English word mate comes from Arabic شَاهُ مَاتَ, Persian شاه, Latin madere, and later Persian شاه مات (Checkmate.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| شَاهُ مَاتَ | Arabic (ara) | |
| شاه | Persian (fas) | (chess) king. (in compounds) Something that is the biggest or the best of its kind.. King; shah. |
| madere | Latin (lat) | |
| mattus | Latin (lat) | |
| شاه مات | Persian (fas) | Checkmate. |
| mat | Old French (842-ca. 1400) (fro) | Checkmated; in checkmate. |
| mater | Middle French (ca. 1400-1600) (frm) | |
| maten | Middle English (1100-1500) (enm) | |
| mate | English (en) | (chess) Short for checkmate. (intransitive) To win a game of chess by putting the opponent in checkmate. To confuse; to confound. |