- shah
- title of the king of Persia, 1560s, shaw, from Pers. shah, shortened from O.Pers. xšayathiya "king," from Indo-Iranian *ksayati "he has power over, rules" from PIE *tke- "to gain control of, gain power over" (cf. Skt. ksatram "dominion;" Gk. krasthai "to acquire, get," kektesthai "to possess"). His wife is a shahbanu (from banu "lady"); his son is a shahzadah (from zadah "son").
- checkmate
- mid-14c., from O.Fr. eschec mat, from Arabic shah mat "the king died" (see check (n.)), which according to Barnhart is a misinterpretation of Persian mat "be astonished" as mata "to die," mat "he is dead." Hence Persian shah mat, the ultimate source of the word, would be literally "the king is left helpless, the king is stumped." As a verb, from late 14c. Related: Checkmated.
- check (n.)
- early 14c., "A call in chess noting one's move has placed his opponent's king in immediate peril," from O.Fr. eschequier "a check at chess" (also "chess board, chess set"), from eschec, from V.L. *scaccus, from Arabic shah, from Pers. shah "king," the principal piece in a chess game (see shah; also cf. checkmate). When the king is in check a player's choices are limited. Meaning widened from chess to general sense of "adverse event" (c.1300), "sudden stoppage" (early 14c.), and by c.1700 to "a token used to check against loss or theft" (surviving in hat check) and "a check against forgery or alteration," which gave the modern financial use of "bank check, money draft" (first recorded 1798 and often spelled cheque), probably influenced by exchequeur. Meaning "pattern of squares" (c.1400) is short for checker. Checking account is attested from 1923, Amer.Eng.
- Sikh
- 1781, sect established 16c. in Punjab by Nanak Shah, from Hindi sikh "disciple," from Skt. siksati "studies, learns," related to saknoti "he is able, he is strong."
- Taj Mahal
- mausoleum at Agra, India, built c.1640 by Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, from Pers., lit. "the best of buildings;" second element related to Arabic halla "to lodge." But some authorities hold that the name of the mausoleum is a corruption of the name of the woman interred in it, Mumtaz (in Pers., lit. "chosen one") Mahal, who died in 1631. Fig. use as a name denoting anything surpassing or excellent is attested from 1895.
- Xerxes
- king of Persia who reigned 486-465 B.C.E., Gk. Xerxes, from O.Pers. Xšayaršan, lit. "male (i.e. 'hero') among kings," from Xšaya- "to rule over" (cf. shah) + aršan "male, man, hero." The Heb. rendition was Ahashwerosh, Ahashresh.
- satrap
- late 14c., "governor of a province of ancient Persia," from L. satrapes, from Gk. satrapes, from O.Pers. kshathrapavan-, lit. "guardian of the realm," from kshathra- "realm, province" (related to kshayathiya- "king," cognate with Skt. kshatra; cf. shah) + pavan- "guardian," from pa- "to protect."
- Iran
- from Pers. Iran, from Middle Persian Ērān "(land) of the Iranians," gen. pl. of ēr- "an Iranian," from Old Iranian *arya- (O. Pers. ariya-, Avestan airya-) "Iranian", from Indo-Iranian *arya- or *ārya- (see Aryan), a self-designation, perhaps meaning "compatriot." In 1935 the government of Reza Shah Pahlavi requested governments with which it had diplomatic relations to call his country Iran, after the indigenous name, rather than the Gk.-derived Persia.