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Webster 1913 Edition
Compter
Compt′er
,Noun.
A counter.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Definition 2024
compter
compter
English
Noun
compter (plural compters)
- (obsolete) A counter (token used for keeping count).
- 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.
- William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale
- (historical) A prison attached to a city court; a counter.
- 2003, John Hamilton Baker, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Oxford, page 284
- Each sheriff had his own compter, which were both prisons and offices, administered by the respective secondaries.
- 2003, John Hamilton Baker, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, Oxford, page 284
French
Etymology
From Middle French compter, respelling of Old French conter to reflect the etymology Latin computāre, present active infinitive of computō. Doublet of conter and computer.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ̃te/
- Homophone: conter
Verb
compter
- (transitive, intransitive) to count
- (transitive) to reckon, allow
- Pour se rendre jusque là, il faut compter deux bonnes heures.
- (transitive) to include
- Je ne l'ai pas comptée dans le calcul.
- (catenative) to intend
- Tu comptes partir à quelle heure ?
Derived terms
Related terms
Conjugation
Conjugation of compter (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | compter | avoir compté | |||||
| gerund | en comptant | en ayant compté | |||||
| present participle | comptant /kɔ̃.tɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | compté /kɔ̃.te/ |
||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | compte /kɔ̃t/ |
comptes /kɔ̃t/ |
compte /kɔ̃t/ |
comptons /kɔ̃.tɔ̃/ |
comptez /kɔ̃.te/ |
comptent /kɔ̃t/ |
| imperfect | comptais /kɔ̃.tɛ/ |
comptais /kɔ̃.tɛ/ |
comptait /kɔ̃.tɛ/ |
comptions /kɔ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
comptiez /kɔ̃.tje/ |
comptaient /kɔ̃.tɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | comptai /kɔ̃.te/ |
comptas /kɔ̃.ta/ |
compta /kɔ̃.ta/ |
comptâmes /kɔ̃.tam/ |
comptâtes /kɔ̃.tat/ |
comptèrent /kɔ̃.tɛʁ/ |
|
| future | compterai /kɔ̃.tʁe/ |
compteras /kɔ̃.tʁa/ |
comptera /kɔ̃.tʁa/ |
compterons /kɔ̃.tʁɔ̃/ |
compterez /kɔ̃.tʁe/ |
compteront /kɔ̃.tʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | compterais /kɔ̃.tʁɛ/ |
compterais /kɔ̃.tʁɛ/ |
compterait /kɔ̃.tʁɛ/ |
compterions /kɔ̃.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
compteriez /kɔ̃.tə.ʁje/ |
compteraient /kɔ̃.tʁɛ/ |
|
| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior1 | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il | que nous | que vous | qu’ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | compte /kɔ̃t/ |
comptes /kɔ̃t/ |
compte /kɔ̃t/ |
comptions /kɔ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
comptiez /kɔ̃.tje/ |
comptent /kɔ̃t/ |
| imperfect1 |
comptasse /kɔ̃.tas/ |
comptasses /kɔ̃.tas/ |
comptât /kɔ̃.ta/ |
comptassions /kɔ̃.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
comptassiez /kɔ̃.ta.sje/ |
comptassent /kɔ̃.tas/ |
|
| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect1 | Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | compte /kɔ̃t/ |
— | comptons /kɔ̃.tɔ̃/ |
comptez /kɔ̃.te/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French conter, respelled to reflect Latin computō, computāre.
Verb
compter
Conjugation
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of compter
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | compter | avoir compté | |||||
| gerund | en comptant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| present participle | comptant | ||||||
| past participle | compté | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (may be i' before a vowel) | tu | il | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| simple tenses |
present | compte | comptes | compte | comptons | comptez | comptent |
| imperfect | comptois, comptoys | comptois, comptoys | comptoit, comptoyt | comptions, comptyons | comptiez, comptyez | comptoient, comptoyent | |
| past historic | compta | comptas | compta | comptasmes | comptastes | compterent | |
| future | compterai, compteray | compteras | comptera | compterons | compterez | compteront | |
| conditional | compterois, compteroys | compterois, compteroys | compteroit, compteroyt | compterions, compteryons | compteriez, compteryez | compteroient, compteroyent | |
| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie | que tu | qu'il | que nous | que vous | qu'ilz, qu'elles | |
| simple tenses |
present | compte | comptes | compte | comptons | comptez | comptent |
| imperfect | comptasse | comptasses | comptast | comptassions | comptassiez | comptassent | |
| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | compte | — | comptons | comptez | — | ||