pawn

/ˈpȯn/

Middle English powne, paun, borrowed from Anglo-French poun, paun, peoun "person traveling on foot, pawn in chess" (continental Old French also peon, pion "foot soldier"), going back to Late Latin pedōn-, pedō "person with flat feet, person going on foot" (Medieval Latin, "foot soldier") from Latin ped-, pēs + -ōn-, -ō, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent characteristic

noun

  1. one of the chessmen of least value having the power to move only forward ordinarily one square at a time, to capture only diagonally forward, and to be promoted to any piece except a king upon reaching the eighth rank

  2. one that can be used to further the purposes of another

noun

  1. something delivered to or deposited with another as security for a loan

  2. hostage

  3. the state of being pledged

verb

  1. to deposit in pledge or as security especially in exchange for money