TIL the concept of "checkmate" originates from the Persian phrase "Shāh Māt," meaning "the king is helpless" or "the king is defeated." ( en.wikipedia.org )

GregorGizeh ,

The name itself is also derived from the shah title, many languages use a still very similar name for it. For example, in German it is called Schach, and checkmate is Schach-Matt.

JoMiran ,
@JoMiran@lemmy.ml avatar

I am pretty sure Māt mean "killed" (see Spanish "matar") and Shāh means king or lord. Shāh Māt likely means " murdered king" or "the king is dead".

EDIT: The Arab centric translation I thought of is discuased in the Etymology section of the linked article.

vodkasolution ,
@vodkasolution@feddit.it avatar

Cool, I love etymology. Also mayday has a similar origin, it should come from the French m'aider, meaning help me

seliaste ,
@seliaste@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I am not a specialist of old french, but m'aider would mean "to help myself" in modern french
Interesting fact, in french the Checkmate etymology gave "Échec et mat", which litterally meants "Failure and beaten" and the game is called "Échec".

SatansMaggotyCumFart ,

Google En Passant.

bionicjoey ,

Holy Hell!

Noodle07 ,

New meme just dropped

Kanda ,

Actual zombie

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