Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon

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شِطْرَنْجٌ

Root: شطرنج

Full Definition

شِطْرَنْجٌ and شَطْرَنْجٌ; some say the former; and some, the latter; the latter said to be of established authority, as a dial. var., though disallowed in the K [and in the O]; but the former is the more approved on account of its being conformable with Arabic words, such as جِرْدَحْلٌ, which the latter is not; and sometimes it is pronounced with the unpointed س, this being a dial. var.; A wellknown game; [namely, chess:] a Pers. word, arabicized; [said to be] from صَدْ رَنْگ “ a hundred stratagems; ” or from شُدْ رَنْج “ trouble departed, ” meaning that trouble departs from him who plays at it; [or from شَاهْ رَنْج “ the royal care or sorrow; ” or from شَشْ رَنْگ “ six species or ranks, ” because the pieces are of so many species: ] or [accord. to some] it is from الشَّطَارَةُ, or المُشَاطَرَةُ, referring to the word شطرنج; or from التَّسْطِيرُ, referring to the word سطرنج; so says Ibn-Hishám El-Lakhmee: but, as IB and others have said, these derivations are only partial, making the ن and the ج to be augmentative letters, and are manifestly incorrect.
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