Editing Pawn (chess) (section)

==History==
The pawn has its origins in the oldest version of chess, [[chaturanga]], and it is present in all other significant versions of the game as well. In chaturanga, this piece could move one square directly forward and could capture one square diagonally forward.

In medieval chess, as an attempt to make the pieces more interesting, each pawn was given the name of a commoner's occupation:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/C001348/international/pieces/his_pieces_en.html |title=The history of the chess pieces |publisher=Library.thinkquest.org |access-date=2013-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201114823/http://library.thinkquest.org/C001348/international/pieces/his_pieces_en.html |archive-date=2012-12-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Gambler and other "lowlifes", also messengers (in the left-most file, that direction being literally [[wikt:sinister|sinister]])
*City guard or policeman (in front of the left-side knight, as knights trained city guards in real life)<ref>[http://toutfait.com/duchamp.jsp?postid=919&keyword= The Bachelors: Pawns in Duchamp's Great Game] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313130903/http://toutfait.com/duchamp.jsp?postid=919&keyword= |date=March 13, 2008 }}</ref>
*Innkeeper (in front of the left-side bishop)
*Doctor (in front of the queen)
*Merchant or money changer (in front of the king)
*Weaver/clerk (in front of the right-side bishop, as they worked for bishops)
*Blacksmith (in front of the right-side knight, as they cared for the horses)
*Worker/farmer (in front of the right-side rook, as they worked for castles)<ref name="The United States Chess Federation">{{cite web |url=http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7001/132 |title=The United States Chess Federation |publisher=Main.uschess.org |date=2013-01-23 |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref>

The most famous example of this is found in the second book ever printed in the English language, ''[[The Game and Playe of the Chesse]]''. This book, printed by [[William Caxton]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20393/20393-h/20393-h.htm |title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Short History of English Printing, by Henry R. Plomer |publisher=Gutenberg.org |date=2007-01-18 |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref> was viewed to be as much a political commentary on society as a chess book.<ref name="The United States Chess Federation"/> 

The ability to move two spaces and the related ability to capture ''en passant'' were introduced in 15th-century Europe;<ref>{{harvnb|Hooper|Whyld|1996|p=124}}.</ref> the ''en passant'' capture spread to various regions throughout [[En passant#History|its history]]. The ''en passant'' capture intends to prevent a pawn on its initial square from safely bypassing a square controlled by an enemy pawn. The rule for promotion has changed throughout [[Promotion (chess)#History|its history]].

===Etymology and word usage===
The term ''pawn'' is derived from the Old French word ''paon'', which comes from the Medieval Latin term for "[[foot soldier]]" and is cognate with ''[[peon]]''. In most other languages, the word for pawn is similarly derived from ''paon'' (e.g., ''pionek'' in Polish), its Latin ancestor or some other word for foot soldier. In some languages the term for pawn is a name meaning "peasant" or "farmer", reflecting how the lower orders were conscripted as footsoldiers in wartime: Hungarian {{Lang|hu|paraszt}}, Slovene {{Lang|sl|kmet}}, German {{Lang|de|Bauer}}, Danish/Norwegian/Swedish ''bonde'', Latvian {{Lang|lv|bandinieks}}.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoqUoDGPU6gC&q=bandinieks+latvian&pg=PA211 |title = Latvian-English Dictionary: Volume I A - M|isbn = 9781477163108|last1 = Zusne|first1 = Leonard|date = 2008-07-30| publisher=Xlibris Corporation }}</ref> In Irish, the term ''{{Lang|ga|fichillín}}'', a [[diminutive]] of ''{{Lang|ga|ficheall}}'' ("chess") is sometimes used, though the term "ceithearnach" ("foot soldier") is also used. In Thai the pawn is called เบี้ย (''bîia''), which signifies a [[cowrie]] shell or a coin of little value. In Turkish the pawn is called ''{{Lang|tr|piyon}}'', borrowed from the French word [[:fr:Pion|Pion]] in the 19th&nbsp;century.

Outside of the game of chess, "pawn" is often taken to mean "one who is manipulated to serve another's purpose".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of PAWN |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pawn |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=[[Merriam-Webster|www.merriam-webster.com]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=pawn |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/pawn |website=[[The Free Dictionary]]}}</ref> Because the pawn is the weakest piece, it is often used metaphorically to indicate unimportance or outright disposability, only having utility in the ability to be controlled; for example, "She's only a pawn in their game."

{{chess names|name=Pawn}}