debtn.
/dɛt/, U.S. /dɛt/ 1. That which is owed or due; anything (as money, goods, or service) which one person is under obligation to pay or render to another:† c. That which one is bound or ought to do; (one's) duty. Scottish. Obsolete.
a. a sum of money or a material thing.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt
yielding1340
debtc1380
due1439
debitc1450
devoirs1503
debitory1575
debenture1609
money-debt1627
balance (due)1720
outstandings1755
liability1842
engagement1849
live horse1859
payables1896
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 293 Ȝif a trewe man teche þis pore man to paie his dettis.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7642 Dauid..wightli wan o þam his dete [Fairf. dette, Gött. dett].
c1500 Merchant & Son in J. O. Halliwell Nugæ Poeticæ (1844) 28 Then Wyllyam payde hys fadur dettys.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Visitacion of Sicke f. xx* To declare his debtes, what he oweth.
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Gloucester xxiii To paye large vsury besides the due det.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iv. 24 Hauing com to Padua To gather in some debts . View more context for this quotation
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 23 Aug. To pay his small debts.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. 464 A debt of record is a sum of money, which appears to be due by the evidence of a court of record.
1845 H. J. Stephen New Comm. Laws Eng. II. 144 Whenever a man is subject to a legal liability to pay a sum of money to another, he is said to owe him a debt to that amount.
b. a thing immaterial.
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society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > an immaterial debt
debtc1386
devoirc1386
scorea1617
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Prol. 130 Why sholde men elles in hir bookes sette That a man shal yelde to his wyf hire dette.
a1425 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Galba) l. 27808 Rightwis es he, To gif ilk man his det.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 534 This curtysy he claymes as for clere det.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. xxxv. 343 Look upon what is done for you..as your debt to..Providence.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Miller's Daughter (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 112 Love the gift is Love the debt.
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1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 546 It is my dett to do all that I can To fend our kynrik out off dangeryng.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. iii. 184 So douchtely we schaype to do our det.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 136 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 99 The trewe turtour has..Done dewlie his det.
1573 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxxix. 319 I haue lang forȝet, Quhairfor indeid I haue not done my det.
2. † c. Obligation to do something; duty. in debt: under obligation, in duty bound. of or with debt: as a matter of debt, as is due or right; as in duty bound. Obsolete. (Cf. 1c.)
a. A liability or obligation to pay or render something; the condition of being under such obligation.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun]
debtc1290
owinga1500
debtorship1797
indebtedness1828
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 250/345 He with-sok þe giwes [= Jew's] dette and was i-don to ane oþe.
c1325 Metr. Hom. 18 And he..forgaf thaim thair dette bathe.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Rom. iv. 4 And to hym that worchith mede is not arettid bi grace, but bi dette.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Ddii v I have herd say that promysse is dette.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 48/1 Neither king nor Pope can geue any place such a priueledge, that it shall discharge a man of his dettes being able to paye.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 5 He hath for euer bound the Church vnto him, in a debt of speciall remembrance and thankefulnesse.
a1699 A. Halkett Autobiogr. (1875) 65 I was free of that Dept.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. ix. 513 Debts contracted..as far back as 1796.
1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life II. 502 He considered he thus contracted a debt to the country.
b. in debt: under obligation to pay something; owing something, esp. money (see also 2c); in any one's debt: under obligation to pay or render something to him; indebted to him. So out of debt, out of any one's debt; to fall or run into (or in) debt; out of debt out of danger: see danger n. 1e, and cf. quot. 1551.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [adverb]
in debtc1330
in, upon, on (the) score1568
in the red1907
in (occasionally the) hock1913
c1330 (?a1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) p. 462 ‘Þat dint’, he seyd, ‘was iuel sett. Wele schal y com out of þi dett.’
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxiii. 10 Ne neuere shal falle in dette.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 282 Ther wiste no wight. that he [sc. the Marchant] was in dette.
?1478 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 649 For he seythe ye be xxtis. in hys dette.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 47/2 Nowe vnthriftes ryote and runne in Dette.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Liiv Men, in whose debte and daunger they be not.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 434 Out of the debt of other men, and well able to pay.
1602 Bp. M. Smith Learned Serm. Worcester 12 Beeing over heade and eares in debte.
1615 E. Hoby Curry-combe 215 I see you meane not to die in Iabals debt for an Epigram.
1725 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman I. vi. 75 They are under no necessity of running deep into debt.
1763 Gentleman's Mag. July 331 The black traders are often in debt to the chiefs.
1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xiv, in Tales Fashionable Life VI. 314 Lord Clonbrony, for the first time since he left Ireland, found himself out of debt, and out of danger.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iii. viii. 118 To run in debt to the shopkeepers.
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society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun]
debtc1330
officec1330
obliginga1382
dutyc1385
bondc1449
due?a1475
bounden duty1530
dueness1576
behoof1591
obligement1611
obligationa1616
ought1678
right1752
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 261 We ere in dette, at nede to help þe kyng.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 52 And as it were of pure dette They yive her goodes to the king.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23886 A besand he me taht to sette Þat ik him ald to yeld wit dette.
a1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 2 Prelates and persons..þat ere haldene by dett for to lere þame.
