exchequer
UK[ɪksˈtʃekə(r)]US[ˈeksˌtʃekər]
n
the government department in the uk that is responsible for collecting taxes and paying out public money.
n
(historical) a former royal court that collected revenue and tried cases involving royal finances.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
chequer
ex
out of, from
chequer
Etymology
the word 'exchequer' originates from the anglo-norman french 'escheker', derived from medieval latin 'scaccarium', meaning 'chessboard'. this term was applied to the english royal treasury because officials historically used a table covered with a checkered cloth to perform financial calculations, resembling a chessboard. the literal sense of a counting table, via the french 'eschequier', combined with the latin prefix 'ex-', evolved to denote the place and later the government department responsible for national revenue. thus, the modern abstract meaning of the national treasury department stems from this concrete historical accounting method.
Analysis
Structure: ex + chequer
ex- (latin origin, meaning 'out of, from'), chequer (old french origin, from 'eschequier', meaning a chessboard or counting table).
Examples
the chancellor of the exchequer will present the annual budget next week.
historically, the court of exchequer dealt with disputes over royal revenues.
funds for the new infrastructure project were released by the exchequer.