Inventory

Origin

Middle English inventarie, inventorie, from Anglo-French inventaire, inventorie, from Latin inventarium, from inventum thing found, topic, neuter of inventus

• 15th Century

Definitions

• 1a : an itemized list of current assets: as (1) : a catalog of the property of an individual or estate (2) : a list of goods on hand

b : a survey of natural resources

c : a list of traits, preferences, attitudes, interests, or abilities used to evaluate personal characteristics or skills

• 2: survey, summary
• 3: the quantity of goods or materials on hand : stock
• 4: the act or process of taking an inventory

Description

Inventory means a list compiled for some formal purpose, such as the details of an estate going to probate, or the contents of a house let furnished. This remains the prime meaning in British English. In the USA and Canada the term has developed from a list of goods and materials to the goods and material available in stock by a business; and this has become the primary meaning of the term in North American English, equivalent to the term "stock" in British English. In accounting, inventory or stock is considered an asset.[1]