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. iii. Prol. 23 Oure Eldrys we sulde folowe of det.
1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) iii. sig. Aiiiv/1 I..can not thanke the as I ought of dette.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 35 This fatall stone..Quhair it wes brocht in ony land or erd..Of verrie det the Scottis thair suld ring.
3. figurative. Used in Biblical language as the type of an offence requiring expiation, a sin.
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society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > sin > [noun] > instance of
sinc825
lahterc900
lastOE
debt?c1225
unkindnessa1400
piacle1644
peccancy1648
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 101 We seggeð for ȝef us ure dettes. as we for ȝeueð to ure detturs.
a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 20 Forȝiue us oure dettes as we forȝeue to oure detoures.
1508 Bp. J. Fisher Wks. (1876) 242 Whiche be our dettes? Truly our synnes.
1557 Bible (Whittingham) Matt. vi. 12 And forgeue vs our debtes [ Wyclif dettis, Cranm., Rhemish dettes, 1611 debts] euen as we forgiue our debters.
1858 R. C. Trench Parables xvi God is the creditor, men the debtors, and sins the debt.
4. Phrases.† c. bill of debt n. a promissory note, I.O.U., or other acknowledgement of indebtedness, in some countries used, like a bill of exchange, as a negotiable document. Obsolete.
a. debt of honour n. a debt that cannot be legally enforced, but depends for its validity on the honour of the debtor; usually applied to debts incurred by gambling.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt > other types of debt
crown debt1641
debt of honour1646
oblata1658
judgment debt1702
bond-debt1707
rumple1746
contingent liability1798
overdraft1812
current liability1832
receivable1836
minority debt1897
negative equity1946
eligible liability1971
1646 D. Evance Noble Order 37 He is become a voluntary debitor..in a debt of honour.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. iii. ii. 158 He..is obliged to pay debts of Honour, that is, all such as are contracted by Play.
1839 C. Sinclair Holiday House xiii. 265 Pay your debt of honour, Master Harry!
b. action of debt n. an action at law for recovering a debt.
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1552 in Vicary's Anat. Bodie of Man (1888) App. iii. 152 The gouernours..to haue an accion of dett[e] for the same.
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 192 A plaintiffe in an action of debte.
1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 111 The ground of an action of debt is the consideration or equivalent given by the debtee to the debtor.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > acknowledgement of indebtedness
bill of debt1530
ticket1632
I O U1795
three vowels1822
loan-note1883
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 198/1 Byll of dette, cedule.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 96 The most vsuall buying and selling of commodities beyond the Seas, in the course of Trafficke, is for Bills of Debt, or Obligations, called Billes Obligatorie, which one Merchant giueth vnto another, for commodities bought or sold, which is altogether vsed by the Merchants Aduenturors at Amsterdam, Middleborough, Hamborough, and other places.
1668 J. Child Brief Observ. Trade 11 If..a Law for Transferring Bills of Debt should pass, we should not miss the Dutch Money.
1690 J. Child Disc. Trade v. 110 In other Kingdoms and Countries abroad..Transferrance of Bills of Debt is in use.
d. National Debt: a debt owing by a sovereign state to private individuals who have advanced money to it for the public needs; esp. that main part of the public debt, which has been converted into a fund or stock of which the government no longer seeks to pay off the principal, but to provide the annual interest; hence called funded debt, as opposed to the floating debt, which includes the ever-varying amounts due by the government and repayable on demand or by a certain time.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt > national or public debt
National Debt1653
dead weight1823
dead-weight debt1905
1653 S. Chidley (title) Remonstrance concerning the Public Faith, Soldier's Arrears, and other Public Debts.
1812 G. Chalmers Hist. View Domest. Econ. Great Brit. & Ireland (New ed.) 210 The most efficient measure..was to fund..the floating debts, of the victualling, and of the ordnance departments.
1860 C. Knight Pop. Hist. Eng. VI. iii. 40 There was a floating debt of about ten millions.
1889 Whitaker's Almanack 493 The French National Debt is the largest in the world..Public debt, funded £957,000,000; Public debt, floating, annuities, etc., capitalized £728,372,372.
e. small debt: see small debt n.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
debt-collecting n.
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society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun] > collecting debts
levy1463
dun1673
debt-collecting1897
1897 Westm. Gaz. 13 Apr. 2/1 But not by any means must it be supposed that the work of the County Courts is confined to debt-collecting.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 13 Apr. 2/1 The small debt-collecting work which now largely occupies them.
debt-collector n.
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society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun] > collecting debts > person
dun1628
debt-collectora1852
a1852 in G. B. Hill Talks about Autographs (1896) 3 F.-M. the Duke of Wellington begs to inform Mr. Snip that he is neither the Marquis of Douro's steward nor Mr. Snip's debt collector.
1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 121 Debt-collector.
debt-dealer n.
