Tallies

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈtaliːs/

Definitions

1. A system for recording numerical data or results is utilized through counting methods; marks are drawn to represent totals, serving to summarize information efficiently; the act of tracking scores or quantities involves creating visual representations for ease of reference
2. Written or counted records showing the number of items or points ; the actual quantities or totals recorded ; to agree with or correspond to a particular number or amount
3. Marks or notes kept to count or keep track of amounts ; sums or aggregate numbers that result from counting ; to match exactly or be consistent with given data or figures

Etymology: Before it meant a count, "tally" was a stick. Medieval Latin "tallia" came from Latin "talea," meaning a cutting, rod or stick, and the Old French "taille" named a notch cut into a piece of wood to record a debt. Each party to a transaction kept half of a split stick, and the notches on the two halves had to match, so the stick served as a receipt that could not easily be forged. The English noun descends from these forms through Anglo-Norman, and the idea of a record kept in notches gradually widened into any running count. The verb "tallies" is the third-person singular of "tally," and its sense of agreeing with a number grows from the same idea: two sets of marks have to match. A related pair of meanings shows the logic clearly. The notched stick was itself a tally, and the matching half was the check on it, so a figure that corresponds to another is, in effect, the notch that fits.

Synonyms: counts, totals, records, enumerates