▪ I. check, int. and n.1
(tʃɛk)
Forms: 4–6 chek, (4 cheke, cheekke, 4–5 chekke, 5 chicke, chak), 6–9 checque, 7–9 cheque, (7 cheeque), 4– check.
[ME. chek, chak, aphetic f. *eschek, -chak, a. OF. eschec, -ek, -eq, eschac, in ONF. eskec, escac, Pr. escac, It. scacco ‘check’ in chess, med.L. scaccus, scāchus; cf. also the parallel forms Sp. jaque, OSP. xaque ‘check’, Pg. xaque ‘check’ and ‘shah’ (of Persia). Adapted form (immed. from Arabic) of Pers. shāh ‘king’, also the ‘King’ in chess; in this specific sense the Pers. word was taken into Arabic, where arose the phrase shāh māt(a, ‘the King is dead’, i.e. can make no further move: see checkmate. (This has been taken back into Persian in the form shāh māt gardad = the shāh becomes māt.) In a MS. written in Sevilla in 1283, shāh is made in OSp. xaque (x = sh), and shāh māt(a appears as xaque mate. But the adoption of the words in Romanic took place some centuries earlier, the common Romanic form taken by shāh being scāc-, scacc-, as in the med.L., It., Pr., and Fr. forms given above. Thence also the MHG. schāch, Ger. schach, Du. skaak, Icel. skák, Da. skak, Sw. schack ‘check’ and ‘chess’ (in the latter sense also schach-spiel, skaakspel, etc. = check-play). The general meaning in Romanic is ‘check’; for the name of the game the plural is used in med.L. scacci, It. scacchi, Pr. escacos, F. échecs: see chess.
From its use in chess the word has been widely transferred in French and English. In the sense-extension the n. and vb. have acted and reacted on each other, so that it is difficult to trace and exhibit the order in which special senses arose.]
A. int.
1. A call at chess by which notice is given to the opponent that a move has been made which exposes his King; one says also check to your king! and even check to your queen! Also fig.
† check-rook: the call of check when at the same time one of the rooks is threatened with capture.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) p. 426 (Zup.) Ate ches þai sett hem to playn..Þurch a chek Fabour seyd, for soþ, Sadok in hert wex wroþ. c 1369 Chaucer Bk. Duchesse 669 Therewith Fortune said Checke here, And mate in the mid point of the checkere. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. ii, The kyng..ought to take hede that he stonde not so that a knyght or another sayth chek rook: than the kyng loseth the rook. 1656 Beale Chesse-pl. 8 No piece can take him [the king], but must only salute him with the word check. 1791 W. Taylor tr. Lessing's Nathan ii. i. (Tauchn. 1868) 41 (Saladin & Sittah playing chess) Sittah. I move—So—Now then—Check! and Check again! 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle (Warne) 45 When a player gives check, and fails to give notice by crying ‘Check!’ his adversary need not, unless he think proper, place his king out of check, or cover. 1888 Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere xxxix, ‘Check, certainly’, said Flaxman to himself ruefully..‘not mate, I hope, if one can but find out how not to be a fool in future’. |
2. Used to express assent or agreement. (Cf. check v.1 16 a.) U.S. colloq.
| 1922 S. Ford Trilby May crashes In iii. 54 ‘I have felt all along that—’ ‘Check!’ says I. ‘I get the picture.’ 1929 S. V. Benét in Sel. Works (1942) II. 407 ‘First, you're pizen-sure this man is—’ ‘A cat. Yeah.’..‘Check.’ 1934 J. O'Hara Appt. in Samarra (1935) vi. 178 ‘So let's dance.’ ‘Check and double check,’ said Helene, and got up. 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, My Lovely vii. 48 ‘You are Philip Marlowe, a private detective?’ ‘Check.’ ‘Oh—you mean, yes.’ 1968 ‘L. Bruce’ Death on Romney Marsh xvi. 176 ‘Tell her..I've found out all she wants to know.’ ‘Check.’ |
B. n.
1. Chess. The act of threatening the King; the position of the King when he is exposed to the attack of one of the opponent's men; if there is no escape from check, it is checkmate and the game is over.
| 1426 Audelay Poems (1844) 23 After chec for the roke ware sore the mate. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Donner vn eschec, to giue a check. 1592 Greene Groatsw. Wit (1617) 22 Chesse..is a game, sayde she, that the first danger is but a checke, the worst, the giuing of a mate. 1614 A. Saul Chess play To Rdr., None of the Kings can take a man that standeth on a guard, 'Twere checke at once if he doe so. 1656 Beale Chesse-pl. 5 The Knight's..check, because it cannot be covered, the King must either remove out of check, or cause him to be taken..[else] it is Check mate. 1848 Staunton Chess Pl. Handbk. 20 When the Piece moved does not itself give check, but unmasks another which does, it is called a discovered check. 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle (Warne) 42 When your King is attacked by any piece he is said to be in check..you must then put your King out of check by..interposing one of your own men between the checking piece and your King, thus ‘covering’ check, as it is termed. |
† 2. In early use, fig. and transf., in various shades of meaning, referring in some way to the ‘check’ in chess. Obs. a. An attack.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1238 He watz mayster of his men & myȝty him seluen, Þe chef of his cheualrye his chekkes to make. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1820 Þey handled boþe sore þer nekkes, Chynnes, chekes, gef harde chekkes. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 231 In sodeyn reses and chekkes [incursionibus]. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1986 ffor-thi the kynge chargez hym..Cheftayne of the cheekke, with chevalrous knyghttez. a 1500 Colkelbie Sow i. 233 (Jam.) And Fergy Flitsy yeid befoir, Chiftane of that chef chak. |
b. to win or achieve a check: to succeed in inflicting a reverse or defeat on the foe; to win an advantage in a contest.
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1107, & quat chek so ȝe acheue, chaunge me þer-forne. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1539 We hafe eschewede this chekke, thurghe chance of oure Lorde. c 1400 Rowland & O. lxxi, A noble cheke here wonn hafe ȝee. a 1400–50 Alexander 3098 Was noȝt Sexes him-selfe þe souereynest in erth, And cheued him of cheualry chekis out of nombre. |
c. An act that gives trouble, or is harmful; an evil turn or trick.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 258 Þou has broken it alle, & don him many ille chek. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 107 (Ld. Ilchester's MS.) Þair sire..chastised not his children of her euel chekkes. c 1400 Beryn 914 When Beryn passid was vii yeer, & grewe in more age He wrouȝt ful many an evill chek. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 4042 It was Amalekes That hath doon him so foule chekkes. |
d. Contention; quarrel; strife.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 100 In alle þis ilk chek of Roberd & Henry, Bituex þam wex contek. |
† 3. A taunting call; a bitter reproach. Obs.
