exchequer

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
exchequer /ɪksˈtʃɛkə, ɛks-/

▶noun

• 1 a royal or national treasury.

• 2 (Exchequer) Brit. the account at the Bank of England into which tax receipts and other public monies are paid.

  ■ historical the former government office in charge of national revenue.

word history: The word exchequer entered Middle English in the sense ‘chessboard’. It came via Old French eschequier from medieval Latin scaccarium ‘chessboard’, ultimately from Persian šāh ‘king’. The current senses of exchequer derive from the department of state established by the Norman kings to deal with the royal revenues, named Exchequer from the chequered tablecloth on which accounts were kept by means of counters. check1, chess, and chequer share the same root.