compter

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmptə/

compter (plural compters)

1. (obsolete) A counter (token used for keeping count).
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale:

     Let me see: every 'leven wether tods, every tod yields pound and odd shilling; fifteen hundred shorn, what comes the wool to? […] I cannot do't without compters.

2. (historical) A prison attached to a city court; a counter.
   • 2003, John Hamilton Baker, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Oxford University Press, page 284:

     Each sheriff had his own compter, which were both prisons and offices, administered by the respective secondaries.

From Middle French compter, conter, from Old French compter, which is a respelling of Old French conter, cunter to reflect the etymology Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Doublet of conter and computer.

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.te/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophone: conter

compter

1. (transitive, intransitive) to count
2. (transitive) to reckon, allow

   Pour se rendre jusque là, il faut compter deux bonnes heures. ― To get there, it takes two good hours.

3. (transitive) to include; to comprise, to consist of

   Je ne l'ai pas comptée dans le calcul. ― I did not include it in the calculation.

4. (transitive) to comprise, to consist of

   Une semaine compte 7 [sept] jours divisés en 24 [vingt-quatre] heures. ― A week consists of 7 days divided to 24 hours.

5. (intransitive) to matter

   La seule chose qui compte pour Jim, c'est d'être riche. ― The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.

6. (catenative) to intend, plan

   Tu comptes partir à quelle heure ? ― At what time do you intend to leave?

7. to count on [+ sur (someone)]

   Je compte sur toi ! ― I'm counting on you!

• compte
• conter

• “compter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Old French conter, respelled to reflect Latin computō, computāre.

compter

1. to recount; to tell

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

• compte

• French: compter, conter (separate verbs in modern French)