'count' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'conter', which itself came from Latin 'computare' where 'com-' meant 'together' and 'putare' meant 'to reckon'.

'count' changed from Old French 'conter' (and Latin 'computare'), passed into Middle English as 'counten' or 'counte', and eventually became the modern English word 'count'.

Initially it referred to calculating or reckoning ('to compute'), and over time its use broadened to include 'to tally' and figuratively 'to matter' or 'to be regarded'.