| 1515 Barclay Egloges ii. (1570) B iv/1 Jacke with the bushe shall taunt thee with a chek. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 300 Let se, this checke if ye voide canne. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. Rom. xii. 17 Yf any man perhappes offende you, gyue not checke for checke, ne one wrong for an other. 1563 Homilies ii. Coming Holy Ghost i. (1859) 458 Counted woorthy to suffer rebukes, and checkes for the Name..of Christ Jesus. 1635 R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. Introd., She loaded her with checks and taunts. |
† 4. a. A reproof, reprimand, rebuke. Obs. exc. dial.
| 1540 Elyot Image Gou. (1556) 4 The terrible checke that the good maister in the gospell gave to his idell servaunt. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 551 The Captaine..had a great checke of the gouernour because he had not gone forwards. 1660 Pepys Diary 26 Sept., I was very angry, and..did give him a very great check for it, and so to bed. 1679–80 C. Hatton Corr. (1878) 220 His Majesty gave him a severe checke. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xxi, He became acquainted with the proctor betimes. But all the checks he received were insufficient to moderate his career. |
† b. (without pl.) Reproof, censure, rebuke. Obs.
| 1581 Lambarde Eiren. ii. ii. (1588) 113 Yet peradventure they shall not excuse our Justice of the Peace from checke and blame. 1623 Meade in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 291 III. 153 The Lord Marquess..hath had in the Spanish Court some check of late for forgetting himself so farre, etc. a 1718 Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 48 We..do intreat that we may have some Letter of Check to such Persons. |
5. a. A sudden arrest given to the career or onward course of anything by some obstruction or opposition; a rebuff, repulse, reverse.
Quot. 1330 is doubtful: cf. 2 c.
| [c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 151 Þe folk..Þer ȝates ageyn him sperd, & wild not lat him in..& for þei did þat chek, an oth he suore to gram.] 1515 Scot. Field 470 Then betide a chicke, that Cheshire men felden. 1625 Bacon Ess. Empire (Arb.) 297 They must haue some Checke or Arrest in their Fortunes. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 265 A basket was sunk..to a certain depth of water, which gave a check to the boat's motion. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. vi. (1852) 303 The check which it would give to industry. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 241 The first great check that had ever been given to the arms of Lewis. |
b. spec. A slight military reverse or repulse.
| 1793 Capt. Bentinck in Ld. Auckland's Corr. (1862) III. 29 Under the supposition that we first take Condé, then carry Famars, and meet with no kind of check. 1799 in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1845) IV. 94 We have reports of our check in Holland, September 19th, and of our complete victory on the 24th. |
c. A sudden stopping of the breath; a consonant produced by this means a stopped consonant, ‘stop’, or ‘mute’, as k, t, p, g, d, b.
| 1669 Holder Elem. Speech (J.) The letters have the natural production by several checks or stops, or, as they are usually called, articulations of the breath or voice. |
d. Hunting: A stop in the progress of the hounds through failure of the scent.
| 1781 P. Beckford Hunting (1802) 213 When hounds are put to a check on a high road, by the fox being headed back, etc. 1875 G. J. Whyte-Melville Katerfelto xxiii, The stag..sped..six miles on end without halt or hindrance, and the hounds ran him without a check. |
e. A crack or flaw in timber. orig. dial. (cf. season-check).
| 1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Manley, Linc. 55/1 That wood's full o'checks; it'll nivver do to make furk-shafts on. 1905 Terms Forestry & Logging 33 Check, a longitudinal crack in timber caused by too rapid seasoning. 1949 Gloss. Terms Timber (B.S.I.) 19 Check, a separation of the fibres along the grain, forming a crack or fissure in the timber, not extending through the piece from one surface to another. |
f. Mining. A slight fault or dislocation of the strata.
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. |
6. Hawking. a. A false stoop, when a hawk forsakes her proper game, and pursues some baser game that crosses her flight. Obs. or Hist.
| c 1430 Lydg. Bochas i. viii, Haukes, best preued, sumtime a check can make, Yet for a faute the foule is not forsake. a 1626 Fletcher Wom. Prize i. ii, The free haggard will make an hundred checks To shew her freedom. a 1641 Suckling (J.) A young woman is a hawk upon her wings; and if she be handsome, she is the more subject to go out on check. |
b. Base game, such as rooks, crows, doves, etc., which induce a hawk to ‘check’.
| 1575 Turberv. Falconrie 110 If your hawke go out to anye checke and kill a doove or a crow or anye other checke and feede upon it. 1615 Latham Falconry (1633) 27 Take a fit houre at euening when all check be past. 1621 Markham Art of Fowling (1655) 164. |
c. to fly at check: to pursue such game. Also transf. to run at check: said of dogs.
| 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. lxxxvi When..Some falcon..the quarry miss'd, Straight flies at check, and clips it down the wind? c 1700 Gentleman Instr. (1732) 331 Like ill-bred Spaniels, they run at Check on a false Scent. |
7. a. A sharp stoppage of motion; an interruption in a course, a sudden stoppage or pause.
| 1532 Dice-Play 1 And he agein at eche check in our walking caste earnest lokes vpon me. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 94 Postes like the command'ment of a King, Sans checke, to good and bad. 1829 Southey Pilgr. Compostella 11, In they came from the yard without check. |
† b. to take check: to stop short (as if checked), ‘pull up’; to take offence. Obs.
| 1663 Aron-bimn. 51 Therefore our Consciences do take check at it, being afraid the Lord should upbraid us. 1690 Dryden Don Sebast. ii. i, Say I should wed her, would not my wise subjects Take check and think it strange? perhaps revolt? c 1700 Gentleman Instr. (1732) 465 Debauchees will take Check at the Fredom of these Papers. 1710 Palmer Proverbs 380 One man will be oblig'd to take cheque upon a disappointment, and retreat sooner than another. |
† 8. A stoppage of wages or a fine for non-fulfilment of duties or transgression of rules, inflicted upon servants of the royal household, etc.; the amount stopped. (See check v. 9.) Obs.
| 1526 Househ. Ord. 230 The defaulkation and check of wages of all them which shall be absent. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 892/2 Yeomen of the gard, which before hauing twelue pence the daie with checke, were now allowed six pence the daie without checke. 1598 Old Cheque Bk. of Chapel Royal (Camd. Soc. 1872) 67 All and every checke and checkes..inflicted upon any Gentleman or other member of the Chappell by the Subdeane for breakinge of any of the statutes and orders..shalbe staied and taken by oure Clearke of the Checke..out of the offenders boord wages..and the same monye by checke or checkes soe staied and taken upp, the Clearke of oure Checke shall accounte for. 1663 Ibid. 82 The check for absence on ordinary weeke dayes shall be twelve pence every service. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. iii. (1743) 212 The whole band are to attend at the four principal Feasts of the year..under penalty of the cheque. |
9. a. Restraint upon action or conduct by a supervising or controlling power.
