About
Who was Pacioli?
In 1494, a Franciscan friar called Luca Pacioli published Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalità in Venice. Tucked inside it was a short treatise on how Venetian merchants kept their books: every entry recorded twice, once as a debit and once as a credit, so the two sides always agree.
He didn’t invent the “Venetian method”, but he was the first to write it down clearly enough for anyone to learn. That’s why he’s remembered as the father of accounting. He was also a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, who illustrated his next book.
Paciolino means “little Pacioli”. Our friar is smaller, and a good deal more cheerful about reconciliations.
How do you say it?
pah-cho-LEE-no. Four syllables, with the stress on the third.
How it works
A new puzzle arrives every day at your local midnight. Monday is gentle, the week gets harder towards Saturday, and Sunday is a big one. Every puzzle has exactly one answer, that you can reach by reasoning, not guessing.