Etymologically
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accountant

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /əˈkaʊn.tənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman accountaunt, Middle French acomptant,[2][3][4] the present participle of aconter (“to count, enumerate”), the source of account.[5][6][7] The OED explains it as the participle used as an adjective, "accountable", and as a noun, "official responsible for accounts", which Anglo-Norman had from the late 13th century;[2] the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English call it Law French.[4][7] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from 1113–19 in the senses "to count" and "to reckon".[8] Dictionary.com notes that the modern spelling replaced late Middle English accomptant under the influence of the verb.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, liable to give an account (of one's conduct or duties), accountable: 1429;[2] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.[5] As a noun, a person who must render account: 1449, in the Paston Letters;[2] Etymonline dates the noun, an accounting officer, to the mid-15th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective survived into the 19th century and was used by Shakespeare in Measure for Measure ("accountant to the law") and Othello;[2][10][3] Johnson (1755) still listed it.[10] The professional sense, a person who keeps or examines financial accounts, is recorded from 1539,[2] and Etymonline dates it to the 1530s.[5] The title Accountant General appears in 1621, in the laws of the East India Company.[2] From 1622 an accountant could also be anyone who counts or reckons,[2] a sense now rare.[2][3] In law, accountant was the defendant in an action of account.[4][3]

Timeline

  • 1429 – adjective, accountable (until 1893).[2]
  • 1449 – noun, one who must render account.[2]
  • 1539 – one who keeps or examines accounts professionally.[2][5]
  • 1621 – Accountant General.[2]
  • 1622 – one who counts or reckons (now rare).[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person whose job is to keep, inspect and report on financial accounts, and who advises on tax and finance: She asked her accountant to check the figures.
  2. (law, archaic) The defendant in an action of account.

Adjective

  1. (obsolete) Liable to give an account; accountable.

Word family

  • accountancy
  • accountantship
  • certified public accountant
  • turf accountant
  • chartered accountant

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.