| 1579 Gosson Ephem. 61 b, When loue commaundes, we must receiue the check, He rules, and euery god obayes his becke. 1601 Househ. Ord. 287 The Clerke of the Kitchen..hath..a checke over all the officers in the same. a 1642 Sir W. Monson Naval Tracts iii. (1704) 326/1 He also keeps Checque, by calling all the Workmen twice a day to their Labour. 1665 Sir W. Coventry in Pepys (Corresp. Nov. 7.) For a neglect of keeping a good checque upon his Purser. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) II. 320 It is better the child should stand in awe of the old man in the cupboard..than be under no check at all. 1860 Mill Repr. Gov. (1865) 47/2 Its own proper work, that of superintendence and check. 1874 Morley Compromise (1886) 47 No reasonable man or woman..would..be capable of receiving effective check or guidance from beliefs that would have sunk..to the level of doubtful guesses. |
b. in check: under restriction of freedom of movement or action, under control. So formerly at one's check, out of check.
| c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (1878) 78 Seeing our case is out of that checke. And as our case is not checked by God's law, etc. 1579 Gosson Ephem. 47 To confesse their owne weakenes which stand at his checke. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 61/1 Bearing themselues for gouernors out of checke. 1845 S. Austin tr. Ranke's Hist. Ref. I. 145 A powerful prince..who could hold the Turks in check. 1851 Gallenga tr. Mariotti's Italy 305 His task was..to keep Nugent in check. 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. vii. 147 The common law of the desert found itself kept in check by the statute law of Palestine. |
10. a. Any person or thing that checks, or acts as a stop or restraint.
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. (1712) I. 55 He [the Earl of Manchester] was unhappily too much used as a Check upon the Lord Coventry. 1661 Pepys Diary 27 Oct., He was a cheque to their engrossing the whole trade of the Navy-office. 1700 Dryden Pref. Fables (Globe) 500 A satirical poet is the check of the laymen on bad priests. 1765 Blackstone Comm. i. 317 These imposts, if too heavy, are a check and cramp upon trade. 1798 Malthus Popul. (1878) 1 Of the checks to population. 1885 Law Times 16 May 38/1 The magistrate may be necessary as a check on the doctor. |
b. Mechanics. (See quots.)
| 1796 J. Boys Agric. of Kent (1813) 52 A strong chain..so fixed, as by means of notches (or a pin called a check) to let the whole plough out a greater length from the axle. 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 37 In the inside of the stuffing box a small projecting ring, called a check, is cast, on which rests a brass ring, ground exactly to the size of the piston rod, which passes through it steam-tight. |
c. Angling. In the reel of a fishing rod, a contrivance for marking, by the clicking of a wheel, the running out of the line.
| 1867 F. Francis Angling i. (1880) 18 The best reels for bottom-fishing are the plain reels with a light check. |
d. Music. A part of the action of a pianoforte fixed at the back part of the key, to catch the hammer and prevent its retouching the strings.
| 1879 in Grove Dict. Mus. I. 341/1 In cottage pianofortes or pianinos that have check actions the check is placed before the hammer, and a stud projecting from the butt of the hammer comes in contact with the check. |
e. Phr. checks and balances: means of limiting or counteracting the wrongful use of administrative power. orig. and chiefly U.S.
| 1787 J. Adams Def. Const. U.S. I. p. iii, The checks and balances of republican governments have been in some degree adapted by the courts of princes. 1842 Tyler in Messages & Papers of Presidents (U.S.) IV. 193 A proceeding tending to the utter destruction of the checks and balances of the Constitution. 1958 Economist 13 Dec. (African Suppl.) 24/1 A far more complicated federal constitution of checks and balances has had to be adopted to hold together..Nigeria. |
f. A form of catch on a rein; ellipt. a check-rein. U.S.
| a 1867 H. Woodruff Trotting Horse Amer. (1868) xxiii. 202 In order to prevent him from throwing down his head..the well-known Kemble-Jackson check..was invented. 1887 A. W. Tourgée Button's Inn 122 Throw me that off rein, if you please..Just shift those inside checks, won't you? |
11. Control by which accuracy, correctness, or agreement of facts and their representation, is secured.
| 1786 Burke Art. W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 142 That the said Warren Hastings, by uniting the supply and the check in the same hands, did..disobey the company's specifick orders. 1791 Smeaton Edystone L. §101 The foreman on shore to take an account of every thing..under the check of the engineer or his deputy when on shore. |
12. One employed to check or control; a checker.
| 1774 Barclay Dict. Check..a person who examines any account. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Lab. III. 353 (Hoppe) One gentleman told me he employed a ‘ladylike,’ and, as he believed, trusty woman as a ‘check.’ |
13. A mark made against an item in an account, list, &c., to show that it has been ‘checked’, i.e. compared and found correct.
14. A means to ensure accuracy, correctness, security from fraud, etc.: as † a. The counterfoil of a bank bill, draft, etc.
| 1706–1782 [see cheque 1]. |
b. A token, usually a memorandum of receipt, a ticket, or piece of metal duly stamped or numbered, used for the purpose of identification, or as evidence of ownership or title: given, e.g. to the owner of luggage on a railway (as in U.S.), or to one who temporarily leaves luggage, cloaks, portable articles, at the cloak-room of a railway-station, place of entertainment, etc., to enable him to identify and re-claim the same; to a person temporarily leaving a theatrical performance, or going upon the platform of a railway, to allow him to pass the gate-keeper again without payment; to a purchaser in a co-operative or other store as his voucher for a share in a dividend, etc., etc.
| 1812 [see check-taker]. 1835 J. H. Ingraham South-West I. xxi. 223 A shouting of ‘Your check, sir! your check!—Give me your check—Please give me your check!’ [for re-admission to a theatre]. 1847 Illust. Lond. News 4 Sept. 146/1 They will deny the receipt of a check, and exact the fare again. 1850 Wilmington (N.C.) Commercial 28 Feb. 3/3 Porters will receive checks, take charge of the baggage, and convey it to the Hotel. 1858 J. F. Redfield Law Railw. (1869) II. 37 Railways have made their checks evidence in regard to the delivery of baggage. 1878 M. E. Herbert tr. Hübner's Ramble i. iv. 32 As to your luggage, you need not trouble your head about it, as you have your ‘check’. |
c. A restaurant bill. Chiefly U.S.
