Knoppern, Mate (Was: Robot, Schmalz (1818))

[Jesse Sheidlower]

> Interesting is the chess "mate," which the revised OED has from only
> the 1300s.  Why no Arabic, as in "Shah Mat," the king is dead?

Because the OED isn't a dictionary of Arabic, as Fred Shapiro
points out frequently?

But if you check the etymology of "mate", and follow the reference
to "checkmate", you'll find the Arabic expression there.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED