Traditionally considered an alternative form of *čakati, which Vasmer considers a reduplicative formation from Proto-Indo-European*keh₂-(“to desire; to wish”).[1] Derksen mentions this possibility, but favors Stang's derivation from a Proto-Indo-European*kʷek-(“to expect”), which he compares to Old Prussiankackint(“to attain”) and Lithuaniankàkti(“to be sufficient”) (though no non-Balto-Slavic cognates have been deduced).[2] Note the latter root's similarity in form and meaning to Proto-Indo-European*kʷeḱ-(“to see, look”), though the relation between the two, if any, is unclear.
^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “чека́ть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*čekati”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 79