| 1869 A. D. Whitney P. Strong's Outings 128, I let her settle for the dinner checks. 1910 ‘O. Henry’ Strictly Business 192 Through an arched opening..you thrust your waiter's check and the money. 1916 Variety 27 Oct. 12/3 Inspectors..ordered drinks and paid their check just before one. 1937 R. Stout Red Box vii. 88, I..found the waitress and got my check from her. |
15. A counter used in games at cards (U.S.); hence (colloq.) to hand in one's checks: to die. Also to cash, pass or send in one's checks. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
| 1845 J. J. Hooper Adv. Simon Suggs (1851) v. 57 He called for ‘Twenty, five dollar checks..’. The dealer handed him the red checks. 1857 Spirit of Times 7 Mar. 6/1 Those noble and peril-loving souls have nearly all ‘handed in their checks’. 1869 Overland Monthly III. 31 Three or four miners and axemen sat whittling on the logs as the doctor came out, and Hy Fender asked: ‘Well, now; has he passed in his checks?’ 1870 B. Harte Outcasts Poker Flat (Hoppe) Beneath this tree lies the body of J. O. who..handed in his checks on the 7th December, 1850. 1872 Mark Twain Innoc. at Home ii. (Hoppe) You see one of the boys has passed in his checks. 1888 [see cash v.2 2 b]. 1893 C. M. Yonge & C. R. Coleridge Strolling Players xxxii. 292, I was too bad for twenty-four hours to tell him I wasn't exactly going to send in my checks this time. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 420 Chum o yourn passed in his checks? 1947 W. S. Maugham Creatures of Circumstance 111 Ivy's promised me that when I hand in my checks she'll come back here. |
† 16. Short for check-roll, list of servants enrolled. in check: enrolled on a check-roll. Obs.
| 1603 Drayton Bar. Wars vi. xvi, Nine score in check attending in their court, Whom honour'd Knighthood knits in mutual bands. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. iii. (1614) 13 Thou shalt be my Knight, and bee enrolled in my Checke, with a Fee answerable to thy worth. |
† 17. as sure as check: (cf. chequer-pay in chequer). Obs.
| a 1659 Osborn Q. Eliz. (1673) 464 Let the Proverb As sure as Check bayl me from the least suspicion of hyperboly. |
18. a. Clerk of the Check: the title of officers in the royal household, keeping the check-roll and having control of the yeomen of the guard and other servants, ‘checking’ the observance of their duties, their payment, etc.
| 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. xii, Retourned by the two clarkes Comptrollers, the clarkes of the Checque, and clarkes marshalles. a 1561 G. Cavendish Life of Wolsey in Wordsw. Eccl. Biog. I. 348 Then had he a Clerke of the Checke, as well upon his Chaplaines, as of his Yeomen of his Chamber. c 1570 Thynne Pride & Lowl. cxliv, To setten downe a bill of charge, There is no Auditor, ne Clerke of Check Can penne it bet then he. 1886 Whitaker's Almanack 83 Her Majesty's Body-guard of Yeomen of the Guard..Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant, Lieut. Col. Francis Baring..Hon. Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms..Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant, Major Philip L. Tillbrook. |
† b. Formerly the title of officers of control appointed in the royal ports and dockyards (also occasionally to land forces). Obs.
| 1637 Heywood R. Ship 47 Master Francis Shelton, Clerke of the Checke, whose industry and care, in looking to the Workmen imployed in this Architecture, hath beene a great furtherance to expedite the businesse. 1667 Pepys Diary 23 July, Comes sudden news..from the Clerk of the Cheque at Gravesend, that there were thirty sail of Dutch men-of-war coming up into the Hope. 1705 Royal Procl. in Lond. Gaz. No. 4166/1 The Muster-Books returned from the Clerks of the Checque of the said Ports. 1714 Ibid. No. 5278/8 Matthew Pennefather, Esq., to be Muster-Master-General, and Clerk of the Checque of all His Majesty's Forces and Garrisons in Ireland. 1814 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 514 The Clerk of the Cheque of the Royal Hospital [Greenwich]. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xli, To request my commission to be forwarded to the clerk of the cheque at Plymouth. |
19. attrib. and Comb., as check-experiment; check-bitted, check-free adjs.; check-action (see 10 d above); check-reel, a reel provided with a check to control the quantity of thread wound up; also, an angler's reel fitted with a check (see sense 10 c); check-winch, a winch on the reel of a fishing-rod provided with a check (cf. 10 c). Also check-taker, etc. (For other comb. see after the vb.)
| 1845 Carlyle Cromwell (1871) I. 50 A fiery steed but bridled, *check-bitted by innumerable straps and considerations. |
| 1845 W. Grove Contrib. Sc. in Corr. Phys. Forces (1874) 288 A *check experiment. |
| 1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conc. (1878) 162 *Check-free licentiousnesse. |
| 1733 P. Lindsay Interest Scot. Pref. 22 To introduce the Practice of *Check-reels every where. |
| 1892 Niven British Angler's Lex. 72 Check reels..should be humoured so as not to be too stiff or too slack. 1904 W. M. Gallichan Fishing Spain 208 Two metal check-reels for trout fishing. |
| 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. v. iii. 345 The reel should be a large-barrelled *check-winch. |
▸ check box n. = tick box n. at tick n.3 Additions.
| 1944 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 9 365/2 They provide their patrons with simple *check-box questionnaires. 2006 R. Kao & D. Sarigumba Blackberry for Dummies vii. 164 Select this check box to specify the condition of an e-mail that is BCCed to you. |
▪ II. check, n.2
(tʃɛk)
Also 7 checque, cheque.
[Goes with check v.2, either as its verbal n., or as short for checker, chequer.]
1. Her. and gen. A pattern of cross lines forming small squares, as in a chess-board.
| c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 189 He bare a Chek of goulis clere, An Egle of goolde abrode displayed. 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1875) 15 Cheuerons..Checkes, and suche lyke stande upon geometricall proportiones. 1679 Plot Staffordsh. (1686) 389 The one half plain, the other wrought in cheque. 1771 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 73, I cut several ornaments and checks for the bills. 1821 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 617 And Jenny..Displays a napkin of enormous check. 1876 Rock Text. Fabr. 3. |
2. A fabric woven or printed with such a pattern. Also attrib., as in check kersey; check handkerchief, check apron; check pattern, check trade, etc.
| 1614 W. Peyton Voy. §2 (1625) in Purchas Pilgrimes iv. xv, Indicoes of two sorts, Checques the courser. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxxi, A couple of old check shirts. 1756 Mrs. Delany Autobiog. (1861) III. 457 I should be glad of 30 yards of check. 1820 Lamb Elia, Christ's Hosp., A large blue check handkerchief. 1885 Manch. Exam. 5 June 5/6 Looms for weaving checks and trouserings. |
3. Agric. Each of a series of squares made by cross-marking. So check-row, one of a series of rows (in planting) so arranged as to form a check-pattern; also attrib. U.S.
| 1787 Washington Diaries (1925) III. 194 In each of these checks or crosses, one root, when it was large and looked well was put, and two where they were small. 1857 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. III. 62, I lay off my ground with a corn-marker..into checks of three feet three inches square. 1859 Rep. Comm. Patents (U.S.) 1858 I. 474 The seed may..be distributed from either hopper, and sown either in drills or check-rows. 1861 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. IV. 209 In spring it will be harrowed thoroughly, planted by hands in check rows three feet ten inches apart each way. Ibid. 312 Most of the corn is now planted with drills, or check row machines. |
Hence check-rowed a., planted in check-rows; check-rower, a corn-planter, or a device attached to one, dropping the seed-corn in check-rows.
| 1888 Sci. Amer. LVIII. 298/1 Particularly for use on growing check-rowed and listed corn. |
| 1882 Belleville (Ill.) Advocate 9 June 4/4 (Advt.), Haworth Check Rowers, with Wire or Cord. a 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., Check-rower. |
▪ III. check, n.3
Another spelling of cheque.
