Definition
nounA book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
nounA book or other scheme for keeping accounting records.
Sentence Examples
There are many questionable points in this ledger.
The clerk made an entry in his ledger.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English liggere, ligger, leger (“large breviary; beam, plank; dweller, inhabitant”), from liggen, leggen, variants of līen (“to lie down; to bow, kneel, prostrate; to die; to be located (somewhere); to remain in place, stay”), from Old English liċġan (“to lie down; to be situated”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”). The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian Lägger (“floor board, joist, plank”), West Frisian lêger (“beam, plank”), Dutch legger (“daybook; layer”) (from leggen (“to lay”), liggen (“to lie down”)), and is related to English ledge, lie (“to be prostrate”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Our ledger has no entry for the human pain caused by war."
— 1981, A. F. K. Organski, Jacek Kugler, The War Ledger, page 4:
"My eyes kept glancing nervously to a spot on the side table just beyond the ring of light, where the ledgers containing the old church minutes were stacked."
— 2003, Paul Nigro, Bethesda, page 47:
"Ever grateful for his perfect recall, the policeman carefully transcribed Mr. Welch's tedious rant word for word in his ledger."
— 2011, John Jughead Pierson, The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody, page 3:
"A large part of Jacob's job was to take the notes and drawings that were scribbled in their notebooks out in the field and copy them into great ledgers in Rufus Benbow's library."
— 2012, Wendy Robertson, Honesty's Daughter: An unforgettable saga of rivalry and hope:
""A ten-bob note secured me quarter of an hour alone with the attendance ledger in a backroom." Holmes said, with a touch of chagrin."
— 2014, James Lovegrove, Gods of War: