tally stick
Carved counting wood
A tally stick is a wooden rod with notches cut into it to record numbers, debts, or transactions.
Historically, the stick would be split lengthwise so each party kept a matching half—the notches had to align when reunited, preventing fraud.
Medieval tax collectors used tally sticks as receipts.
The practice gave rise to expressions like keeping a tally.
UK public revenue office
- debtMoney owed another
- creditRecognition or payment deferral
- ledgerFinancial record book
- accountingMaintaining financial records
dues · payment · settlement · transaction · foil · counterfoil · receipt · loan
V-shaped incisions
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- enumerateList items individually
- tabulateArrange data in columns
- reckonBelieve or estimate
count · marks · increments · units · quantities · running total · keeping track · one-to-one
UK public revenue office
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- Bronze AgeEarly metalworking civilization period
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
1834 · Westminster · ancient · cuneiform · prehistoric · paleography · artifact · archaeological
Exchequer
UK public revenue office
accounting · dues · payment · settlement · transaction · foil · counterfoil · receipt · loan · repayment
notches
V-shaped incisions
split · hazel · willow · birch · marked · primitive · handmade · tokens · relic · antiquity
notches
V-shaped incisions
- scoreNumerical standing in competition
- enumerateList items individually
- tabulateArrange data in columns
reckon · count · marks · increments · units · quantities · running total · keeping track · one-to-one · matching
Exchequer
UK public revenue office
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- Bronze AgeEarly metalworking civilization period
archaeology · 1834 · Westminster · ancient · cuneiform · prehistoric · paleography · artifact · archaeological · excavation
record
Preserved account or achievement
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- registryOfficial record of entries
- archiveStored historical records
chronicle · evidence · inventory · contract · proof · witness · agreement · notch · memory aid · mnemonic
- counterscounter, counters, click counter, clicker, hand counter
- ancient calculatorsabacus, quipu, slide rule
- math toolscalculator, abacus, graphing calculator, scientific calculator, straightedge
- calculating machinescalculator, adding machine, difference engine, abacus, desk calculator
tally stickdigital ledger
Electronic transaction record
blockchain · electronic spreadsheet · cloud storage · written record · abacus
tally stickdouble-entry bookkeeping
Ledger system balancing debits and credits
digital banking · electronic funds transfer · credit system · paper money · fiat currency
tally sticksupercomputer
Ultra-powerful computing system
artificial intelligence · quantum computer · spreadsheet software · accounting software · calculator
stick, sticky, tally, stickler, tallying, tallies, tallied, tallier