ledger

American  

[lej-er] / ˈlɛdʒ ɛr /

noun

1. Bookkeeping.  an account book or digital file of final entry, in which business transactions are recorded.

   The Controller must oversee, review, and approve of all posting of financial activity into the General Ledger.

2. Computers.  a decentralized public database of permanent records of financial transactions, distributed over a network and typically having the form of a blockchain, used especially in cryptocurrency systems.

   When users send or receive a payment in bitcoin, network nodes verify the transaction and then record it in a shared public ledger.

3. Building Trades.

   1. a horizontal board attached to a wall to support the ends of the joists of another structure such as a deck, porch, roof, etc..

      As the cause of the porch’s collapse, the inspector cited a ledger attached with improper screws.

   2. (in scaffolding) a horizontal board or metal tube attached to uprights, either to support the ends of the boards of a platform or for use as a handrail.

      Arrange the ledgers so the platforms slope slightly outwards, carrying rain away from the face of the building.

   3. ribbon.

4. Also called ledger stone.  a flat slab of stone laid over a grave or tomb.

   I had a Bible verse engraved on his ledger, ending with the words “Rest in peace.”

5. Angling, Chiefly British.  Also leger a lead sinker with a hole in one end through which the line passes, enabling the bait and the sinker to rest on the bottom and allowing the fish to take the bait without detecting the sinker.

   If fishing for bass in particular, the ledger is preferred.

---

ledger ¹ British  

/ ˈlɛdʒə /

noun

1. accounting the principal book in which the commercial transactions of a company are recorded

2. a flat horizontal slab of stone

3. a horizontal scaffold pole fixed to two upright poles for supporting the outer ends of putlogs

4. angling

   1. a wire trace that allows the weight to rest on the bottom and the bait to float freely

   2. ( as modifier )

      ledger tackle

---

verb

1. (intr) angling to fish using a ledger

Ledger ² British  

/ ˈlɛdʒə /

noun

1. Heath(cliffe) Andrew . 1979–2008, Australian film actor. His films include The Patriot (2000), A Knight's Tale (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005)

---

Etymology

Origin of ledger

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier legger “book,” probably equivalent to legg(en) “to set down, lay” + -er noun suffix; lay ¹, -er ¹, ledge

Example Sentences

On the positive side of the ledger, Labour MPs have gone off to their constituencies in a better mood this week.

From BBC

Accountants were no longer ledger‑keepers; they handled tax strategy, audit planning, client advisory and compliance.

From The Wall Street Journal

A public ledger of his Venmo account shows him paying friends back for dinners and a ticket to a Boston Celtics game.

From The Wall Street Journal

Eventually captured by Hungarian patrolmen and executed by a firing squad, Senesh might have been one more name on the endless ledger of Holocaust victims.

From The Wall Street Journal

For much of the 20th century, financial modeling meant working with a rudimentary, laborious set of tools: eight-column ledger paper, mechanical adding machines or hand-held calculators.

From The Wall Street Journal