Etymograph

English

discount

Discount is an alteration of French descompte, from Old French desconter ‘reckon off’, from Medieval Latin discomputō, from Latin computō ‘to reckon’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to reckon, count’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500discomputō‘to deduct, discount’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desconter‘reckon off, account back, discount’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentdescompte
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1692discount

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to reckon, count’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500discomputō‘to deduct, discount’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desconter‘reckon off, account back, discount’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentdescompte
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1692discount

Earliest quotation: 1692, William Walsh: “Discount only unexceptionable paper.”

Equivalent to dis- + count

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’

Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘twice, doubly’

English dis-

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, 9 more

through Latin putō ‘to reckon’

dispute, imp, amputation, putative, amputee, repute, indisputable, amputate, indisputably, imputation, depute, disputation, disputable, 8 more

through Latin computō ‘to reckon, count’

account, counter, compute, computation, countable, raconteur, 1 more

Today it means

verb To sell at a reduced price.

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

Etymograph / Latin computō / discount

Shirt and support for this word