reckoner

English

Etymology

From Middle English reknere, rekenere. Cognate with Afrikaans rekenaar, Dutch Low Saxon rekener, German Rechner, Danish regner, Swedish räknare. By surface analysis, reckon +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛkənə(ɹ)/

Noun

reckoner (plural reckoners)

1. One who reckons.
   • 1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter XLII, in Mansfield Park: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

     “No. Not quite a month.—It is only four weeks to-morrow since I left Mansfield.”
     “You are a most accurate and honest reckoner. I should call that a month.”

   • 1959 [1901], “middle-aged”, in William Geddie, editor, Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, revised edition, page 672:

     middle-aged (-ajd), between youth and old age, variously reckoned to suit the reckoner

   • 1970 July 25, Anthony Lewis, “The Charm of Mr. Buckley”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Some experienced New York political reckoners think the real race, in the end, will be between Democrat Richard Ottinger and Mr. Buckley.

2. (archaic) An accountant; one who computes or calculates.
3. An ordinator.

Derived terms

• ready reckoner
• stepped reckoner