Etymograph

English

counter

Counter comes from Middle English countour, from Old French conteor, from conter ‘to count’, from Latin computō ‘to calculate’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputus‘pure, clean’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to reckon’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to calculate’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conter‘to count’
  5. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400conteor
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500countour‘counting-table; accountant’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590counter

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputus‘pure, clean’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to reckon’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to calculate’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conter‘to count’
  5. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400conteor
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500countour‘counting-table; accountant’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1590counter

Earliest quotation: 1590, John Greenwood: “He remaynes prisonner in the Counter in Woodstrete in…”

Formed from count + -er

Latin putō ‘to reckon’

Latin computō ‘to calculate, compute’

Old French conter ‘to add up; to tell a story’

Anglo-Norman conter

Middle English counten ‘to count’

English count

Linked words

through Latin putus

puta, 10 more

through Latin putō ‘to reckon’

dispute, imp, amputation, putative, indisputable, indisputably, amputee, repute, imputation, amputate, disputation, disputable, depute, 9 more

through Latin computō ‘to calculate, compute, reckon together’

account, discount, computation, compute, raconteur, 2 more

Another origin of counter

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm‘with, along, at’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom‘with’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*kom-‘together’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*komteros‘the other of the two who meet, opposite’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*komterādreconstructedablative singular feminine of *komteros
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontra‘against’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contre‘against’
  8. Englishtodaycounter

Today it means

noun One who counts.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin putus / counter

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