▪ IV. check, n.4 Sc.
= chack n.3, the Wheat-ear.
| 1793 Statist. Acc. Scotl. VII. 547 The check, the linnet, and the sparrow. |
▪ V. check, n.5
Var. of chick2, screen. (E. Ind.)
▪ VI. check, v.1
(tʃɛk)
Forms: 4–6 chek(e, 5 chekk-yn, (Sc. chak), 5–6 chek, 6–7 checke, 8 cheque, checque, (Sc. 9 chack), 6– check.
[ME. chek-en, aphetic f. achek-, *eschek-, a. OF. eschequier, eschecqu-er (in ONF. eskek-ier) to play chess, give check to; also in pa. pple eschequié, Cotgr. eschequé, It. scaccato, med.L. scaccātus chequered, f. the n. eschec, eskek, scacco, check1, q.v.]
I. 1. a. Chess. To attack the opponent's King by placing a man so that he could, at his next move, take the King if the latter were an ordinary piece; to give check to, place in check. Cf. check n.1 1.
| 1614 A. Saul Chessplay To Rdr., But as they [pawnes] march who so they finde doe in their colour stande, Such may they kill or checke aslope to the right or left hand. 1656 Beale Chess-Play 3 So also doth he [the pawn] check, (that is give notice to) the adverse King that he can take him. 1825 Macaulay Misc. Poems (1860) 390 We check and take, exult and fret. 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle (Warne) 42. |
b. fig.
| a 1400 Cov. Myst. xxx. 306 What? spek I say, thou foulyng, evyl mot thou fare! Loke up, the devyl mote the cheke! 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 149 And so perhaps she might both checke And give the foole a mate. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 9 Such dydoppers must be taken vp, els theile not stick to check the king. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 123. 1649 Selden Laws Eng. i. xvi. The Churchmen checked them often, but could never give them the mate. |
† 2. a. To come into collision with, strike, hit. Obs.
| 1576 Gosson Spec. Hum. iii. (Arb.) 76 The prime of youth, whose greene vnmellowde yeares With hoysed head doth checke the loftie skies. 1608 Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. ii. (1878) 20 And when he rid, his Hatt would check the signes. |
† b. intr. To clash, come into hostile contact or collision. Const. with. Obs.
| 1535 Goodly Primer To Rdr. (1834) 8 Neither is it meet to make them [saints] check with our Saviour Christ, much less then to make them checkmate. 1612 Bacon Ess. Love (Arb.) 446 For if it [Loue] checke once with businesse, it troubleth Mens fortunes. 1632 Stow's Chron. 742 There checked with him at the entring thwart the Towne, sixe Gallies: but they in short time retired vnder their fortresses. |
II. To stop sharply or suddenly.
3. To arrest, stop, or retard the onward motion or course of (a person or thing).
| [c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 2093 When they metten in that place, They wer a-cheked bothe two.] 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 287 Barre we þe ȝates. Cheke we and cheyne we and eche chyne stoppe. 1577 Holinshed Chron. III. 156 The ambitious mind of the man, that even from his youth was ever to checke at the highest. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 126 As one who checks a fiend-drawn charioteer. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §7. 51 Asperities..which incessantly check its [an avalanche's] descent. 1875 Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. ii. 6 Few fortresses checked the march of [the] armies. |
4. spec. † a. ? To challenge (a sentinel). (Cf. check-watch, s.v. check-.) Obs.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 817 To chak the wache Wallace and x had beyn Rydand about. |
b. Naut. to check a bowline: to slacken it and belay it again. to check a brace: to ease it off when found to be too stiffly extended. to check a cable: to stopper it, when running out. check her (a ship): stop her way. (Adm. Smyth.)
| 1833 Marryat P. Simple viii, Check her as she swings. |
c. To pull (a rein).
| c 1720 Gay Apparition, And now he checks the rein, and halts. ― Birth of Squire, O check the foamy bit! nor tempt thy fate: Think on the murders of a five barr'd gate. |
5. a. intr. (for refl.) To stop short; to stand at; to wince, take offence (at).
| 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Lit. French Law. iii. iii, A true friend should not checke at the hazard of a life. 1625 Fletcher Fair Maid v. i. 49, I tamely beare Wrongs that a slave-born Muscovite would check at. 1635 Quarles Embl. (1718) Introd. 2 Let not the tender eye check, to see the allusion to our blessed Saviour figured in these Types. 1657 Jer. Taylor Let. in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 98 That which you check at is the immortality of the soul. 1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade-m. xli. §13 You may feel him check and tug at it. 1724 A. Collins Gr. Chr. Relig. Pref. 34 No man checks or takes offence at customs or ceremonies, he sees every day. 1901 Kipling Kim vi. 137 In the forenoon the column checked. 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 254 Even in the midst of the swing he checked, glanced once at the spitting fuse, and with a stoop and a heave flung the officer out over the front parapet. 1962 Times 12 July 4/1 His chip back just caught the top of the bank and checked. |
b. Hunting. Of dogs: To stop through loss of scent, or to make sure of its direction.
| 1735 Somerville Chase ii. 255 Ah! yet once more They're check'd—hold back with speed—on either Hand They flourish round. 1855 Kingsley Heroes iii. (1868) 38 At last they struck upon the scent of the blood, and they checked for a moment to make sure. |
6. Hawking. a. to check at the fist: to refuse to come to, recoil from, ‘shy’ at the fist.
| 1522 Skelton Why not to Courte? 732 Till he cheked at the fist. 1557 Tottell's Misc. (Arb.) 240 The hauke may check, that now comes fair to fiist. 1618 Latham 2nd Bk. Falconry (1633) 37 She will neuer vnderstand what it is to checke at the fist: but..wil proue a certaine and bold commer. |
b. See quot. 1615, 1852; and cf. check n. 6.
(Sir Walter Scott's archaic use appears to be erroneous, since one falcon does not ‘check’ at another, and Marmion would not figure himself as ‘base game’ crossing the path of nobler quarry.)
