inventory
Meaning
a complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building.
the quantity of goods and materials held by a business; stock.
to make a complete list of items.
Structure
Usage
the manager conducted a year-end inventory of the warehouse.
our store has a large inventory of winter clothing.
we need to inventory all the equipment before the audit.
Etymology
the word inventory originates from the latin inventarium, meaning "a list of what is found". this derives from invenire ("to come upon, find"), itself composed of in- ("upon") and venire ("to come"). the term entered middle english via medieval latin inventorium, initially referring to a detailed list of found items or assets. the semantic logic evolved from the act of "coming upon" items during an inspection to the systematic list or record of those items, and later to the stock of goods itself.
Analysis
- in: latin prefix meaning "in, on, upon". - vent: from latin venire, meaning "to come". - ory: latin suffix forming nouns denoting a place for something or adjectives meaning "pertaining to".