Control: Power Over Something, and the Old Duplicate Roll
Control is the power to direct something, and the act of checking it. The word comes from a medieval accounting practice of keeping a duplicate roll to check against.
Control means both directing something and checking it. The checking sense is older and explains the word: a *contre-rolle* was a duplicate roll of accounts, kept so figures could be verified against it. Controlling something originally meant auditing it.
- Power to direct. *She has full control of the budget.*
- To operate or regulate. *A thermostat controls the heating.*
- Restraint. *He lost control of his temper.*
- A standard of comparison. *A control group.*
- A device for operating something. *The volume control.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | control | Under control. |
| Verb | control | Control the flow. |
| Person | controller | The air traffic controller. |
| Adjective | controlling | A controlling interest. |
| Related | comptroller | The Comptroller General. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The situation is under control.Under control — the standard reassurance.
- The trial used a control group given a placebo.Scientific method — the comparison baseline.
- He holds a controlling interest in the firm.Enough shares to decide outcomes.
Why comptroller is spelled that way
- It is the same word as controller, and is pronounced the same in most usage
- Sixteenth-century clerks wrongly linked it to French *compte*, an account
- The spelling stuck in a handful of official titles and nowhere else
- It survives in the United States, and in a few British institutions
- Nobody has ever had a good reason to keep it
From Anglo-French *contreroller*, to keep a duplicate register, from *contre-rolle*. The sense of authority grew out of the sense of verification: whoever checks the books ends up directing what happens.
What is a control group?
The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment, so the effect of the treatment can be measured against it.
Comptroller or controller?
Controller in nearly all cases. Comptroller survives only in specific official job titles and is usually pronounced the same way.