reckoning

[rek-uh-ning] /ˈrɛk ə nɪŋ/
noun
1.
count; computation; calculation.
2.
the settlement of accounts, as between two companies.
3.
a statement of an amount due; bill.
4.
an accounting, as for things received or done.
5.
an appraisal or judgment.
6.
Navigation, dead reckoning.
7.
day of reckoning.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English; see reckon, -ing1
Related forms
prereckoning, noun
self-reckoning, adjective, noun
Synonyms
4. judgment, retribution.

reckon

[rek-uh n] /ˈrɛk ən/
verb (used with object)
1.
to count, compute, or calculate, as in number or amount.
2.
to esteem or consider; regard as:
to be reckoned an authority in the field.
3.
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to think or suppose.
verb (used without object)
4.
to count; make a computation or calculation.
5.
to settle accounts, as with a person (often followed by up).
6.
to count, depend, or rely, as in expectation (often followed by on).
7.
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. to think or suppose.
Verb phrases
8.
reckon with,
  1. to include in consideration or planning; anticipate:
    He hadn't reckoned with so many obstacles.
  2. to deal with:
    I have to reckon with many problems every day.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English rekenen, Old English gerecenian (attested once) to report, pay; cognate with German rechnen to compute
Related forms
reckonable, adjective
outreckon, verb (used with object)
prereckon, verb (used with object)
underreckon, verb (used with object)
unreckon, verb (used with object)
unreckonable, adjective
unreckoned, adjective
Synonyms
1. enumerate. 2. account, deem, estimate, judge.
Examples from the web for reckoning
  • Thus tuition discounting is, at best, a holding strategy that temporarily defers the day of reckoning.
  • Our day of reckoning will ultimately follow, however.
  • reckoning on two prime ministers during his five-year term, he will delay the selection of a new one as long as possible.
  • It's that moment of reckoning that tells them the value of the object.
  • He is not sure how much the project will cost, but is reckoning on a payback period of around five years.
  • The end of impunity is coming to an end and the moment of reckoning closer.
  • This, say some, is simply postponing the day of reckoning.
  • But then he throws that superiority away by scoffing at any possibility of reaching such a reckoning.
  • By any reckoning, he should have been relaxing in his dressing room or heading back to the hotel.
  • By this reckoning, the clam would be only the oldest non-colonial animals.
British Dictionary definitions for reckoning

reckoning

/ˈrɛkənɪŋ/
noun
1.
the act of counting or calculating
2.
settlement of an account or bill
3.
a bill or account
4.
retribution for one's actions (esp in the phrase day of reckoning)
5.
(nautical) short for dead reckoning

reckon

/ˈrɛkən/
verb
1.
to calculate or ascertain by calculating; compute
2.
(transitive) to include; count as part of a set or class: I reckon her with the angels
3.
(usually passive) to consider or regard: he is reckoned clever
4.
(when transitive, takes a clause as object) to think or suppose; be of the opinion: I reckon you don't know where to go next
5.
(intransitive) foll by with. to settle accounts (with)
6.
(intransitive; foll by with or without) to take into account or fail to take into account: the bully reckoned without John's big brother
7.
(intransitive; foll by on or upon) to rely or depend: I reckon on your support in this crisis
8.
(transitive) (slang) to regard as good: I don't reckon your chances of success
9.
(transitive) (informal) to have a high opinion of: she was sensitive to bad reviews, even from people she did not reckon
10.
to be reckoned with, of considerable importance or influence
Word Origin
Old English (ge)recenian recount; related to Old Frisian rekenia, Old High German rehhanón to count
Word Origin and History for reckoning
n.

early 14c., "narrative, account," verbal noun from reckon (v.). Meaning "a settling of accounts" is from mid-14c.; that of "calculation" is from late 14c. Cf. Dutch rekening "a bill, account, reckoning," Old High German rechenunga, German rechnung, Danish regning "a reckoning, computation." Day of reckoning attested from c.1600.

reckon

v.

c.1200, recenen, from Old English gerecenian "to explain, relate, recount," from West Germanic *(ga)rekenojanan (cf. Old Frisian rekenia, Middle Dutch and Dutch rekenen, Old High German rehhanon, German rechnen, Gothic rahnjan "to count, reckon"), from Proto-Germanic *rakinaz "ready, straightforward," from PIE *reg- "to move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "direct in a straight line, rule" (see regal).

Intransitive sense "make a computation" is from c.1300. In I reckon, the sense is "hold an impression or opinion," and the expression, used parenthetically, dates from c.1600 and formerly was in literary use (Richardson, etc.), but came to be associated with U.S. Southern dialect and was regarded as provincial or vulgar. Related: Reckoned; reckoning.

Idioms and Phrases with reckoning

reckon

In addition to the idiom beginning with reckon also see: force to be reckoned with