Publication Date
1986
Abstract
The common abbreviation for the accounting term debit is a puzzling one: Dr. Today, particularly with our depersonalized treatment of the accounting or bookkeeping debit, there is no obvious clue as to why there is an r in debit at all. An investigation of the history and evolution of the debit in bookkeeping reveals the reason for the abbreviation: a reason almost totally lost without historical perspective. Whereas the accounting debit is now viewed as a technical term, devoid of any value considerations, referring simply to the left side of a journal entry or ledger account, this was not always the case. Originally, debits did have a bad side. They were used to record the debts of the merchant or businessman. Debits were debtors. And the abbreviation for debtor is Dr.
Recommended Citation
Sherman, W. Richard
(1986)
"Where's the R in debit?,"
Accounting Historians Journal: Vol. 13:
Iss.
2, Article 12.
Available at:
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol13/iss2/12