Schach
German
Etymology
From Middle High German schāch, from Arabic شاه (šāh), from Persian شاه (šâh), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”). Doublet of Check, Schah, and Scheck.
Oriental words were usually borrowed into Middle High German through Italian or Old French. Therefore the final /x/ is remarkable, because this sound was replaced with /k/ in Italian scacco, Old French échec. There are two possible explanations for this: Either the word was borrowed directly from Arabic during the early Crusades, or it was borrowed through Middle Dutch schaec and the -ch goes back to artificial reproduction of the High German consonant shift (as happened in several other words).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃax/
Audio (Austria) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ax
Noun
Schach n (strong, genitive Schachs, plural Schachs)
- chess (game)
- check (chess situation in which the king is directly threatened)
Declension
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | das | Schach | die | Schachs |
| genitive | eines | des | Schachs | der | Schachs |
| dative | einem | dem | Schach | den | Schachs |
| accusative | ein | das | Schach | die | Schachs |
Derived terms
- Blitzschach
- Damenschach
- Dauerschach
- Reiseschach
- Schachanleitung
- Schachaufgabe
- Schachbrett
- Schachbuch
- Schachclub
- Schachfibel
- Schachfigur
- Schachgebot
- Schachgenie
- Schachgroßmeister
- Schachklub
- Schachländerkampf
- Schachmannschaft
- schachmatt
- Schachmeister
- Schachmeisterschaft
- Schacholympiade
- Schachpartie
- Schachproblem
- Schachspiel
- Schachspieler
- Schachsport
- Schachtisch
- Schachturnier
- Schachuhr
- Schachweltmeister
- Schachweltmeisterschaft
- Schachwettkampf
- Schachzug
- Schmachmatt
- Schnellschach
- Simultanschach
- Steckschach
- Vierschach
Descendants
- → Hungarian: sakk
- → Luxembourgish: Schach
- → Romanian: șah
- → Swedish: schack
- → Finnish: shakki, šakki
Noun
Schach m (strong, genitive Schachs, plural Schachs or Schache)
- Obsolete form of Schah (“Persian or, by extension, other Oriental ruler”).
Further reading
- “Schach” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Schach” in Duden online
Hunsrik
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃax/
Noun
Schach n
- chess
- Schach spiele.
- To play chess.
Further reading
- Online Hunsrik Dictionary
Luxembourgish
Etymology
From German Schach, from Persian شاه (šâh), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃɑχ/
- Rhymes: -ɑχ
Noun
Schach n (uncountable)
- chess
See also
| Chess pieces in Luxembourgish · Schachfiguren (Schach + Figuren) (layout · text) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Kinnek | Damm | Tuerm | Leefer | Sprénger | Bauer |