Etymology and origin of the English word bookkeeper
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Compound
- First attested
- 1555 an Act of Philip and Mary More words from the 16th century
- Ultimate origins
- Proto-Germanic *bōkMiddle English keper
From the same root
Pronunciation
- UK: /ˌbʊkˈkiː.pə(ɹ)/, /bʌʔˈkiː.pə(ɹ)/[1]
Etymology
It is formed from English book + keeper,[2][3] after the phrase “to keep books”.[2] It was also written with a hyphen.[3] The noun bookkeeping is recorded from 1635,[2][4] and the verb bookkeep is a later back-formation, from 1886 according to Etymonline.[2][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
A person who keeps the financial records of a trader or public office: 1555, in an Act of Philip and Mary.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to the 1550s.[3]
Semantic evolution
The sense has stayed the same since the 16th century: a person who keeps accounts.[2][3][5] From 1788, in Grose's dictionary of slang, to 1884, the word was also used for a person who hoards books; that sense is obsolete and rare.[2][5] Merriam-Webster Unabridged distinguishes the bookkeeper from the accountant.[4]
Timeline
- 1555 – a person who keeps accounts.[2][4][3]
- 1788 – a person who hoards books (obsolete, last recorded 1884).[2][5]
Meanings
Noun
- A person whose job is to record the accounts and financial transactions of a business or office: The firm hired a part-time bookkeeper to handle its invoices.[4][6][2]
Word family
- bookkeeping
Related words
Usage notes
Etymonline notes that bookkeeper is one of the rare English words with three consecutive double letters, as is bookkeeping.[3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged contrasts it with accountant.[4]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry
“Bookkeeper.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bookkeeper. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.
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