CHECKMATE

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English chekmaten, from chekmate, interjection used to announce ~, from Anglo-French eschec mat, from Arabic shāh māt, from Persian, literally, the king is left unable to escape Date: 14th century to arrest, thwart, or counter completely, to check (a chess opponent's king) so that escape is impossible, II. noun Date: 15th century 1. the act of checkmating, the situation of a ~d king, a complete check