The story
- Proto-Indo-European*tek-
- Proto-Indo-Iranian*kšáyati
- Proto-Iranian*xšáyati
- Old Persian𐏋 (XŠ)
- Middle Persian𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/)
- Classical Persianشَاه (šāh)
- Proto-Afroasiatic*mawut-
- Proto-Semitic*mawut-
- Arabicمَاتَ (māta)der.?
- Classical Persianمَات (māt)
- Classical Persianشاهمات (šāh-māt)
- Arabicشَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta)
- Old Frencheschec mat
- Middle Englishchekmat
- English todaycheckmate
From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.