cheat

cheat
\ \ [14] Cheat is a reduced form of escheat, a legal term for the reversion of property to the state on the death of the owner without heirs.
\ \ This came from Old French escheoite, a derivative of the past participle of the verb escheoirbefall by chance, happen, devolve’, from Vulgar Latin *excadērefall away’, a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and Latin caderefall’ (source of a wide range of English words from casecircumstance’ to occasion). The semantic steps leading to the modern English sense of cheat seem to be ‘confiscate’; ‘deprive of something dishonestly’; ‘deceive’.
\ \ Cf.CADENCE, CASE, ESCHEAT, OCCASION, OCCIDENT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Cheat! — Country of origin United States No. of episodes 174 Production Running time 21 22 minutes Broadcast Original channel …   Wikipedia

  • cheat — [tʆiːt] verb [intransitive, transitive] to deceive someone, break rules, or behave dishonestly, especially in order to make money for yourself: • Not all publishers want to cheat authors. • There are stiff penalties for stockbrokers who cheat… …   Financial and business terms

  • cheat — cheat·er; cheat·ery; cheat·ing·ly; cheat; es·cheat·able; es·cheat·or; re·cheat; es·cheat; cheat·ry; …   English syllables

  • cheat — n fraud, fake, deceit, deception, *imposture, counterfeit, sham, humbug Analogous words: hoaxing or hoax, bamboozling or bamboozlement (see corresponding verbs at DUPE): *deception, trickery, chicanery, chicane: charlatan, quack, mountebank,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cheat´er — cheat «cheet», verb, noun. –v.i. to play or do business in a way that is not honest; practice deceit; act fraudulently: »He always cheats at cards if he can get away with it. –v.t. 1. to deceive or trick; swindle; defraud (of or out of): »The… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Cheat — Cheat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cheated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Cheating}.] [See {Cheat}, n., {Escheat}.] 1. To deceive and defraud; to impose upon; to trick; to swindle. [1913 Webster] I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cheat — [n1] person who fools others bluff, charlatan, chiseler, con artist, confidence operator, conniver, cozener, crook, deceiver, decoy, defrauder, dodger, double crosser*, doubledealer*, enticer, fake, hypocrite, impostor, inveigler, jockey,… …   New thesaurus

  • cheat — [chēt] n. [ME chete < eschete: see ESCHEAT] 1. the act of deceiving or swindling; deception; fraud 2. a person who defrauds, deceives, or tricks others; swindler 3. CHESS2 vt. 1. to deal with dishonestly for one s own gain; defraud; sw …   English World dictionary

  • Cheat — Cheat, n. [rob. an abbrevation of escheat, lands or tenements that fall to a lord or to the state by forfeiture, or by the death of the tenant without heirs; the meaning being explained by the frauds, real or supposed, that were resorted to in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cheat — Cheat, v. i. To practice fraud or trickery; as, to cheat at cards. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cheat — Cheat, n. [Perh. from OF. chet[ e] goods, chattels.] Wheat, or bread made from wheat. [Obs.] Drayton. [1913 Webster] Their purest cheat, Thrice bolted, kneaded, and subdued in paste. Chapman. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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