English
cheat
Cheat comes from Late Latin *excadēre ‘fall away, fall out’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱád-e-ti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Late Latinmodern*excadēre‘fall away, fall out’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400escheat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500achetan
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611cheat
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Late Latinmodern*excadēre‘fall away, fall out’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400escheat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500achetan
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611cheat
Earliest quotation: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that…”
Linked words
through Latin cadō ‘fall’
case, chance, accident, incident, occasion, decay, incidence, casualty, coincide, cadence, decadent, deciduous, occidental, cadaver, recidivism, occident, 15 more
Today it means
verb To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱád-e-ti / cheat