Words and the Study of Accounting History

It is posited that close attention to the key words of the discipline is an important part of the practice of accounting history. A theoretical framework to support this activity is offered; possible sources are suggested; and a brief illustration, based on reference works from the early modern period, is provided to demonstrate both the general nature of the analysis and the value of wordbooks as sources. The terms that serve as the subject of the illustration are ratio and compte , which express the idea of the account. This specific analysis suggests that over the course of the period, there was a movement away from predominantly legalistic formulations of the account to more strictly quantitative conceptions, a transition important to the emergence of modern ideas of accountability.