| 释义 |
I O U|ˌaɪˌəʊˈjuː|
[= ‘I owe you’.]
A document bearing these three letters followed by a specified sum, and signed, constituting a formal acknowledgement of a debt.
[1618Breton Court. & Countryman *C, Hee teacheth od fellowes play tricks with their Creditors, who in stead of payments, write IOV, and so scoffe many an honest man out of his goods.] 1795Espinasse Rep. I. 426 marg. note, An I.O.U. is admissible evidence of a debt without a stamp. 1808Campbell Rep. I. 499 It had been held by Eyre C. J. that an I.O.U. was good without a stamp. 1817M. Edgeworth Harrington xvi. 442 The fellow understands nothing, in short, but his IOUs. 1833Chitty Bills of Exch. 558. 1836 J. Grant Gt. Metrop. I. iv. 190, I shall be able to pay it you in a couple of months’, said his Lordship, handing the ex-fishmonger his IOU. 1840Marryat Olla Podr. (Rtldg.) 300 Of course with IOU's upon his..domains. a1845Hood Sniffing a Birthday vii, I'm free to give my IOU, Sign, draw, accept, as majors do. 1893Bithell Counting-Ho. Dict., IOU, a recognized contraction of the sentence, ‘I owe you.’ It is a simple acknowledgment of indebtedness to some particular person. As it is neither a promissory note nor a receipt, it requires no stamp. It is not a negotiable instrument, but as it is an acknowledgment of a debt, that debt can be sued for at any time, and is so far equal to a promissory note payable on demand. |