English[]
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[]
Noun[]
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Debt ({{{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.
- 1589, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, act 1, sc. 3,
- The state or condition of owing something to another.
- I am in your debt.
- 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.
- 1919, Upton Sinclair, Jimmie Higgins, ch. 15,
Derived terms[]
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Translations[]
action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another
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state or condition of owing something to another
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money that one person or entity owes or is required to pay to another
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- 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
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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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