audit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɔːdɪt/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is late Middle English, from Latin audītus (“a hearing, a listening”),^[2][3][4] from audīre, to hear (see audible),^[2][3] probably formed under the influence of the earlier auditor (before 1333).^[2] In Medieval Latin auditus compoti was an audit of an account,^[5][6] because the official examination of accounts was originally oral.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An official examination of accounts: 1431 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline, 1435 in the OED.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to examine and verify accounts, is from 1457 (the mid-15th century),^[2][3] 1557 in the OED.^[7] A periodical settlement of accounts between landlord and tenants is from 1489,^[7] and figuratively a searching examination, especially the Day of Judgement, from 1548.^[7] A hearing or judicial audience is from 1598,^[7][3] and audit ale, brewed for the audit day at colleges, is recorded from 1823.^[7] To attend a course without credit is from 1933.^[3] The general sense, any thorough check, is a modern extension.^[8]

Timeline

• 1431 – an examination of accounts.^[2]
• 1457 – to audit (verb).^[2]
• 1489 – a settlement of rents.^[7]
• 1548 – the final reckoning (figurative).^[7]
• 1598 – a hearing.^[7]
• 1933 – to audit a course.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An official inspection and verification of financial accounts.
2. Any thorough check or examination.
3. (US) An audited account.

Verb

1. To examine and verify accounts.
2. (US, Canada) To attend a class without receiving credit.

Word family

• auditability
• auditable
• auditee
• postaudit
• preaudit
• unaudited
• reaudit
• auditor

Related words

• audience
• audible
• audition
• auditorium

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins