debt

== English == === Alternative forms === dette, det (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 (“to owe”), contraction of *dehibeō (“I have from”), from de (“from”) + habeō (“to have”). Doublet of debit. Displaced native Old English eofot. The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon dēbitum. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈdɛt/, [ˈdɛt] (spelling pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɛbt/, /ˈdɛp(t)/ Rhymes: -ɛt Hyphenation: debt 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 ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === References === === Further reading === “debt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “debt”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. == Middle English == === Noun === debt alternative form of dette