# reckoning

Pronunciation: say "REK-uh-ning" /ˈɹɛkənɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The act of calculating or estimating a number, amount, or value.
   - Simple: The act of working out an amount by counting or estimating.
   - _By the captain's reckoning, the ship would reach port by dawn._
   - _A rough reckoning of the costs suggested the project was over budget._
2. The point at which the consequences or punishment for one's actions are finally faced.
   - Simple: The time when someone faces the results or punishment for what they have done.
   - _The dictator's long-delayed reckoning arrived when the crowds filled the square._
   - _After the scandal broke, a public reckoning over the firm's practices became unavoidable._
3. A personal opinion or considered judgment about something.
   - Simple: What someone thinks or believes to be true about something.
   - _By the committee's reckoning, the proposal lacked enough public support._
   - _In the historian's reckoning, the treaty did more harm than good._
4. The settling of accounts or debts between two or more parties.
   - Simple: The act of settling up money owed between people.
   - _The two merchants met for a final reckoning of their joint venture._
   - _No reckoning could balance the books until the missing invoice turned up._
5. An overall summing up or assessment of something.
   - Simple: An act of looking back and judging how something went overall.
   - _The report was a sober reckoning of the program's successes and failures._
   - _Any fair reckoning of her career must include both the triumphs and the blunders._

## Verb

6. Present participle and gerund of reckon. — present participle and gerund of reckon
   - Simple: Present participle of reckon. Use this form for the ongoing act of counting or supposing.
   - _He sat reckoning the odds before placing his bet._
   - _Reckoning without the weather, the planners scheduled the event outdoors._

## Noun

7. The bill or amount owed, especially for food and lodging at an inn or tavern. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The bill for food and drink at an inn or tavern.
   - _The landlord demanded the reckoning before the guests could collect their horses._
   - _After a week's lodging, the reckoning came to more than he had expected._
8. The rank, standing, or social importance attributed to a person. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The rank or importance a person holds among others.
   - _A knight of such reckoning was rarely seated below the salt._
   - _Though wealthy, the merchant held small reckoning among the titled nobility._

## Origin

This is the gerund of the verb 'reckon', formed from 'reckon' plus '-ing', comparable to Dutch 'rekening' and German 'Rechnung'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/reckoning (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).