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. i. 71 Like the Haggard, checke at euery Feather That comes before his eye. 1615 Latham Falconry Words of Art expl., Checke, or to kill Checke, is when Crows, Rooks, Pies, or other birds comming in the view of the Hawke, she forsaketh her naturall flight to flie at them. 1808 Scott Marm. i. vi, E'en such a falcon on his shield..The golden legend bore aright, Who checks at me, to death is dight. 1852 Burton Falconry Vall. Indus iii. 31 She ‘checked’ first at one bird, then at the other..[footnote, To ‘check’ is to forsake the quarry, and fly at any chance bird that crosses the path]. |
† 7. trans. To keep back or off from. Obs.
| 1597 Greene Poems (1861) 313 A wreath of boughs To check the sun from her brows. |
† 8. To reject, throw back. Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 404 A spring boiling out of the ground with such a force, that it scorneth and checketh any thing that is throwne into it. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. i. 13 Those Easterly Monsoons always bring strong Currents with them from the Eastward, which check'd him over to the Coast of Magadoxa. |
† 9. To stop (a person) from receiving a part of his wages as a fine or penalty; to fine, mulct. to be checked: to have one's wages stopped. Obs.
| 1526 Househ. Ord. 233 To be checkt of three dayes Wages. 1539 Ibid. in Thynne Animadv. Introd. (1865) 34 The Clerkes Comptrolers..shall dayly..default and check the Wages of all such as he shall finde to be absent without lycence. 1618 Cheque Bk. Chapel Royal (1872) 75 For all these thinges..he shalbe checked the soume of forty shillinges to be staied to his Majestes use out of wages next growinge and due to him. 1705 Royal Procl. in Lond. Gaz. No. 4166/1 All such Mariners..shall be Chequed out of Wages only from the respective Times they ought to have returned. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. iii. (1743) 211 If any Gentleman-Pensioner in Ordinary fail in his attendance, he shall be chequed with the loss of three days' wages. 1803 Naval Chron. XV. 61 If they do not attend their musters, they are checked of their pay. |
III. To taunt, etc.
† 10. To reproach, taunt, revile. Obs.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 12 Neyther yet vpbrayde ne checke hym. 1526 Tindale Mark xv. 32 And they that were crucified with him, checked him also [so 1539 Cranmer, 1557 Geneva]. 1530 Palsgr. 482/2. 1557 N. T. (Geneva) John ix. 28 Then checked they hym, and sayd, Be thou his disciple: we be Moses disciples. 1590 Webbe Trav. (1868) 32 With these speeches they did check me, and I said, etc...wherefore they did greatly reuile me. 1592 W. Wyrley Armorie 49. |
11. To rebuke, reprove, reprimand. Also with off. Formerly arch. or dial. Now colloq.
| 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplandyshm. (1847) Introd. 56 Still muste thou stande, or els shalt thou be chekt. 1556 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 38 Land-lordes by the wai checked for Rent-raisyng. 1581 Savile Tacitus' Hist. ii. xl. (1591) 77 He checked the Generals for their slacknesse. 1692 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) II. 346 His majestie yesterday checkt a young lord for swearing within his hearing. 1750 Johnson Rambl. No. 75 ¶15 The parson made no difficulty to check me when I was pert. 1814 Wordsw. Excurs. iv. 427 The little flower her vanity shall check. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such xii, Young enough to be checked for speech on subjects which they had spoken mistakenly about when he was in his cradle. 1920 F. M. Ford Let. 30 May (1965) 100, I offered you the Heaven volume for nothing in '17 & was just checked off as if I had been a literary beginner. 1931 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 725 This morning I was hut orderly, and got checked for dull brass door-knobs. 1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 1939–45 38 Check, to reprimand, take to task, during the exercise of one's duty. |
† 12. intr. to check at: to aim reproof or censure at; to animadvert severely upon. Obs.
| 1642 View of Print. Bk. 4 How he checks at the King for using the word [Grace]. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 373 Tiberius hereupon sent letters to the Senate, severely checking at Caninius. |
IV. To restrain, control.
13. (fig. from 3.) To stop (action, growth, exhibition of feeling, and the like); to stay the course of; to repress, restrain.
| 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxviii. (1887) 108 The execution being checkt with a number of accidentarie occurrences, which art cannot comprehend. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 213 If I can checke my erring loue, I will, If not, to compasse her Ile vse my skill. c 1600 ― Sonn. xv, Men as plants increase, cheared and checkt euen by the selfe-same skie. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 853 Half his strength he put not forth, but check'd His Thunder in mid Volie. 1721 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 178 His fury was checked. 1796 Jane Austen Pride & Prej. x. 43 She could perceive that he was rather offended, and therefore checked her laugh. 1799 in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1845) III. 313 The scurvy cannot be checked. 1862 Ruskin Unto this Last 157 The multiplication of animals is checked only by want of food, and by the hostility of races. 1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xx. 149 Mr. Baldwin checked the enthusiasm of his visitors. |
| refl. 1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike x. 109 He..was about to cover his face with his hands, but checked himself. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom iii, She would have spoken to tell her husband her fears, but checked herself. |
14. a. To hold in check or restraint; to curb, control; to act as a check on.
| 1630 Prynne Anti-Armin. 138 Checke..the peruersnesse of mens wills. 1639 Fuller Holy War iii. xxv. (1840) 164 To check this fort, the Christians built a tower on ships. 1641 Milton Ch. Discip. ii. (1851) 52 Have they not been bold of late to check the Common Law? 1763 J. Brown Poetry & Mus. xiv. 241 These Arts..have a natural Tendency towards Corruption, unless checked and chastised by wholesome Institutions. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits xviii. Wks. (Bohn) II. 133 In England, the strong classes check the weaker. 1877 Mozley Univ. Serm. viii. 172 Cases in which one train of physical consequences is checked by the operation of another. |
b. To rein. poet.
| 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. vi. 12 O Phœbus! hadst thou neuer giuen consent, That Phaeton should checke thy fiery Steeds. 1632 Milton Penseroso 59 While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke Gently o'er th' accustom'd oak. |
† 15. intr. To act as a check upon. Obs. rare.
| 1678 Dryden All for Love iii. i, Lead to the Temple: I'll avoid his Presence; It checks too strong upon me. |
16. a. trans. To control (a statement, account, etc.) by some method of comparison; to compare one account, observation, entry, etc., with another, or with certified data, with the object of ensuring accuracy and authenticity. Also to check a person (in his account, execution of duty, etc.).
