Accountant
/əˈkaʊn.tənt/noun
A person whose job is to keep or examine financial accounts.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin *computare* (“to calculate”), and its ancestry overlaps with the ancient idea of *reckoning*—not just arithmetic, but mentally “settling accounts” as a serious act of judgment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peḱ-
“to make firm or order”
Latin
Latin
computāre
“to calculate, reckon, sum up”
Late Latin
Latin
computant-
“calculating; one who calculates”
Old French
Old French
acontant
“one who accounts or reckons”
Middle English
English
acountaunt
“a person who keeps accounts”
Modern English
English
accountant
“a person who keeps or examines financial accounts”