▪ I. owe, v.
(əʊ)
Forms: see below.
[Comm. Teut.: OE. áᵹan, pres. ic áh, pa. ic áhte = OFris. (âga), âch (hâch), âchte, OS. égan (êh), êhta, OHG. eigan, ON. eiga, á, átta, Goth. aigan, aih, aihta: one of the original Teutonic preterite-present verbs (see can, dare, dow, may). The OTeut. aig-, aih-, answers to a pre-Teut. aik-, ablaut-grade of ik-, the original stem of the present: cf. Skr. i{cced} to possess, own. This vb. now survives only in Eng. and the Scandinavian langs. (Sw. äga, ega, Da. eie to own, have). In Eng. it has undergone much change both of form and sense. The original preteritive inflexion of the present tense (áh, áht, áhst, áh, áᵹon) began in late OE. and early ME. to be supplanted by the ordinary pres. tense forms (e.g. 3rd sing., áhð, aweþ, oweþ, awes, owes, pl. áᵹað, aȝeþ, oȝeþ, oweth, etc.); and in mod.Eng. the tense is entirely thus levelled, owe, owest, owes, -eth, owe. The OE. pa. tense áhte, ME. âhte, ôhte, survives as ought; but before 1200 this began to be used (in the subjunctive) with an indefinite and hence present signification, in a special sense, and thus gradually came to be in use a distinct verb from owe (for which see ought v.); its function as pa. tense of owe being supplied in 15th c. by owed. The orig. pa. pple. in all the Teut. langs. became an adj., of which the mod.Eng. form is own a.; but as a pa. pple. OE. áᵹen was still used in 16–17th c. as owen, oune. A later pa. pple. aucht, ought, conformed to the orig. pa. tense, is found from the 14th c.: see ought v. 7. The current pa. pple. is owed; so that the whole verb has now the ordinary weak conjugation owe, owed, owed. The change of signification from habēre to dēbēre can be best traced in the scheme of senses below; but the primitive sense ‘have, possess’ is not yet extinct in the dialects, which use awe or owe = own, and have not entirely lost the connexion of owe and ought.
ought, being now in Standard English practically a distinct word, has been fully treated in its alphabetical place, and is not dealt with here; but, for the historical development, the two articles owe, ought, should be read together.]
A. Inflexional Forms.
1. inf.. α. 1 áᵹan, 2–3 aȝen, (3 aȝhenn, aȝæn, aȝe), 3 awen, 3, north. 4–5 agh(e, 3–6 north. awe, 6– aw. β. 3 oȝe(n, 3–4 owen, 3– owe, (6 ough, 7 ow).
| α c 888 Aᵹan [see B. 1]. c 1200 Ormin 8173 Off þe bettste pall þatt aniȝ mann maȝȝ aȝhenn. c 1205 Lay. 11781 Þu scalt..þas riche aȝen [c 1275 oȝe]. Ibid. 32085 No most þu nauere mære ængle-lond aȝe. c 1300 Awe [see B. 1 b]. c 1400 Agh [see B. 1 c]. 1535 Stewart Chron. Scot. II. 470 For na dett that he can aw. |
| β c 1275 Lay. 4149 Ne mai neuere mansipe leng oȝe [c 1205 aȝen]. Ibid. 18574 Ȝef he nolde þis owe. c 1320 Cast. Love 132 How miȝte he him more loue schowen Þen his oune liknesse habben and owen? 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 34/2 To haue cure and owe to wake. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 415 Who should owe the calfe. 1649 Lovelace Poems 143 What your whiter chaster brest doth ow. |
2. pres. ind. a. 1st sing. α. 1 áh, áᵹ, 2–3 ah, (2 auh, ach, 3 æh), 3–4 agh, (aghe), 3–6 aw, 4 au(e, 4–6 awe. β. 3–4 oȝ, oh, 3 ohȝ, ouh, ou, 3–5 ogh, (4 oghe), 4–5 owȝe, 4–7 ow, 4– owe, (5 howe).
