Spelling and Etymology
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The spellings check, checque, and cheque were used interchangeably from the 17th century until the 20th century. However, since the 19th century, the spelling cheque (from the French word chèque) has become standard for the financial instrument in the Commonwealth and Ireland, while check is used only for other meanings, thus distinguishing the two definitions in writing.
In American English, the usual spelling for both is check.
There have been suggestions that the word chek comes from ancient Pahlavi language which was used in the Achaemenid Empire in Persia. It may have spread from there to Arabic where saqq means a promise to pay a certain amount of money for delivered goods.
Read more about this topic: Cheque
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