exchequer

noun ex·che·quer \ ˈeks-ˌche-kər , iks-ˈche- \

Definition of exchequer

1 capitalized : a department or office of state in medieval England charged with the collection and management of the royal revenue and judicial determination of all revenue causes

2 capitalized : a former superior court having jurisdiction in England and Wales primarily over revenue matters and now merged with King's Bench

3 often capitalized

a : the department or office of state in Great Britain and Northern Ireland charged with the receipt and care of the national revenue

b : the national banking account of this realm

4 : treasury; especially : a national or royal treasury

5 : pecuniary resources : funds

See exchequer defined for kids

Examples of exchequer in a Sentence

their son would make beseeching requests for more money whenever his personal exchequer was getting low

Recent Examples of exchequer from the Web

Very often such firms are loss-making and a burden to the exchequer.

— The Economist, "Big Tech’s nemesisIs Margrethe Vestager championing consumers or her political career?," 14 Sep. 2017
In the decades leading up to his time as prime minister, he had been appointed the president of Board of Trade, colonial secretary, first lord of the Admiralty, minister of munitions, war, and air, and chancellor of the exchequer.

— jackie mansky, Smithsonian, "Go Behind the Glass of Churchill’s Underground War Rooms," 22 Aug. 2017
Gigot: George Osbourne was the chancellor of the exchequer under David Cameron.

— WSJ, "James Comey’s Strange Testimony," 12 June 2017
Northern Ireland gets 10 billion pounds a year from the U.K. exchequer, and that needs to continue.

— ed o’loughlin, The Seattle Times, "U.K. election: How a forgotten Northern Ireland party became ‘kingmaker’," 10 June 2017
The Northern Irish exchequer ended up paying out around half a billion pounds to those who knew about the scheme, leading to a scandal known as 'cash for ash', and a major investigation into whether DUP staff and supporters personally benefitted.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "A Climate Change-Denying, Anti-Abortion Party Rose to Power in Britain's General Election," 9 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exchequer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of exchequer

Middle English escheker, from Anglo-French, chessboard, counting table, exchequer — more at checker

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

Law Dictionary

exchequer

noun ex·che·quer \ ˈeks-ˌche-kər, iks-ˈche- \

legal Definition of exchequer

1 capitalized : a royal office in medieval England at first responsible for the collection and management of the royal revenue and later for the adjudication of revenue cases

2 capitalized : a former superior court having law and equity jurisdiction in England and Wales over primarily revenue cases and now merged with the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice — called also Court of the Exchequer

Note: The Exchequer was created in England by the Norman kings. In addition to being divided into a court of common law and a court of equity, at one point the Exchequer also had jurisdiction over all actions, except those involving real property, between two subjects of the Crown. In 1841, the Exchequer's equity jurisdiction, except over revenue cases, was transferred to the Court of Chancery, and in 1881 the Exchequer was merged into the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.

3 often capitalized : the office in Great Britain and Northern Ireland responsible for the collection and care of the national revenue

Origin and Etymology of exchequer

Anglo-French eschecker, eschequ(i)er, from Old French eschequier royal treasury, reckoning board or cloth marked with squares, literally, chessboard, from eschec chess