accountant
English
Alternative forms
(one who handles financial records): acc.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ə.ˈkaʊn.tənt/, [ə.ˈkæʊn.ʔn̩ʔ]
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Etymology 1
From Middle English, from Middle French acuntant. Equivalent to account + -ant. First attested in the mid 15th century.
Noun
accountant (plural accountants)
- One who renders account; one accountable.
- A reckoner, or someone who maintains financial matters for a person(s).
- (accounting) One who is skilled in, keeps, or adjusts, accounts; an officer in a public office, who has charge of the accounts.
- (accounting) One whose profession includes organizing, maintaining and auditing the records of another. The records are usually, but not always, financial records.
- 1994, Juicy (Hip Hop), spoken by The Notorious B.I.G., 2:40 from the start:
- Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this
50-inch screen, money-green leather sofa
Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur
Phone bill about two G's flat
No need to worry, my accountant handles that
And my whole crew is loungin'
Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'
-
- (euphemistic) A sex worker, particularly one who does not want to be publicized as one
Quotations
- [1900, Francis William Pixley, Accountancy — constructive and recording accountancy (Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd, London)., volume 1, page 4:
- The word Accountant is derived from the French word compter, which took its origin from the Latin word computare. The word was formerly written in English as "accomptant", but in process of time the word, which was always pronounced by dropping the "p", became gradually changed both in pronunciation and in orthography to its present form.]
Derived terms
- accountant general
- certified accountant
- Certified National Accountant
- certified public accountant
- chartered accountant
- forensic accountant
- management accountant
- turf accountant
Related terms
- account
Descendants
- → Dutch: accountant
- → Indonesian: akuntan
Translations
one who renders account; one accountable
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a reckoner, or someone who maintains financial matters for a person(s)
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one who is skilled in, keeps, or adjusts, accounts
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one whose profession includes organizing, maintaining and auditing the records of another
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References
- “accountant, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 2
- First attested in the early 15th century.
Adjective
accountant (comparative more accountant, superlative most accountant)
- (obsolete) Accountable.
Usage notes
- (adjective): Followed by the word to.
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English accountant.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑˈkɑu̯n.tənt/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: ac‧coun‧tant
Noun
accountant m (plural accountants)
- An accountant; an account-keeper or auditor.
Related terms
- account
Descendants
- → Indonesian: akuntan