count
Have the count count the votes again.
The sentence asks whether a nobleman of the rank of count can be tasked with tallying the votes again.
Meanings (pronounced /kaʊnt/)
to determine the total number of something by enumeration; to tally
- Count the chairs before the meeting.
- Children love to count to a hundred.
a nobleman in some European countries, equivalent in rank to an English earl
- The count owned vast estates across the countryside.
- Count Dracula is the most famous fictional count.
Word origin
Two etymologically distinct words: 'count' the verb (to tally) is from Old French conter ('to add up'), from Latin computāre ('to reckon, calculate') — the same root as 'compute.' 'Count' the title (nobleman) is from Old French conte, from Latin comes ('companion, attendant of the emperor'), originally a Roman administrative office that evolved into a hereditary noble rank.
Fun fact
The two 'counts' are completely unrelated by origin — but the homophone has been a source of comedy for centuries. The Sesame Street character 'Count von Count' is a literal count (nobleman) who counts (tallies) compulsively, a perfect pun made possible by the etymological coincidence.