check

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To look at something carefully to make sure it is correct or safe.

   Please check your answers before you hand in the test.

2. 2
   noun

   The act of looking at something to make sure it is correct or working.

   The mechanic did a quick check of the car's brakes.

3. 3
   noun

   A written order telling a bank to pay money from your account.

   We paid all our bills by check.

4. 4
   noun

   A small mark used to show that something is correct or done.

   She put a check next to each item on her shopping list.

5. 5
   noun

   The bill you ask for in a restaurant.

   Could we have the check, please?

Multiword verbs with check

• check off Phrasal verb A1

  to mark an item on a list to show that it has been examined or completed

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Check entered English through Old French eschec from Persian šāh, “king.” It was first the chess player’s warning that the opposing king was under attack, then broadened to mean “stop, restrain, or control” and, by the late 17th century, “examine for accuracy.” The noun for a squared pattern arose from the appearance of a chessboard.

From Middle English chek, chekke, borrowed from Old French eschek, eschec, eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from Classical Persian شَاه (šāh, “king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/, “king”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati (“he rules, he has power over”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to gain power over, gain control over”). All of the English senses developed from the chess sense. Compare Saterland Frisian Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Dani…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary