Counter

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkaʊn.tə/

Definitions

1. A surface or table in a shop or bank where transactions are conducted and goods are displayed or exchanged
2. A piece of furniture used in retail and banking for transactions, a device for tallying or measuring, and an opposing argument in a discussion or debate are encompassed in this term's meaning
3. A flat surface for conducting business transactions, a device that counts or measures items, and a term representing a disagreement or rebuttal in a discussion altogether define this concept

Etymology: The "counter" in a shop or bar has two separate ancestors, and they are easy to confuse. The sense of a flat surface for serving or working on comes through Middle English "countour" from Old French "conteor", which French later turned into "comptoir". That French word descends from Medieval Latin "computatorium", a place for reckoning accounts, built on Latin "computare", to count. So the original idea was a table on which money was counted, not a bar or a shelf. The same root gave English the word for a person who counts, and the name for a small piece used in games to keep score or stand in for a value. The surface sense has a doublet in "computer", which shares the Latin "computare" as a source, and in "cantor" and "kontor" through similar routes. The other ancestor is the adverb-like "counter" meaning opposite or against, which comes from Old French "contre" and Latin "contra". That is an unrelated word that happens to look identical.

Synonyms: table, surface, bar