exchequer

exchequer
/eks"chek euhr, iks chek"euhr/, n.
1. a treasury, as of a state or nation.
a. (often cap.) the governmental department in charge of the public revenues.
b. (formerly) an office administering the royal revenues and determining all cases affecting them.
c. (cap.) Also called Court of Exchequer. an ancient common-law court of civil jurisdiction in which cases affecting the revenues of the crown were tried, now merged in the King's Bench Division of the High Court.
3. Informal. one's financial resources; funds: I'd love to go, but the exchequer is a bit low.
[1250-1300; ME escheker, eschequier < AF escheker, eschekier (OF eschequier) chessboard, counting table. See CHECKER1]

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English government department responsible for receiving and dispersing public revenue.

It was established by Henry I in the 12th century, and its name refers to the checkered cloth on which the reckoning of revenues took place. Originally, the lower Exchequer was an office for the receipt and payment of money, while the upper Exchequer was a court sitting twice a year to regulate accounts. The English judicial system grew out of the upper Exchequer, and the lower Exchequer became the Treasury. "Exchequer" is still the unofficial name of the Treasury in Britain.

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▪ British government department
      in British history, the government department that was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue. The word derives from the Latin scaccarium, “chessboard,” in reference to the checkered cloth on which the reckoning of revenues took place.

      The Exchequer was constituted as a distinct government agency by Henry I at the beginning of the 12th century. The Treasury, with which the Exchequer was in practice joined, dates from before the Norman Conquest (1066), and the name “Exchequer” came quite early to be applied to the two jointly. The lower Exchequer, or receipt, closely connected with the permanent Treasury, was an office for the receipt and payment of money. The upper Exchequer (the scaccarium proper) was a court sitting twice a year to regulate accounts. It was closely related to the curia Regis (the “King's Court,” which itself dates from about the Norman Conquest) and was thus probably designed on the Norman pattern. The business of the ancient Exchequer was mainly financial, though some judicial business connected with accounts was also conducted. In time the upper Exchequer developed into the judicial system, while the lower Exchequer became the Treasury.

      In the 19th century a series of parliamentary acts swept away the lower Exchequer's various departments, leaving only that institution's name and those of one or two of its officials as relics of the past. “Exchequer” remains the unofficial name of the Treasury in Britain, whose head is called the chancellor of the Exchequer.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • exchequer — ex·che·quer / eks ˌche kər, iks che / n [Anglo French eschecker eschequ(i)er, from Old French eschequier royal treasury, reckoning board or cloth marked with squares, literally, chessboard, from eschec chess] 1 cap: a royal office in medieval… …   Law dictionary

  • Exchequer —   [ɪks tʃekə; von mittellateinisch scaccarium »Schachbrett« (nach dem schachbrettartig gemusterten Brett, auf dem die Rechenpfennige ausgelegt wurden)] das, / s, Schatzamt, in England seit etwa 1100 die oberste zentrale Finanzbehörde, seit dem 13 …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Exchequer — Ex‧cheq‧uer [ɪksˈtʆekə ǁ ˈekstʆekər] written abbreviation Exch noun FINANCE the Exchequer the British government department responsible for collecting taxes and paying out public money: • This year, the Exchequer received some £22 billion from… …   Financial and business terms

  • Exchequer — Ex*cheq uer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Exchequered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Exchequering}.] To institute a process against (any one) in the Court of Exchequer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Exchequer — (Ekstscheker), engl., eigentlich Schachbrett; gewürfeltes Tuch als Tischbedeckung; Behörden, welche vor demselben ihre Sitzung haben; court of exchequer, das Schatzkammergericht. E. Bills, Schatzkammerscheine, engl. Staatspapiere, zu deren… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • exchequer — ► NOUN 1) a royal or national treasury. 2) (Exchequer) Brit. the account at the Bank of England into which tax receipts and other public monies are paid. ORIGIN Old French eschequier, from Latin scaccarium chessboard ; modern senses derive from… …   English terms dictionary

  • exchequer — [eks chek′ər, ikschek′ər; eks′chek΄ər] n. [ME escheker, lit., chessboard, court of revenue, treasury < OFr eschekier: see CHECKER1] 1. [E ] a) under the Norman kings of England, an administrative and judicial state department in charge of… …   English World dictionary

  • Exchequer — (engl., spr. ex tschécker, v. franz. échiquier, »Schachbrett«), in England Name des Schatzkammergerichts (Court of E.), in dem über Einkünfte und Rechte der Krone verhandelt und beschlossen wird. Es bildet den letzten der vier Höfe in Westminster …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Exchequer — (engl., spr. tscheck r, frz. échiquier, »Schachbrett«), in England das Schatzkammergericht (Court of E.), die oberste Behörde für alle die Staatseinkünfte betreffenden Angelegenheiten; daher Chancellor of the E. (Schatzkanzler) Titel des engl.… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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