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chess 1 (chĕs)
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n.
A board game for two players, each beginning with 16 pieces of six kinds that are moved according to individual rules, with the objective of checkmating the opposing king.

[Middle English ches, short for Old French esches, pl. of eschec, check in chess; see CHECK.]
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chess1

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
chess 2 (chĕs)
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n.
Any of several species of brome, especially Bromus secalinus.

[Origin unknown.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
chess 3 (chĕs)
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n. pl. chess or chess·es
One of the floorboards of a pontoon bridge.

[Middle English ches, tier, perhaps from Old French chasse, frame, from Latin capsa, box.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.