exchequer
noun
[ ɪksˈtʃɛkə ]
• a royal or national treasury.
• "an important source of revenue to the sultan's exchequer"
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French eschequier, from medieval Latin scaccarium ‘chessboard’, from scaccus (see check1). The original sense was ‘chessboard’. Current senses derive from the Norman department of state dealing with the royal revenues, named Exchequer from the chequered tablecloth on which accounts were kept by means of counters. The spelling was influenced by Latin ex- ‘out’ (see ex1). Compare with chequer.
