EXCHEQUER

Exchequer (eks-chek-[schwa]r oreks-chek-[schwa]r). 1. English law. The government department charged with collecting the national revenue; the treasury department. • The name is said to have derived from the checkered cloth, resembling a chessboard, that anciently covered the table on which certain of the king’s accounts were tallied, the sums being marked and scored with counters. […]