EXCHEQUER

ex·cheq·uer   (ěks'chěk'ər, ĭks-chěk'ər)    n.   Exchequer The British governmental department charged with the collection and management of the national revenue. Exchequer In Great Britain, the Court of Exchequer. A treasury, as of a nation or an organization. Financial resources; funds. [Alteration of Middle English escheker, from Old French eschequier, counting table, chessboard, from eschec, check; see check.]

exchequer 

Main Entry: ex·che·quer
Pronunciation: 'eks-"che-k&r, iks-'che-
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French eschecker eschequ(i)er, from Old French eschequier royal treasury, reckoning board or cloth marked with squares, literally, chessboard, from eschec chess
1 cap : a royal office in medieval England at first responsible for the collection and management of the royal revenue and later for the adjudication of revenue cases
2 cap : a former superior court having law and equity jurisdiction in England and Wales over primarily revenue cases and now merged with the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice called also Court of the Exchequer
NOTE: The Exchequer was created in England by the Norman kings. In addition to being divided into a court of common law and a court of equity, at one point the Exchequer also had jurisdiction over all actions, except those involving real property, between two subjects of the Crown. In 1841, the Exchequer's equity jurisdiction, except over revenue cases, was transferred to the Court of Chancery, and in 1881 the Exchequer was merged into the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.
3 often cap : the office in Great Britain and Northern Ireland responsible for the collection and care of the national revenue