The correct answer to yesterday’s question was:
The amount of light that passes through the lens.
Five people posted the correct answer and earned an entry in our contest.
Today’s question is sponsored by Transparent Language – a leading provider of best-practice language learning software for consumers, government agencies, educational institutions, and businesses.
What is the origin of the word “checkmate”?
To enter the trivia contest, simply answer the question by leaving a reply in the comments section of this post. Click here for full details about the contest including rules and prizes! Good luck!
from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat” which means: ‘the king is dead.
From Wikipedia®:
The term checkmate is an alteration or Hobson-Jobson of the Persian phrase “Shāh Māt” which means, literally, “the King is ambushed” (or “helpless”, “defeated”, or “stumped”, but not “dead”).[3] It is a common misconception that it means “the King is dead”, as chess reached Europe via the Islamic world, and Arabic māta مَاتَ means “died” or “is dead” (Hooper & Whyld 1992), (Davidson 1949:70), (Sunnucks 1970), (McKean 2005), (Golombek 1976:27).[4]