compter

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɒmptə/

Noun

compter (plural compters)

  1. (obsolete) A counter (token used for keeping count).
    • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale:
      Let me see: every 'leven wether tods, every tod yields pound and odd shilling; fifteen hundred shorn, what comes the wool to? [] I cannot do't without compters.
  2. (historical) A prison attached to a city court; a counter.
    • 2003, John Hamilton Baker, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Oxford University Press, page 284:
      Each sheriff had his own compter, which were both prisons and offices, administered by the respective secondaries.

French

Etymology

From Middle French compter, respelling of Old French conter to reflect the etymology Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Doublet of conter and computer.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɔ̃.te/
  • (file)
  • Homophone: conter

Verb

compter

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to count
  2. (transitive) to reckon, allow
    Pour se rendre jusque là, il faut compter deux bonnes heures.
    To get there, it takes two good hours.
  3. (transitive) to include
    Je ne l'ai pas comptée dans le calcul.
    I did not include it in the calculation.
  4. (catenative) to intend, plan
    Tu comptes partir à quelle heure ?
    At what time do you intend to leave?

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading


Middle French

Etymology

From Old French conter, respelled to reflect Latin computō, computāre.

Verb

compter

  1. to recount; to tell

Conjugation

  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Descendants

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