Etymograph

English

ledger

Ledger comes from Middle English liggere ‘large breviary’, from Old English liċġan ‘to lie down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjan2reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġan1‘to lie down’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liggere1‘large breviary’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1675ledger1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ledger
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English licgan
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1675, Stephen Monteage, How to Begin a New Leidger Dependant on the Ballance of the : “The firſt Leidger, or Leidger Nº A. being thus…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, English ledger‘to lie down’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjanWiktionary, Old English licganreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġanWiktionary, English ledger‘to lie down’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liggereWiktionary, English ledger‘large breviary’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1675ledgerWiktionary, English ledger. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1675, Stephen Monteage, How to Begin a New Leidger Dependant on the Ballance of the : “The firſt Leidger, or Leidger Nº A. being thus…”

The story

The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian Lägger (‘floor board, joist, plank’), West Frisian lêger (‘beam, plank’), Dutch legger (‘daybook; layer’) (from leggen (‘to lay’), liggen (‘to lie down’)), and is related to English ledge, lie (‘to be prostrate’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie down’

law, low, college, legal, fellow, lay, lawyer, log, loyal, layer, legacy, colleague, delegation, delegate, litter, collegiate, lair, lex, lawless, lees, legate, lagan, lias, collegium, underlay, leal, leaguer, 23 more

through Old English liċġan ‘to lie down’

lie, lig

Today it means

noun A book for keeping notes; a record book, a register.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ledger”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English licgan. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- / ledger

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