Etymology

paycheck

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Today it means: A periodic payment, usually in the form of a paper check, received by an employee from an employer for work performed. Full definition →

English check ← Middle English chek ← Old French eschec
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂ḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*péh₂ḱs
  3. Proto-Italic*pāks
  4. Latinpāx
  5. Latinpācō
  6. Old Frenchpaiier
  7. Middle Englishpayen
  8. Englishpay
  9. Proto-Indo-European*tek-
  10. Proto-Indo-Iranian*kšáyati
  11. Proto-Iranian*xšáyati
  12. Old Persian𐏋 (XŠ)
  13. Middle Persian𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/)
  14. Classical Persianشاه (šāh)
  15. Medieval Latinscaccus
  16. Old Frencheschec
  17. Middle Englishchek
  18. Englishcheck
  19. English todaypaycheck

From pay (“wages or salary”) + check (“a means of payment”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.