debenture
/dɪˈbɛntʃə
/noun
1British A long-term security yielding a fixed rate of interest, issued by a company and secured against assets.In return, Gary wanted security by way of a debenture over the company's assets and Eddie and I agreed....
- One commentator suggests that ordinary receivers appointed under a debenture or other security who are not licensed insolvency practitioners would not be covered by this exemption.
- DFL granted a debenture to Midland as security for a loan.
1.1 (also debenture bond) North American An unsecured loan certificate issued by a company.Debt takes many forms - from bonds, debentures, bank loans and notes payable, to other more complicated forms of debt units....
- Today these phantom bonds total about $3.2 trillion, or 42 percent of the government's total outstanding debentures.
- Traders in the bond division may have sub-specializations, such as government or corporate money market instruments or bonds, or even such instruments as debentures.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting a voucher issued by a royal household, giving the right to claim payment for goods or services): from Latin debentur 'are owing' (from debere 'owe'), used as the first word of a certificate recording a debt. The current sense dates from the mid 19th century.