| α a 1000 Byrhtnoth 175 (Gr.) Nu ic ah mæste þearfe. c 1200 Ormin 11815 Þatt I me sellf all ah itt wald. 13.. Cursor M. 13825 (Cott.) Wit-stand his biding agh [a 1425 Tr. ow] i noght. 13.. Ibid. 5145 (Fairf.) Bi þe faythe I aghe [G. aw, Tr. owe] to ȝou. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 720, I aw the honor and servyse. |
| β 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6369 Bi þe treuþe ich ou to þe. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxv. 70 The more oh ich to lovie the. a 1425 Cursor M. 10248 (Tr.) Þat I no chirche owȝe com inne. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 22677 So I howe. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7422, I wil worship as I ow. 1530 Palsgr. 650/1, I owe dette. a 1652 Brome Queenes Exch. v. Wks. 1873 III. 548, I ow thee a just reward. |
b. 2nd sing. α. 1 áhst, áht, áᵹt, 2–3 aȝes(t, aust, 3 ahes(t; 3–4 ahe, 4 agh, aghe, au, 4–5 (6– Sc.) aw, awe. β. 3– owest, (4–5 owist, 5 -yst, 7– ow'st); 4 ogh, 5 ow, owe.
| α a 900 Cynewulf Elene 726 Ðu ðe ahst doma ᵹeweald. c 950 Aht [see B. 2]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 Heore uuel..þu aȝest to hetiene. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 41 Ðu aust te folȝin ðane..onfald Iob. a 1225 Juliana 48 Ne ahestu nan habben. c 1230 Hali Meid. 39 Þat þu ahes to don. a 1300 Cursor M. 23181 (Cott.) Þou agh [Ed. ahe, Gött. au] to min. 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 733 As þou aw. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 171 To luf me welle thou awe. |
| β a 1225 Ancr. R. 126 Þe dette þet to owest me. 13.. Cursor M. 26965 (Cott.) Ne..Þi-self ogh sai bot soth o þe. a 1425 Ibid. 4589 (Tr.) Þerfore owe [earlier MSS. au, aghe] þou bi riȝt. 1483 Vulgaria abs Terentio 16 b, Do as thow owyst to do. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. iii. 33 Y{supu} owest to meruayll and fere. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xx. 106 Thou that owest me obedience. |
c. 3rd sing. (1) Original: α. 1 áh, áᵹ, 2–3 ah, (2 auh, ach, 3 æh), 3–4 agh, -e, 3–6 aw, 4 au, aue, 4–5 awe, (5 augh). β. 3–4 oh, oȝ, 3 ohȝ, ouh, ou, 3–5 ogh, 4–5 owȝe, ow, owe. (2) New formation: γ. 2 ahð, aweþ, (3 haht), 4 aws, 5 awiþ, (awthe). δ. 3–4 oȝþ, oȝeþ, (oȝet), 3–5 oweþ, (3 howeð), 4– oweth, (4–5 -iþ, -yþ, 5 -ith(e, howyth); 6– owes, (6–7 ows).
| α a 1000 Andreas 518 (Gr.) Ah him lifes ᵹeweald. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxiv. 47 Eall þæt he ah. c 1160 Hatton G. ibid., Eall þæt he aȝ. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 139 Man ach to wurþen þis halie dei. Ibid., Sunnedei ah efri..Mon{ddd}to chirche cume. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 35 Ðat god ðat he aw te donne. Ibid. 45 Ðe hlauerd..ðe ðat scip auh. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 17 Ne noman ne agh werne. c 1205 Lay. 13479 Þes king æh [c 1275 haht] al þis lond. 13.. Cursor M. 267 (Gött.) Coursur of þe werld men au [Cott. aght] it call. Ibid. 4380 He aue to thinck apon þe ending. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) IV. 461 A man awe not to departe. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. xii. 51 He that aw this swerd. |
| β c 1200 Moral Ode 2 (Trin. MS.) Mi wit oh to be more. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 155 Al chirche folc ohȝ to ben gadered in chirche. Ibid. 189 Þat ilke wei ogh al mankin to holden. c 1220 Bestiary 370 Ne oȝ ur non oðer to sunen. a 1225 Ancr. R. 64 Þet he ouh to siggen. c 1308 Pol. Songs (Camd.) 204 The wreche was hard that ow the gode. c 1325 Know Thyself 46 in E.E.P. 131 Þenke on þi god as þe wel owe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 5357 As ogh myn astate. a 1425 Cursor M. 9686 (Tr.) Hit owȝe tried to be. ? 1490 Caxton Rule St. Benet (E.E.T.S.) 139 He owe to fall downe prosstrate. |
