Debt

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old French dete (French: dette) < Medieval Latin dēbita < Latin dēbitum (“‘what is owed, a debt, a duty’”), neuter of dēbitus, perfect passive participle of dēbeō (“‘I owe’”), contraction of *dehibeō (“‘literally I have from’”) < de (“‘from’”) + habeō (“‘I have’”).

The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling, is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon dēbitum.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɛt/, SAMPA: /dEt/

• Audio (US)	noicon
  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun

Singular Debt

Plural {{{1}}}

Debt ({{{1}}})

1. An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another.
   • 1589, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, act 1, sc. 3,

     Revenge the jeering and disdain'd contempt

     Of this proud king, who studies day and night

     To answer all the debt he owes to you

     Even with the bloody payment of your deaths.

   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. 14,

     This long debt of confidence, due from me to him, whose bane and ruin I have been, shall at length be paid.

2. The state or condition of owing something to another.

   I am in your debt.

3. Money that one person or entity owes or is required to pay to another, generally as a result of a loan or other financial transaction.
   • 1919, Upton Sinclair, Jimmie Higgins, ch. 15,

     Bolsheviki had repudiated the four-billion-dollar debt which the government of the Tsar had contracted with the bankers.

Derived terms

bad debt debt-equity ratio debt-laden domestic debt

external debt foreign debt in debt national debt

Related terms

• debit
• debitor
• debtor
• indebted

Translations

action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another

Armenian: պարտք hy(hy) (partk') Bulgarian: задължение bg(bg) n. Danish: gæld c., skyldighed c. Finnish: velvoite fi(fi) German: Schuld de(de) f., Verbindlichkeit de(de) f., Verpflichtung de(de) f. Greek: χρέος el(el) (khréos) n. Hungarian: tartozás hu(hu), kötelezettség hu(hu) Italian: debito it(it) m.

Kurdish: deyn ku(ku) m., qer ku(ku) m., قه‌رز ku(ku) Romanian: datorie ro(ro) Russian: долг ru(ru) (dolg) m., обязанность ru(ru) (ob'ázannost') f. Scottish Gaelic: fiach gd(gd) m., comain gd(gd) f. Slovene: dolg sl(sl) m. Spanish: deuda es(es) f. Swedish: skuld sv(sv) c. West Frisian: skuld fy(fy) c.

state or condition of owing something to another

Armenian: պարտք hy(hy) (partk') Bulgarian: дълг bg(bg) m. Czech: dluh cs(cs) m. Danish: gæld da(da) c. Esperanto: ŝuldo eo(eo) Finnish: velka fi(fi) German: Schulden de(de) f., Verbindlichkeit de(de) f. Greek: χρέος el(el) (khréos) n.

Hungarian: adósság hu(hu), tartozás hu(hu) Italian: debito it(it) m. Kurdish: قه‌رزار Russian: долг ru(ru) (dolg) m. Scottish Gaelic: fiach gd(gd) m., comain gd(gd) f. Spanish: deuda es(es) f. Swedish: skuld c. (be in debt: stå i skuld) West Frisian: skuld fy(fy) c.

money that one person or entity owes or is required to pay to another

Armenian: պարտք hy(hy) (partk') Bulgarian: дълг bg(bg) m. Danish: gæld da(da) c. Estonian: võlg et(et) Finnish: velka fi(fi) French: dette fr(fr) f. German: Schulden de(de) f., Verbindlichkeit de(de) f. Greek: χρέος el(el) (khréos) n. Hebrew: חוב (khov) m. Hungarian: adósság hu(hu), tartozás hu(hu)

Italian: debito it(it) m. Japanese: 負債 (ふさい, fusai), 借金 (しゃっきん, shakkin) Kurdish: qer m., قه‌رز Russian: долг ru(ru) (dolg) m., задолженность ru(ru) (zadólžennost') f. Scottish Gaelic: fiach gd(gd) m. Slovene: dolg sl(sl) m. Spanish: deuda es(es) f. Swedish: skuld sv(sv) c. West Frisian: skuld fy(fy) c.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Afrikaans: skuld Bosnian: dug m. Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 債務, simpl. 债务 (zhàiwù) Croatian: dug m. Dutch: schuld French: dette Ido: debajo Indonesian: hutang, debet, debit, pijaman Interlingua: debita, debito

Latin: debitum n. Korean: 빚 (bit) Norwegian: gjeld Polish: dług m. Portuguese: dívida f., débito m. Romanian: datorie f. Serbian: Cyrillic: дуг m. Roman: dug m. Telugu: అప్పు (appu) Ukrainian: борг (borh) m.

External links

• Debt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Debt in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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