See Also: Original issue discount debt (OID debt)(money)
Original issue discount debt (OID debt)(finance)
Junior debt (subordinate debt)(money)
Junior debt (subordinate debt)(finance)
bad debt(dictionary)
debt(encyclopedia)
debt(2)(dictionary)
debt(dictionary)
Debt(finance)
Debt(law)

debt(2) (iou)



debt noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French dette from Proto-Romance use as fem. noun of pl. of Latin debitum neut. pple of debere owe; -b- introduced 16 after French debte.]
Something owed or due; something (as money, goods, or service) which one person is under an obligation to pay or render to another. ME.
B. T. Washington It was my greatest ambition..to save money enough with which to pay this debt.
b. spec. In biblical translations and allusions: an offence requiring atonement, a sin. ME.
Bible (AV): Matthew 6:12 And forgiue vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters.
A liability or obligation to pay or render something; the condition of being so liable or obligated. ME.
Bible (AV) He hath for euer bound the Church vnto him, in a debt of speciall remembrance and thankefulnesse. C. A. Lindbergh I left France with a debt of gratitude which..I shall always remember. T. S. Eliot She's always in debt. Proverb: Out of debt, out of danger.
(One's) duty. Chiefly Scot. ME-L16.
Phrases: bad debt: see BAD adjective. debt of honour a debt that is not legally enforceable, esp. a gambling debt. debt of nature, debt to nature (the necessity of) death. floating debt: payable on demand or at a certain time. good debt: see GOOD adjective. in debt to someone, in someone's debt owing something to someone. National Debt the total of all a State's borrowings. small debt: of a limited amount, for which summary jurisdiction is provided in a county or (Scot.) sheriff's court.
Comb.: debt-collector a person whose business it is to collect debts on behalf of creditors; debt-slave a person kept in slavery until a debt is paid; debt swap (more fully debt-for-nature swap) a transaction in which a foreign exchange debt owed by a developing country is transferred to another organization on the condition that the country uses local currency for a designated purpose, usually environmental protection.
debtless adjective LME.