ledger
Syllables: led·ger/ˈlɛd͡ʒə/US/ˈlɛd͡ʒɚ/
ledger noun: a book for keeping notes; a record book, a register. Also the ellipsis of ledger bait.
Noun
ledger (plural ledgers)
- A book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
- 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
- A book or other scheme for keeping accounting records.
- The firſt Leidger, or Leidger Nº A. being thus finiſh'd, it is requiſite to prepare for the erecting of thy Accounts anew in a Leidger Nº B. or thy ſecond Leidger, which thou ſhalt do thus.1675, Stephen Monteage, “How to Begin a New Leidger Dependant on the Ballance of the Old Leidger”, in Debtor and Creditor Made Easie: Or, A Short Instruction for the Attaining the Right Use of...
- That all ſtock bought and ſold, is transferred or poſted from his journal, produced at his examination, into his ſaid leidgers, but the journal doth not contain all the matters concerning monies that are entered in his leidgers; […]1721 April 21, “[Appendix. The Third Report of the Committee of Secrecy.]”, in A Collection of the Parliamentary Debates in England, from the Year M,DC,LXVIII. to the Present Time, volume VIII...
- A distributed ledger, a public financial transaction database, typically using a blockchain.
- To be clear: there's only one ledger, but that ledger is not stored in any one central location. Rather, identical copies exist on every node—a copy on every computer.2020, Sir John Hargrave, Evan Karnoupakis, Blockchain Success Stories, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 19
- A collection of accounting entries consisting of credits and debits.
- The Leger exhibits at one view the accounts with an individual, as it contains on the Dr. [debit] side whatever he has received, and on the Cr. [credit] side whatever he has paid. […] Let each account be posted from the Day Book in its proper place in the Leger. If a mistake be made, let it be...1822, Nicolas Pike, Chester Dewey, “Book Keeping”, in A New and Complete System of Arithmetick. Composed for the Use of Citizens of the United States, 4th edition, Troy, N.Y.: Printed and published...
- He keeps a ledger or a debtor-and-creditor account between the Government and the Country, posts so much actual crime, corruption, and injustice against so much contingent advantage or sluggish prejudice, and at the bottom of the page brings in the balance of indignation and contempt, where it is...1825, William Hazlitt, “Mr. Brougham-Sir F. Burdett”, in The Spirit of the Age […] , London: Printed for Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 330–331
- A large, flat stone, especially one laid over a tomb.
- In Great Britain ledgers that were placed outside of churches are sometimes termed external ledgers, while those placed within churches are called internal ledgers […] Ledgers generally sit directly on the ground or on low supports.2008, Richard F[rancis] Veit, Mark Nonesteid, “Early American Burial Grounds and Gravemarkers”, in New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones: History in the Landscape, New Brunswick, N.J.; London...
- They [19th-century headstones] instead normally recorded only the names and birth and death dates of family members buried in a plot over a period of seventy-five years, a century, or even longer. Stones that William Bigham Sr. made in Pennsylvania, especially the ledger stones but even small...2012, Daniel W[atkins] Patterson, “Seeing Scotch Irish Inscriptions”, in The True Image: Gravestone Art and the Culture of Scotch Irish Settlers in the Pennsylvania and Carolina Backcountry (The...
- A board attached to a wall to provide support for attaching other structural elements (such as deck joists or roof rafters) to a building.
- [The dome was] turned upon a centre laid without any standard from below to support it. Every story of the scaffolding being circular, and the ends of the ledgers meeting as so many rings, and truly wrought, it supported itself; […]1851, G[eorge] Drysdale Dempsey, “Section V. Timber, Woodwork, & Constructive Carpentry.”, in The Builder’s Guide: A Practical Manual for the Use of Builders, Clerks of Works, Professional Students...
- For more secure rooftop decks, a ledger (a joist mounted against the side of the house to support one side of a deck) is attached to the face of the house with perpendicular sleepers (wood planks laid horizontally at wide intervals) aligned with the roof rafters below.2003, Julie Stillman, Jane Gitlin, “Decks”, in Deck & Patio Idea Book (Taunton Home), Stefanie Ramp edition, Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press, →ISBN, page 32
- Synonyms:
- ligger
Verb
ledger (third-person singular simple present ledgers, present participle ledgering, simple past and past participle ledgered)
- To record (something) in, or as if in, a ledger.
