English Online Dictionary. What means debt? What does debt mean?
English
Alternative forms
- dette (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English dette, dett, borrowed from Old French dete (French dette), from Medieval Latin dēbita, from Latin dēbitum (“what is owed, a debt, a duty”), neuter of dēbitus, perfect passive participle of dēbeō (“I owe”), contraction of *dehibeō (“I have from”), from de (“from”) + habeō (“I have”). Doublet of debit.
The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon dēbitum.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɛt/
- Rhymes: -ɛt
- Homophone: death (th-stopping)
Noun
debt (countable and uncountable, plural debts)
- An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another.
- The state or condition of owing something to another.
- (finance) 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.
- (law) An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money alleged to be due
Derived terms
Related terms
- debit
- debitor
- debtor
- indebted
Translations
See also
- owe
References
Further reading
- “debt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “debt”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Middle English
Noun
debt
- Alternative form of dette