What does checkering mean?
"Checkering" is chiefly the present participle and gerund of the verb "to checker," meaning to mark or divide a surface into a pattern of alternating squares or contrasting patches — the effect seen on a chessboard, tartan cloth, or a floor dappled with light from a latticed window. It is also used as a noun for the pattern itself, though this sense is less common than the adjective "checkered." The word carries a vivid, descriptive quality and appears most often in literary or visual contexts: sunlight checkering a floor, hills checkered with fields, or fabric checkered in two colours. Figuratively, its close relative "checkered" is best known from the phrase "a checkered past," describing a history marked by both good and bad episodes. The term ultimately derives from the same root as "chess" and "exchequer," reflecting how deeply the image of alternating squares runs through English vocabulary.
To mark or divide (a surface) into a pattern of alternating squares or contrasting patches; (of light, shade, or colour) to cover a surface with such irregular contrasts.
"Cloud shadow moved across the valley, checkering the fields below."
Often used passively or descriptively, particularly with light, landscape, textiles, and paving.
A pattern of alternating squares or contrasting sections, as on a chessboard, flagstone path, or woven fabric.
"The pavement's checkering of black and white tiles stretched away toward the entrance."
That word for a 'colourful but troubled history' — a checkered past — comes from the same square pattern as the chessboard, which medieval Latin called the scaccharium.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of checkering
The verb "checker" derives from Middle English "chekere," altered under the influence of Old French "eschequier" (chessboard), from the same Germanic source that gave us "chess." The underlying idea is the board divided into alternating squares on which the game was played. Cognate forms include "exchequer," originally the chequered cloth on which accounts were counted in Norman England, and "chequerwork," describing ornamental patterns of alternating squares.
Related word forms
How checkering is actually used
"Checkering" as the verb form is somewhat literary or descriptive, most often used of light, shadow, colour, or landscape. The related adjective "checkered" is far more common, especially in the figurative idiom "a checkered past" or "a checkered career," meaning one marked by both successes and failures. British English frequently spells the base verb "chequer."
Easily confused with checkering
"Checking" means verifying or examining something (or restraining in hockey/chess), while "checkering" refers to dividing a surface into an alternating pattern of squares.