Count

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /kaʊnt/

Definitions

1. To determine the total number of items in a group or to recite numbers in sequence
2. To ascertain the number of elements within a set or to enumerate figures sequentially
3. To evaluate the total quantity of objects present or to articulate numbers in order

Etymology: The verb "count" meant "to tell a story" before it meant "to add up." Its Old French ancestor "conter" carried both senses, so the English word inherited the narrative sense first, from Middle English "counten," and only then came to mean reckoning a total. The older English verb for telling, "tellan," was displaced in this sense, and it is the reason we still "tell" stories today while we "count" sheep. The arithmetic meaning is the Latin "computare," which means "to compute" or "reckon together," built from "com-" (together) and "putare" (to think or prune). English took the French form of this same Latin word, so "count" and "compute" are doublets: two words from one source that entered English by different routes. The noun sense of "count," meaning a nobleman, is a separate word. It comes from Latin "comes," a companion, and the Latin sense that gave it its meaning was a noble fighting alongside the king. The two words share an English spelling by coincidence of descent rather than meaning.

Synonyms: tally, enumerate, calculate

Antonyms: ignore, overlook