| 1695 Minutes of Court of Bank of Eng. 15 May, Ordered that these words following vizt. ‘This note to be currant onely for a Twelvemonth and may bee chequ'd att the Bank, when desired, gratis’ Bee added at the Bottome of the New Bank Notes [i.e. cash notes]. Ibid. 21 Aug., Ordered that noe Bank Bills brought in bee either allowed or paid or changed till they bee first checqued. 1755 Johnson Check, to compare a bank note or other bill with the correspondent paper. 1758 Let. on State of Navy 24 The Commissioners..are not possessed of the Books..of other Vouchers, whereby they can examine and check these Tickets. Ibid. 35 Dead and discharged Tickets..are paid at the Navy-Office, without being chequed. 1768 Smeaton in Phil. Trans. LVIII. 164 The one observation checqued with the other, will..differ by the quantity of 31{p}. 1774–82 Barclay Dict. Check vb...in Commerce, to compare the flourished or ornamented part of a draught or bank-bill with that which remains in the book from whence it was cut. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 398, I have checked this account..and find it to be correct. 1802 Naval Chron. VIII. 382 The..clerks..check the weights. 1880 Manch. Guard. 15 Dec., We have no means of checking all these statements. |
b. to check off: to mark as examined and found correct; to ‘tick off’ as passed or duly entered.
| 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. xvi, Nearly every other member..pulled a written paper from his pocket, to check Mr. Pugstyles off, as he read the questions. 1884 Harper's Mag. June 46/2 The signer's name is..checked off on the..list by a third officer. |
c. To accept or hand over (an article) in return for a check (see check n.1 14 b); to send to a destination in this way. orig. and chiefly U.S.
| 1846 Daily Even. Traveller (Boston) 16 July 3/2 Passengers..will consult their comfort and convenience by being particular to have their Baggage ‘checked’. 1860 Congress. Globe 21 Dec. 177/2 It is a great convenience to the traveling public to be able to check baggage through. 1866 Ibid. 20 July 3972/3 The Baltimore road..will not check baggage from here to any point in the West. They..compel you to recheck your baggage. 1888 Amer. Humorist 21 July (Farmer), Turning to the man who checks umbrellas and canes. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 25 Feb. 10/2 (U.S.), Remove your hats during the performance. You can check them with the maid. 1922 Publishers' Circular 21 Jan. 43/2 We began to require all persons..to check these books at the coat-rooms. 1956 ‘N. Shute’ Beyond Black Stump 4 They walked out into..the club and checked their hats. |
d. to check up (on) or to check on: to examine carefully or in detail; to maintain a check on; to ascertain the truth about; also absol.; to check out, to investigate, examine for accuracy, authenticity, or a confirmation of fitness. orig. U.S.
| 1889 Kansas Times & Star 15 Mar., He says Willis checked them up closely and discovered nearly 600 saloons here, and only 400 paying a license. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxiv. 309 In five years the experiment might enable me to check up some of my own conclusions. 1925 H. L. Foster Trop. Tramp Tourists 51 As the sailing hour approached, the staff and stewards were busy checking up. 1926 G. Hunting Vicarion xvi. 266 He..offered to set a condenser up for her in her own home where she could check up on any of his activities she desired. 1928 C. M. Fuess Men of Andover 13 Every effort has been made to check up on even the least important statements. 1932 E. Wilson Devil take Hindmost ix. 92 These people will have to be checked up on. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iii. 212, I have never checked up on this. Ibid. iv. 248 One solid pleasure of love is to check up together on what has happened. 1957 D. J. Enright Apothecary's Shop 127 Reading back through the book to check up on the implied parallel. 1959 Daily Mail 20 Feb. 10/6 The M.C.C. had a man placed either at mid-on or mid-off..obviously to check on me. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics ix. 388 Most hydraulic control systems have electrical components..thus necessitating two systems to install, check-out, and maintain. 1967 Landfall XXI. 243 A married man with a rich wife and a packet of kids... I checked him out. 1968 S. Challis Death on Quiet Beach v. 72 Kay. We'll check her out. 1968 Times 16 Dec. 7/4 To begin with, Apollo 8..will be parked in a 119-mile orbit while the crew check out the spacecraft. |
e. to check in or check out: to record the incoming or outgoing of (guests, employees, books, etc.). Also intr., to record one's arrival at or departure from a hotel, factory, etc. (freq. to check into or check out of); to arrive or depart. orig. U.S.
| 1918 Wine, Women & War (1926) 35 R― checked in 3.30, more than usually drunk. 1921 S. Ford Inez & Trilby May iii. 41 The singer person is checking out from the first floor suite next week. 1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xx. 179 ‘That ain't my affair, where folks go after they check out,’ the proprietor said, turning his back. 1935 E. Bowen House in Paris iii. iv. 317 ‘Then we might get something to eat.’ ‘What, at the hotel?’ ‘I'll see; we'll check in these first, anyway.’ 1936 Steinbeck In Dubious Battle i. 6, I checked out of my lodging-house before I came here. 1941 Amer. Speech XVI. 310/1 To check out or charge a book, the borrower fills out a call card. 1943 P. Cheyney You can always Duck ii. 28 He'll probably check in at some hotel. 1951 ‘N. Shute’ Round the Bend 286, I was just going back to the hotel to check out. 1951 Manch. Guardian Weekly 8 Feb. 3 Two of them had checked out of the demonstration and packed up. Ibid. 6 Sept. 3 He checked into his hotel. 1952 M. McCarthy Groves of Academe (1953) iv. 66 The student was obliged to check in with the instructor for the requisite hours of studio or laboratory work. 1959 [see bidet 2]. |
f. To note with, or indicate by, some mark.
| 1928 Publishers' Weekly (N.Y.) 12 May 1973 For the reasons checked below, we regret that we cannot undertake the publication of your proposed book. 1929 Ibid. 14 Sept. 1064 Check the titles you want and we will mail you the books at once. 1969 N.Y. Rev. Books 16 Jan. 35/3 (Advt.), Please check appropriate squares and type..your name and address below. |
g. intr. To agree upon comparison. U.S.
| 1928 Publishers' Weekly (N.Y.) 22 Dec. 2491/2 One of the sheets,..checked closely with fiction which was found in the Gottschalk store. 1935 M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer xv. 140 It all checked pretty well. Ibid. xvii. 156 If there's finger-prints on it, and yours don't check, that'll let you out. |
V. 17. intr. To draw a cheque (upon a person, for an amount). U.S.
| 1809 Deb. Congress 20 Feb. 416 The money..is deposited in the Treasury as in a bank..to be checked for, whenever that commerce..shall be again reopened. 1843 Poe Murders Rue M. Wks. 1864 I. 190 Had checked for nothing until the third day before her death, when she took out in person the sum of 4000 francs. 1863 S. L. J. Life in South I. xvi. 323 To check upon him for $500. |
18. trans. (a) Carpentry. To notch or halve (timbers) in making a cross joint. Sc. (b) Masonry. To notch (one stone) into (another); also to check down. (c) To join (two pieces) in this manner (Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1909).
