chess

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word chess. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word chess, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say chess in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word chess you have here. The definition of the word chess will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofchess, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Chess

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Wikibooks

Wikiquote

A chess game
A chessboard in initial configuration

Pronunciation

  • enPR: chĕs, IPA(key): /t͡ʃɛs/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1

From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, king ), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, shah, king), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 ( /⁠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

chess (usually uncountable, plural chesses)

  1. 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.
Derived terms
Translations

See also

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

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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

Compare French châssis (a framework of carpentry).

Noun

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

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

Anagrams