- Our tears are bottled, to signify that our griefs are carefully measured; and they are booked, to teach us that they are numbered.—Psal[ms] lvi. 8. Our tears being bottled, and ledgered, will signify that our afflictions are not the effects of change, but the registered dispensations of heaven. Ay...[1862?], S[amuel] Cozens, “Dedication”, in A Christmas Box, or The Great Festival; […], London: Printed for the author by T. Matthews, […], →OCLC, page v
- I never saw a man who knew so thoroughly well all that he [Philip Syng Physick] knew. It seemed as if his science and art were ledgered in his brain, so that he could turn on the instant to page and line.1868 April, S[amuel] W. G[ross], “Art. XVII.—Pennsylvania Hospital Reports. Edited by J. M. DaCosta, M.D., and William Hunt, M.D. Vol. I. 8vo. pp. 420. Philadelphia. Lindsay & Blackiston, 1868.”, in...
- To use (a certain type of bait) in bottom fishing.
- The added advantage of legering a small bait rather than freelining one is that you can tighten up harder to the bait and so spot runs earlier.1997, Paul Gustafson, “Rigs”, in How to Catch Bigger Pike from Rivers, Lochs and Lakes, London: Collins Willow, HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN; republished as How to Catch Big Pike: All the Insight...
- The flounder spends its life between the tideline and the 25 to 30 fathoms mark, but they are often caught several miles upstream in freshwater rivers by anglers legering worms or gentles.1998, Martin James, “Flounder”, in Paul Morgan, editor, Saltwater Flyfishing: Britain and Northern Europe, Machynlleth, Powys: Coch-y-Bonddu Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 156
- To engage in bottom fishing.
- In the fashion pursued by the fishermen who require to cast a long line on the Thames, for ledgering or spinning more particularly, the line is drawn off the reel and laid loosely in coils at the fisherman's feet, […]1872, Francis Francis, “Bottom-fishing—Continued”, in A Book on Angling: Being a Complete Treatise on the Art of Angling in Every Branch: […], 3rd revised and improved edition, London: Longmans...
- The best baits for ledgering are, firstly, worms; secondly, greaves; and, thirdly, a bunch of gentles, though some people occasionally catch barbel with raw beef or ham; […]1877, Francis Francis, “The Gudgeon (Cyprinus Gobio)”, in Angling, London: “The Field” Office, […], →OCLC, page 35
Proper noun capitalized: Ledger
Ledger (plural Ledgers)
- A surname.
Also used as
ledger is also the ellipsis of ledger bait.
ledger meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Telugu
ledger in Hindi
- collection of accounting entries
- बही bahī
ledger in Tamil
- லெட்ஜர்
ledger in Urdu
- لیجر
ledger in Telugu
- collection of accounting entries
- చిట్టా ciṭṭā
More languagesFewer languages
- ledger in Malayalam
- ലെഡ്ജർ
- ledger in Kannada
- ಲೆಡ್ಜರ್, ಲೆಡ್ಗರ್
- ledger in Gujarati
- ખાતાવહી
- ledger in Tagalog
- lagumang-aklat
- ledger in Malay
- lejar
- ledger in Indonesian
- buku besar
- ledger in Vietnamese
- sổ cái
Examples of ledger in a sentence
- 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:
- A Peruvian bookkeeper's ledger was a regular rope curtain with knots running up and down the ropes.1919 August, “A Truly Knotty Problem: How Bookkeeping was Carried on by the Ancient Peruvians”, in Waldemar Kaempffert, editor, The Popular...
Synonyms of ledger
Forms of ledger
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | ledgers |
| alternative form | leidger |
| alternative form | leiger |
| alternative form | leger |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | ledgers |
| present participle | ledgering |
| past participle | ledgered |
| past | ledgered |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Ledgers |
Origin of ledger
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.
Two possible origins: * English patronymic surname from either the Norman personal name Leodegar or the Old French equivalent Legier, both containing the Proto-Germanic elements *liudiz (“men, people”) and *garwaz (“ready, prepared”). * English metonymic occupational surname for a stonemason, from ledger, itself a derivative of Old English leċġan (“to lay”).
Words formed from ledger
Phrases with ledger
Words that rhyme with ledger
Questions about ledger
- What does ledger mean?
- Ledger means a book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.
- What is ledger in Hindi?
- Ledger in Hindi is बही (bahī). See Ledger meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use ledger in a sentence?
- Welch's tedious rant word for word in his ledger.
- What part of speech is ledger?
- Ledger can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce ledger?
- Ledger is pronounced /ˈlɛd͡ʒə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ledger?
- The plural of ledger is ledgers.
Words near ledger in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ledger (page history and authors); Ledger (page history and authors); ledger (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ledger (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ledger (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ledger (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ledger (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ledger.wav.
Cite this entry: “ledger.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ledger. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.