Bookkeeper

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌbʊkˈkiː.pə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. Someone who keeps accurate records of financial transactions for businesses or organizations
2. An individual responsible for maintaining the detailed accounts and financial records of a company
3. A person who manages the systematic recording and organizing of monetary dealings in an entity

Etymology: "Bookkeeper" is a plain compound: "book" joined to "keeper," meaning one who keeps or looks after something. The "book" here is the ledger or account book in which a business records its money coming in and going out, so a bookkeeper is literally a keeper of those books. The sense of keeping things safe and in order, as in a gamekeeper or a shopkeeper, carries straight over into the accounting office. The compound is English-built from two native elements, with no foreign borrowing involved. Its meaning follows the older commercial sense of "book" as a record of debts and transactions, which is why the word is tied to accounts rather than to reading or publishing.

Synonyms: accountant, auditor, clerk