Ac-count'1, n.
n. [O. Eng. accompt, O. Fr. accompt, acompte; v. acompt-er, aconter, Pr. acomptar, acontar, from Lat. ad, and computare, to sum up, reckon. See COUNT.]
Sense 1. A reckoning, enumeration, or record of some reckoning; as, the Julian account of time. Hutton.
A beggarly account of empty boxes. Shak.
Sense 2. A detached written or printed statement of debts and credits in pecuniary transactions, and also of other things subjected to a reckoning or review; as, to keep one's account at the bank.
Sense 3. A statement in general of reasons, causes, grounds, &c., explanatory of some event; as, no satisfactory account has been given of these phenomena. Hence, the word is often used simply for reason, ground, consideration, &c.; as, on no account, on every account, on all accounts.
Sense 4. A statement of facts or transactions; a relation, narrative, or description; as, an account of a battle. “A laudable account of the city of London.” Howell.
Sense 5. A statement and explanation or vindication of one's conduct with reference to judgment thereon.
Give an account of thy stewardship. Luke xvi. 2.
Sense 6. An estimate or estimation; as, they are nothing in his account.
Sense 7. Importance, value, advantage, profit, that is, a result worthy of estimation. “Men of account.” Pope. “To turn to account.” Shak.
Account current, a running or continued account between two or more parties, or a statement of the particulars of such an account.—To make account, to have an opinion or expectation, is a sense now obsolete.
This other part . . . makes account to find no slender arguments for this assertion out of those very scriptures which are commonly urged against it. Milton.
—A writ of account (Law), a writ which the plaintiff brings demanding that the defendant should render his just account, or show good cause to the contrary; called also an action of account. Cowell.
Synonyms—Narrative; narration; relation; detail; recital; description; explanation; computation; bill; reckoning; sake; end; reason; advantage; consideration; value; importance.—ACCOUNT, NARRATIVE, NARRATION, RECITAL. These words are applied to different modes of rehearsing a series of events. Account turns attention not so much to the speaker as to the fact related, and more properly applies to the report of some single event, or a group of incidents taken as a whole; as, an account of a battle, of a shipwreck, &c. A narrative is a continuous story of connected incidents, such as one friend might tell to another; as, a narrative of the events of a siege, a narrative of one's life, &c. Narration is usually the same as narrative, but is sometimes used to describe the mode of relating events; as, his powers of narration are uncommonly great. In oratory, the word is applied to the narrative part of an oration. Recital denotes a series of events drawn out into minute particulars, usually expressing something which peculiarly interests the feelings of the speaker; as, the recital of one's wrongs, disappointments, sufferings, &c.