Origin and history of tally

late Old English scoru "twenty," from Old Norse skor "mark, notch, incision; a rift in rock," also, in Icelandic, "twenty," from Proto-Germanic *skur-, from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut."

The notion probably is of counting large numbers (of a passing flock of sheep, etc.) by making a notch in a stick for each 20. The prehistoric sense of the Germanic word, then, likely was "straight mark like a scratch, line drawn by a sharp instrument." That way of counting, called vigesimalism, is widespread and also exists in France and left its trace in the language: In Old French, "twenty" (vint) or a multiple of it could be used as a base, as in vint et doze ("32"), dous vinz et diz ("50"). Vigesimalism was or is a feature of Welsh, Irish, Gaelic and Breton (as well as non-IE Basque), and it is speculated that the English and the French learned it from the Celts. Compare tally (n.).

By early 13c. it is attested in the sense of "a financial record" (perhaps one kept by tallies), and it is attested from early 14c. as "reckoning, total amount." The specific sense of "a reckoning or account kept by means of tallies" is clearly attested by c. 1400, especially (1590s) "mark made (by chalk, on a taproom door, etc.) to keep count of a customer's drinks."

This was extended by c. 1600 to "amount due, one's debt," and by 1670s to "mark made for purpose of recording a point in a game or match," and thus "aggregate of points made by contestants in certain games and matches" (1742, in whist).

The sporting score-card is by 1877 (in cricket). The newspaper sports section score line is by 1965. Score-keeping in sports is by 1905. From the tavern-keeping sense comes the meaning "amount on an innkeeper's bill" (c. 1600) and thus the figurative verbal expression settle scores (1775; as cut scores, 1610s).

Meaning "printed piece of music" is recorded by 1701, said to be from the practice of connecting related staves by scores (in the "line drawn" sense). Especially "music composed for a film" (1927). In underworld slang, "money obtained in a crime," 1914. Meaning "an act of obtaining narcotic drugs" is by 1951.

The meaning "a cut, notch, scratch or line made by a sharp instrument," without reference to counting, is attested from c. 1400. By c. 1600 as "a line drawn."

"one who makes the outer garments of men and other garments of heavy stuff," late 13c., tailloir (late 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French tailour, Old French tailleor "tailor," also "stone-mason" (13c., Modern French tailleur), literally "a cutter," from tailler "to cut," from Late Latin or old Medieval Latin taliare "to split" (compare Medieval Latin taliator vestium "a cutter of clothes"), from Latin talea "a slender stick, rod, staff; a cutting, twig."

Although historically the tailor is the cutter, in the trade the 'tailor' is the man who sews or makes up what the 'cutter' has shaped. [OED, 2nd ed., 1989]

The post-Latin sense development would be "piece of a plant cut for grafting," hence a verb, "cut a shoot," then, generally, "to cut." It had been connected with Sanskrit talah "wine palm," Old Lithuanian talokas "a young girl," Greek talis "a marriageable girl" (for sense, compare slip of a girl, twiggy), Etruscan Tholna, name of the goddess of youth. But de Vaan (2008) writes, "There is no viable etymology for talea, unless it is a derivative of talus 'ankle, knuckle'." An Old English word for a tailor was seamere, from seam (n.).

1590s, "cut a notch or notches in," from notch (n.). Earlier verb (before misdivision) was Middle English ochen "to cut, slash" (c. 1400). Meaning "to place in a notch, to fit (an arrow) to the string by the notch" is from 1630s. Meaning "to mark or score" (1837) is sporting slang, originally in cricket, from the old method of keeping score; notch (n.) as "a nick in a stick, etc., as a means of keeping score" is from 1570s (also compare score, tally). Related: Notched; notching.