| γ c 1160 Hatton Gosp. Luke xi. 21 Þa þing þe he ahð [Ags. Gosp. ah]. 13.. Cursor M. 9636 (Gött.) Dede he aws to thole for-þi. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 30 Awiþ he not to bless[e] þe peple? 1486 Bk. St. Albans A ij b, As she awthe to be. |
| δ c 1205 Lay. 3465 Þe man þat lutel oȝeþ. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 324 Quat oȝet nu ðat for-bode o-wold? 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 954 Pray..to oure lady þat owyþ þys day. 1340 Ayenb. 9 Þe wyl of him þet hit oȝþ. 13.. Cursor M. 6161 (Gött.) Þis owes [Tr. oweþ] euer to be in mind. 1382 Wyclif Eccl. xi. 8 He owith to han mynde of the derke tyme. a 1450 Cov. Myst. (1841) 97 To whom the mayd howyth to be maryed. 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 12 Lyke as a trewe man oweth to do. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) I. 534 No bishop ows to let a true priest. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxxix, What he owes thee. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxx. 181 The debt that every man oweth. |
d. pl. α. 1 áᵹon, -un, (áᵹað), 2–3 aȝen, aȝe, aweð, 3 ahen, aȝeð, -æð, aweð; 4 agh(e, ah, (h)ach, 4–5 aue, awe, 4–6 au, aw, 5 augh. β. 2–3 oȝen, oȝeð, 3 ohen, 3–5 owen, (5 -in, -yn, -ne), oweþ, -eth, ouwe, 4 oen, howen, oghe, ouh, 4–7 ow, 4– owe, (5 howe, 8 ough).
| α c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 4 (5) Hi eorðan aᵹun. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 35 Swo aweð to donne alle. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 41 Swo we aȝeð to don. Ibid. 57 We aȝen to cumen. a 1240 Sawles Warde in Lamb. Hom. 245 Hu we ahen wearliche to biwiten us seoluen. 13.. Cursor M. 23824 (Edin.) We agh it noght to hald in were. Ibid. 11618 (Cott.) Þe lauerd agh [G. aue, Tr. owe, L. ow] yee worthli to lufe. a 1340 Hampole Psalter ii. 4 Wele aghe we to brek. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 39 Þe ligeaunce þat þei awe. c 1500 Lancelot 3447 Yhe aw to be commendit. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 8 The trew service..quhilk we aw to him. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 57 Sa we au faith..to the kirk. |
| β a 1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Ure king we oȝeð wurhðmint. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 57 Alse we oȝen to don. a 1225 Ancr. R. 68 Uor þi owen þe gode..to habben witnesse. c 1275 Lay. 25110 Al þat we beie oweþ [c 1205 aȝæð]. Ibid. 25319 Þat we oweþ [c 1205 aȝen] cleane. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 313 Þe whilk ȝe salle & ouh to maynten. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 197 Þei owen to use þis doynge. 1380 Lay Folks Catech. (Lamb. MS.) 978 We owe to loue oure euyn-cristyn. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 124/2 Profites that cometh, or oweth to come. 1463 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. II. 142 Do as ye owe to do. 1473 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 86/1 The which vi marcs, the seid Priour..and his successours..owyn to pay. 1647 Cowley Mistress, Sleep ii, All my too much Moysture ow. 1711–1868 Owe [see B. 4]. |
3. Past Indic. (1) Original: áhte, ôhte, etc.: see ought v. (2) New formation: 5 awede, 5– owed, (5 -id, -yd, 7 ow'd); 2nd sing. owedst, (7 owd'st).
| a 1425 Cursor M. 14045 (Trin.) Wheþer owed to loue him bettur þo. 1572 R. H. tr. Lauaterus' Ghostes (1596) 147 This man that owed the apparel. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 333 That sweete sleepe Which thou owd'st yesterday. 1627 May Lucan v. (1631) 18 The man that ow'd, and kept This boate. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. Introd. §3. 3 He owed his knowledge of letters to accident. |
4. pa. pple. α. 1 áᵹen, 5–9 owen, (5 owyn, 6 oune). β. aht, aught, ought, etc.: see ought v. γ. 4– owed, (6 oughed, 7 owd, ow'd).
