[GNC] [OT] Why is Debit abbreviated Dr?

[Christian Kluge]

Am 05.09.2018 um 20:42 schrieb Geoff Jankowski via gnucash-user:
> David
> 
> I would love to agree with you but…..
> 
> In standard journal notation cr is a debt and dr an asset.  This is because it is nothing to do with credit (+ve) and debit (-ve) in any sense (or tense) but to do with a creditor (to whom we owe) and a debtor (who owes us).  Hence dr and cr relate to debtor and creditor and not to any form of debit or credit.
> 
> For example, if I take cash from the cash box and deposit it at the bank I enter a cr to the cashbook and a dr to the bank account. 

Actually you should a transit account for the period in between taking
and out of the cash box and that journal entry and the day the bank
actually books this deposit on your banking statement.

> Totally counterintuitive which is why accountancy is a black art and should be banned.

Every form of accounting assumes that the debit side will give its value
back one day as the original Italian formulations «deve dare» “shall
give“ and «deve avere» “shall have”, everyone knows that’s never going
to happen but still, nothing counterintuitive there.

Kind regards


Christian Kluge