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §1066 All plates to be in long lengths, and chacked. Ibid. 1072 The rafters to be..chacked and spiked together. Ibid. 1778 The stair to the cellars..to be droved; the steps to be checked down on (notched into) each other. 1885 Spons' Mech. Own Bk. 678 The other 2 stones..are to be half-checked into it, also half-checked into each other where they meet in the middle. |
▸ trans. colloq. (orig. U.S.). To look at, to appraise; to take notice of, to listen to. Freq. imper., chiefly with the expectation of approval. Cf. to check out at 16d.
| 1944 P. Kendall Dict. Service Slang 44 Check your hat.., means I take notice of your hat and very chic. 1953J. Paxton Wild One (transcript from film) in J. E. Lighter Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1994) I. 385/2 Hey, check the hot rod! 1960 G. F. Swarthout Where Boys Are i. 8 Biologically, they come to Florida to check the talent. By that I mean to inspect and select. 1979 T. Baum Carny 20 Check old fat boy. 1991 D. Richler Kicking Tomorrow i. 18 Check this. See the Queen on the dollar bill? 1997 Straight No Chaser Spring 19/3 Check also the AFMB remix of ‘High Hopes Part 2’ for some serious batacuda 'n' bass get down. |
▸ trans. colloq. (orig. U.S.). In imper. with out. As an invitation or recommendation: try (this), have a look at (this), listen to (this). check it out (esp. in African-American usage): take notice, listen; look.
| 1949 D. Cooper & J. Davis Duchess of Idaho (transcript from film) in J. E. Lighter Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1994) I. 386/1 Check it out! 1966I. A. Baraka Poem for HalfWhite College Students in Black Magic (1969) 120 When you find yourself gesturing like Steve McQueen, check it out, ask in your black heart who it is you are. 1967 Black Panther 25 Apr. 4/1 Black People must realize that the time is short and growing shorter by the day. Check it out. People talk about ‘Power’... Black People..want Black Power. 1971 R. Thomas Backup Men ix. 82 Check out the new pastry chef. 1977 Rolling Stone 5 May 74/2 Check out the singing on ‘Taxman, Mr. Thief’, and tell me anyone has been more pissed off since John Lennon was primaled. 1985 B. Zephaniah Dread Affair 28 Check it out young ones, let our minds start thinking. 1990G. Jacobs Doowutchalike (song) in L. A. Stanley Rap: the Lyrics (1992) 76 And though we're usually on the serious tip, check it out Tonight we're gonna flip and trip and let it all hang out. 2000 Pract. Classics June 46/3 Check out the long, power-bulged bonnet, the stubby tail, the tucked-under sills, the glitz and glitter. |
▸ intr. orig. and chiefly U.S.to check out: to be confirmed or verified as accurate or authentic; (also) to prove to be healthy or in an acceptable condition.
| 1956 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 16 Mar. 17 (comic strip) Everything checks out, Ed—the ad..the phone number..the valise and the girl!! 1961 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 7 Aug. ii. 1/3 Ruznak told police he was having trouble with the oil pressure gauge on his car... It checked out okay at the time the police tested it however. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 19 May The jersey was available for $300—well worth it..if it checks out as the genuine article. 1992 Men's Health May–June 36/2 My thyroid checked out okay, and the doctor said my arrhythmia was probably derived from a defect in the wiring of the heart. 1997 M. Groening et al. Simpsons: Compl. Guide 194/2 All right. His story checks out. |
▸ intr. Brit. slang (esp. among young black speakers). to check for: to like, rate, admire (music, a musician, etc.).
| 1976 Sounds 11 Dec. 10/6 Delroy checks for (ie, digs) the Wailers. 1977 Sounds 1 Jan. 5/5, I checked for Delroy after hearing his first Virgin album. 1993 V. Headley Excess x. 87 D. liked the sound; he still checked for High Noon, but he thought the new sound had an edge, an authentic yard feel. 1996 Voice 25 June 28/1 Have you ever been listening to the radio and heard the DJ spin a record by an artist that you normally check for, but on this occasion the tune just ain't cuttin' it? |
▸ intr. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.). to check out: to die. Cf. sense 16e.
| 1921W. Mason in Los Angeles Times 27 Apr. ii. 4/5 One balmy night he went to bed all full of pleasant schemes, and in the morning he was dead—he'd checked out in his dreams. 1946 M. Mezzrow & B. Wolfe Really Blues i. 16, I landed in the hospital with dysentery and I almost checked out. 1969S. Faessler in R. Sullivan Stories by Canad. Women (1984) 229 You'd better get down here... I think the old man's checking out. 1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) xi. 322 For one hundred and fifty seconds he genuinely checked out, kicked the bucket. |
▪ VII. check, v.2
(tʃɛk)
Also 8–9 checque, 9 cheque.
[Goes with check n.2, either as short for checker, chequer; or aphetic f. *escheck, a. OF. eschequier, in Godefroy only in pa. pple. eschequié, eschiqué in same sense; in Eng. also the pa. pple. checked, chequed, is the part most in use.]
1. a. trans. To mark with a chess-board pattern, mark out or cut in squares (obs.); to mark with a pattern of crossing lines.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 72 Chekkyn [1499 checken], scaccifico. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 141 Whan ye þat venesoun so haue chekkid hit, with þe fore parte of youre knyfe þat ye hit owt kytt. 1513 Bk. Keruynge ibid. 273 Custarde, cheke them inche square that your souerayne may ete therof. 1800 Canning Anti-Jacobin, Rovers, Sweet kerchief, check'd with heavenly blue. |
b. To mark (ground) for planting in checks. U.S.
| 1768 Washington Diaries (1925) I. 265 At the first and last of which [plantations I] just began to check Corn G[roun]d. 1871 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. VIII. 239 After the field has been thoroughly prepared..proceed to check it off from east to west with a three-rowed marker. 1945 B. A. Botkin Lay my Burden Down 168 And checking corn is running a straight row clean 'cross the field both ways. |
c. trans. and intr. To split or crack along crossing lines.
| 1641 H. Best Rural Econ. (1857) 15 The sun shoulde not checke and rive them [sc. wooden stakes]. 1879 Webster Suppl., Check,..to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, and the like. 1880 Harper's Mag. Aug. 398 The streaks of the clinker-built canoe rarely check, the wood being generally well seasoned. 1902 Contrib. Econ. Geol., U.S. Geol. Survey 277 The coal is not crushed, but can be obtained in large pieces which ‘check’ but do not break up readily on exposure to the air. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 154/2 Checking, a defect in a painted surface, characterised by the appearance of fissures in all directions. |
2. transf. To variegate with rays or bands of different colours; to chequer. rare.
| 1590 Greene Arcadia (1616) 44 He..checkt the night with the golden rayes that gleamed from his lookes. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 184 A glimpse of moonlight checq'd the plain. |
† 3. fig. To chequer, diversify, cloud. Obs.
| [1639 Fuller Holy War i. xiv. (1840) 24 Their first setting forth..was checked with bad success.] 1790 Town Talk 5 The boy's countenance, that was chequed and overcast with blindness. |
▪ VIII. check v.3
var. of chick.