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1826 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 4 Nov. 339 A large part of the rents must go to the Debt-Dealers, or Loan-makers.
debt-exchange n.
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1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 236 In mixed or Debt Exchanges the Drawer receives no Monyes, but is Debtor, and gives Bills to his Creditor..for payment of his Debt.
debt-fraud n.
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1883 19th Cent. May 884 Punishment of debt-frauds as crimes.
debt-reduction n.
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1905 Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 6/1 We have handed over £93,376 more towards debt reduction.
C2.
debt-raiser n. one who undertakes to raise money to pay off a debt.
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?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 121.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 19 May 3/1 Lord Salisbury may be an admirable political ‘debt raiser’.
debt-slave n. one who is in slavery for the redemption of debt.
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1895 Mrs. Grindrod Siam 40 People still sell themselves and their families to a wealthy chief, who will pay off their debts contracted through thriftlessness or gambling. These debt slaves give service for a specified term.
1962 Daily Tel. 23 Apr. 6 Mortgaging him as a debt-slave to a Pakistani employer already in Britain.
debt-slavery n. see debt-slave n.
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1895 F. A. Swettenham Malay Sketches 229 The revolting practice of debt-slavery.
Draft additions 1993
debt counsellor n. a person who or organization which offers professional advice on methods of debt repayment to those who have fallen into debt.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > [noun] > bankruptcy or debt professional
debt counsellor1979
1979 U.S. & World Rep. (Nexis) 25 June 59 Debt counselors report that many people who have successfully managed their money for years no longer can cope and are starting to fall behind.
1982 Christian Sci. Monitor 17 Mar. 12/1 The Monitor interviewed several financial experts, including..stock brokers, debt counselors, and advisers from..a..financial service advising 25,000 women.
2001 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Electronic ed.) 7 July This national organisation is a licensed debt counsellor with professional negotiators who will act on your behalf in your dealings with the companies to whom you owe money and where you are unable to maintain the necessary payments.
debt counselling n.
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1968 N. E. Olson (title of M.S.H.Ec. thesis, Univ. of Washington) A study of the effectiveness of debt counseling services in Seattle, Washington.
2002 Courier (Dundee) (Electronic ed.) 26 June Two Fife trading standards officers are working towards offering professional debt counselling and money advice thanks to a new Scottish Vocational Qualification scheme, administered by Money Advice Scotland and sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Draft additions September 2003
Ecology (originally U.S.). debt-for-nature swap and variants: an arrangement by which a (usually under-developed) country with substantial foreign debt has (part of) this debt paid off by an environmental body, in return for committing itself to specified conservation measures.
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1987 Washington Post (Nexis) 14 July e3 This ‘debt-for-nature’ swap signifies a major breakthrough, not only as a means to reduce Bolivia's debt burden, but also as an effective way to protect the natural resources upon which our country's long-term economic health depends.
1991 J. Rifkin Biosphere Politics v. xli. 312 A limited number of ‘nature-for-debt’ swaps have already been successfully negotiated.
2002 Canada & World Backgrounder Sept. 11 New protected parks and reserves have been set up and the World Bank and World Wildlife Fund have negotiated a ‘debt for Nature’ deal.
Draft additions June 2013
debt trap n. a situation in which a debt is difficult or impossible to repay, typically because high interest payments prevent repayment of the principal or require the borrower to take out additional loans at high interest, thereby compounding the debt; (also) a credit arrangement or loan which causes this.
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1857 Grant County (Wisconsin) Herald 2 May 2/2 No favors are shown in a financial storm, and the better way is for every man to trust to himself in getting out of this debt-trap of his own making.
1897 J. S. Dennis Christian Missions & Social Progress I. vi. iii. 291 The beguiling allurements and sinuosities of Indian debt-traps are briefly and instructively treated in this useful tract.
1974 C. Payer (title of book) The debt trap: the International Monetary Fund and the Third World.
1990 Ebony Oct. 42 They're almost debt-free because they usually buy with cash rather than credit cards, which can become debt traps.
2009 Daily Tel. 13 Dec. 21/5 The dire state of the public finances and the real risk of a debt trap, with rising interest costs accounting for an ever-increasing proportion of government spending.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† debtadj.
Obsolete.
Owed, due, owing.
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society > morality > duty or obligation > [adjective] > due or owed (of an obligation)
debta1340
debteda1425
society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [adjective] > owed
duea1325
debta1340
dettya1387
payable1394
owing1411
debteda1425
oughting1500
outstand1729
outstanding1797
defaulted1857
called1882
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxviii. 5 Ȝeldand til þe[e] dett [v.r. duwe] honur.
c1440 W. Hylton Scala Perfeccionis (1494) i. xl That it is nedeful to the & dette for to traueyle soo.
a1555 N. Ridley Wks. (1843) 305 Promises so openly made, and so duly debt.
1576 J. Knewstub Confut. Heresies (1579) Q vj a That which is det and due on their behalfe.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 184 To pay our selues what to our selues is debt . View more context for this quotation
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.?c1225
adj.a1340