comptroller
noun
Did you know?
If you think "comptroller" looks like a mistaken spelling of "controller," you're partially right. Today, "comptroller" is an established word that shares one of its meanings (sense 3) with "controller." The term did originate as a misspelling, however. Around the 15th century, Middle English speakers altered the spelling of "conterroller" (meaning "controller," from the Middle French contrerolleur) under the influence of the Middle French word compte ("account"). The resulting word, "comptroller," has attracted criticism over the years. Grammarian Henry Fowler condemned "comptroller" as "not merely archaic, but erroneous" in 1920, and a lexicographical column from 1931 agreed that "comptroller" is "erroneous and should not be accepted as correct." Nevertheless, such modern institutions as colleges and governments continue to have comptrollers. "Comptrollership" occasionally turns up as well.
Examples of comptroller in a Sentence
Emily Guskin, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
It should be noted that the comptroller’s numbers only reflect the bonuses paid to securities industry employees working for firms based in New York City.
—Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
State law already allowed members of the Indiana General Assembly to carry guns at the Statehouse, but under the new law the state comptroller, treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general will also have that right.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Mar. 2024
The state comptroller’s office has 60 days to evaluate the application before making a recommendation to the governor’s office about whether to move forward.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Mar. 2024
In a scathing new report, the acting comptroller says nearly 1,000 police officers from across the nation attended this six-day conference.
—Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 6 Dec. 2023
The city has also spent tens of millions of dollars on a program to treat severely mentally ill people on the streets and in the subways for nearly a decade, but its efficacy was recently questioned by the city comptroller.
—Dana Rubinstein, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
In addition to the investment, NYCB announced Joseph Otting, a former comptroller of the currency, will replace Alessandro DiNello as CEO.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
Joseph Otting, a former comptroller of the currency, will become the bank’s CEO.
—Stan Choe, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comptroller.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near comptroller
Cite this Entry
“Comptroller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comptroller. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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comptroller
noun
käm(p)-
Legal Definition
comptroller
noun
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