dragan

Old English dragan meant to draw, pull, or haul — from Proto-Germanic *draganą. The word gives English drag, draw, draft, draught, and drain: all involve pulling or moving something along. A draught of beer is a drawn (pulled) measure from a barrel. A draught of air is drawn through an opening. A draught in checkers is a piece drawn (moved) across the board.

The game called draughts in British English and checkers in American English has the same medieval French origins. The English name 'draughts' focused on the movement of pieces — each move was a draught, a drawing of the piece from one square to another. The American name 'checkers' focused on the board's pattern.

The word 'draft' (British: draught) carries this root into many domains: a draft of a document is a first drawing; a bank draft is a drawn payment; the military draft draws people into service; a draft in architecture is a drawn plan. Dragan — to draw — turned out to be an enormously productive root.

Draughts as a word for a game piece (one of the flat circular pieces used in the game) is still used in British English alongside the name for the game itself. To be 'good at draughts' and 'to play draughts' use the same word for both game and piece — a pleasantly compact usage.