means A check or, more commonly now, a direct deposit, representing the wages an employer pays an employee for work over a set period.

from A plain American compound from the early 20th century, simply welding 'pay' to 'check.' 'Pay' arrived in English from Old French 'paier,' which traces back to Latin 'pacare,' meaning 'to pacify' or 'appease' — the same root as 'peace,' since paying a debt settles it and keeps everyone calm. 'Check' in the financial sense comes from 'check' as in 'to verify or control,' which itself descends from the chess term 'checkmate' (Persian 'shah mat,' 'the king is helpless'). So your paycheck is, etymologically, a peace offering you must verify.