| α 1460–4 Owyn [see B. 3]. 1570 Levins Manip. 220/12 Oune, debitus. 1642 View Print. Bk. int. Observat. 9 The King the supreame head..unto whom a body politique..been bounden and owen next to God. Ibid., Bounden and owen to beare..obedience. 1803 W. Taylor in Robberds Mem. I. 458, I have owen him a letter still longer. |
| γ c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. v. 102 (Camb. MS.) Tormentz of laweful peynes ben rather owed to felonos citezeins. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary iii. iii, All broken sleeps, are ow'd Only to you. 1715–20 Pope Iliad ix. 827 Strength consists in spirit and in blood, And those are owed to generous wine and food. |
5. The negative ne blended formerly with this vb., making the OE. forms náh, náᵹon, náhte, ME. naȝen, nowen, nouh, nowest, etc.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 256 Heo..nouh non uorte nimen Godes flesch & his blod. Ibid. 380 Ȝe nowen nout unnen. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 215 Þu nowest none mon nowitht. |
B. Signification. I. To have; to possess; to own.
† 1. a. trans. To have; to have belonging to one, to possess; to be the owner of, to own; = own v. 2. Obs. (since c 1680) exc. dial.
For illustration of the original pa. tense see ought v. 1.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xiv. §2 Þa micles beþurfon þe micel aᵹan willaþ. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 44 Se man..gæð and sylþ eall þæt he ah, and ᵹebiᵹþ þone æcer. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Þe mon ne ah his modes iwald. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8890 Ne let me nomon owe, Bote he abbe an tuo-name. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 33 The goode man that the beestes oweth. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xi. (1885) 136 The eyres off thaim þat some tyme owed it. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 117 He that of very ryght owed y⊇ cappe. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxiii. 325 The horse The Gods bred, and Adrastus ow'd. 1628 T. Spencer Logick 117 The Oxe..knowes who owes him, and feedes him. 1664 Pepys Diary (1879) III. 7 Fine storehouses,..but of no great profit to him that oweth them. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v., Mr. Brown owes that farm. |
† b. To get or take possession of; = own v. 1; have v. 14. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 28423 Þe feond hine aȝe! c 1300 Havelok 1292 Als I sat upon that lowe, I bigan Denemark for to awe. |
† c. To acknowledge as belonging to oneself; = own v. 3 a. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 8956 The ost for to honour & agh hym as lord. 1613 Wither Abuses Stript i. viii, Their fore⁓fathers..would not know them, (If they were living) or for shame not owe them. 1622 E. Misselden Free Trade 30 Him that wrote a little treatise..which it seemes for modesty he refuseth to owe. |
II. To have to pay.
This branch and the next were expressed in OE., as in the other Teutonic langs., by the v. sceal, pa. tense sceolde, inf. sculan (Goth. skal, skulda, skulan), mod.Eng. shall, should. The first traces of the mod. use appear in the Lindisf. Gloss, which renders L. dēbēre (where the Rushw., like the later Ags. Gosp., uses sculan) by the phrase áᵹan tó ᵹeldanne ‘to have to pay’. Examples are wanting during the following two centuries to show the stages by which this was shortened to the simple áᵹan, which is found by 1175 in full use, both in the sense ‘to owe (money)’, and ‘to have it as a duty’, ‘to be under obligation (to do something)’, in both taking the place of OE. sculan. (See also ought v. 2, 5.) The result was that shall gradually ceased to have the sense ‘owe’, retained that of obligation with a weaker force, and became mainly an auxiliary of the future tense; while áᵹan, aȝen, oȝen, owen, owe, in taking dēbēre as its main sense, has in Standard Eng. lost that of habēre, or handed it over to the cognate own, which shares it with have and such Romanic synonyms as possess.
2. a. To be under obligation to pay or repay (money or the like); to be indebted in, or to the amount of; to be under obligation to render (obedience, honour, allegiance, etc.). Const. with simple dat. or to. (The chief current sense.)
For illustration of the pa. tense in earlier form see ought v. 2.
| [c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 28 ᵹeld þæt ðu aht to ᵹeldanne [Vulg. debes, Rushw. and Ags. G. scealt, Hatt. scelt]. Ibid. Luke xvi. 5 Huu micel aht ðu to ᵹeldanne hlaferde minum? [Vulg. debes domino meo, Ags. G. scealt þu minum hlaforde]. Ibid. 7 Huu feolo aht ðu to? [Vulg. debes, Ags. G. scealt þu].] a 1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Ure king we oȝeð uurþmint [text wrhmint], hur sceappend al þat we bieð. c 1200 Ormin 16529, & ȝiff þu litell dost forr Godd, Godd ah þe litell mede. 1258 Proclam. