A Ledger Was a Book That Stayed Put
A ledger is a book of accounts. The name comes from a book too heavy or important to be moved.
A ledger is the principal book of accounts. The name records a physical fact: a ledger was a large book that lay permanently in one place, from a Dutch word meaning to lie. Related uses follow: a *ledger stone* is a flat slab in a church floor, and in angling a ledger weight rests on the riverbed.
- A book of accounts. *The general ledger.*
- A flat gravestone. *A ledger stone.*
- A resting weight in angling. *Ledger tackle.*
- Distributed ledger — a shared digital record. *Distributed ledger technology.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | ledger | A leather ledger. |
| Plural | ledgers | Old ledgers. |
| Related | lie | Lie flat. |
| Compound | general ledger | The general ledger. |
| Related | bookkeeping | Double-entry bookkeeping. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Post the entries to the ledger.Accounting.
- A ledger stone marks a burial.Church architecture.
- Blockchain is a distributed ledger.Modern usage.
Bookkeeping terms
- Ledger — the main record of accounts
- Journal — the daily record of transactions
- Double entry — every transaction recorded twice, as debit and credit
- Trial balance — a check that debits equal credits
- Luca Pacioli — described double-entry bookkeeping in print in 1494
From Middle Dutch *ligger* or *legger*, from a verb meaning to lie — a book that stays in one place.
Why is it called a ledger?
Because the book lay permanently in one place rather than being carried about, from a Dutch verb meaning to lie.
What is double-entry bookkeeping?
A system recording every transaction twice, as a debit in one account and a credit in another, so the books always balance.