Accountable
The requirement to answer for one's actions. Or at least the expectation.
How We Say It
ΙΒ·kownΒ·tΙΒ·bilΒ·iΒ·tee
Where It Comes From
From account β ultimately Latin computare, to count. The metaphor is financial: being required to render an account, to show the numbers. Accountability as a political and institutional concept developed in the 17th and 18th centuries alongside democratic theory.
How It's Been Used
Invoked constantly in political speech, corporate governance, and education policy. Almost always refers to accountability for others. The word does real work when it is backed by consequences β when it is not, it is a placeholder for wanting things to be different without specifying how they will change.