chess

English chess comes from Middle English ches, from Old French eschés (plural of eschec), from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, "king [in chess]"). That Arabic word was itself borrowed from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, "shah, king"), tracing back through Middle Persian and Old Persian.

The word began as a title for a monarch and, through its use for the king piece, came to name the whole game built around capturing him.

It's closely tied to shah, the Persian royal title that gave chess its name, and to check, which comes from the same root by way of the game's call when the king is threatened.