, the fool, or the jester, was just as ubiquitous as the representative of the church, so why not dedicate a character to him?
· In German, the bishop is known as der Läufer, which means “the runner”, symbolising the ability of this piece to cover long distances in one go, but not being distracted by needing to make any decisions: he must stay on his own colour.
· In Spanish, the word for bishop is alfil, one of many Arabic words in the language. You might be surprised to hear that this means “elephant”, as this is how the piece was originally portrayed when played on the Iberian peninsula.
Rook
The rook, the piece resembling a castle, is another term with a storied past. Have you ever wondered what the castle/tower in the corner of the board has to do with a member of the crow family? Well, the name "rook" derives from the Persian rukh, which means "chariot." As chess pieces evolved and became standardised, the chariot came to be represented as a fortress or tower in all European versions of the game.
Knight
The knight, symbolized by a horse, retains its martial heritage through its name. The term "knight" in English comes from the Old English cniht, meaning "young man" or "servant." There is a German word Knecht which is an old-fashioned way of saying servant. In other languages, like German Springer and Spanish caballo, the name reflects its equine depiction.
Related expressions
In English, phrases such as “stalemate” and “opening gambit” have entered the general language from chess. The same cannot be said, however, for their counterparts in other languages, but in chess terms, they are as follows:
· Français: le pat / le gambit d’ouverture
· Deutsch: das Patt / das Eröffnungsgambit
· Español: (las) tablas / el gambito de apertura
Andrew Wenger is a keen, but by no means expert, chess-player, spending too much time looking into the origins of words, and studying languages to stand any chance of grand-masterhood.
The topic of this post is rather niche, but if you would like to improve your general communication skills in French/German/Spanish, please make contact here. Our new term of classes starts when the schools go back: the first week of September.
Comments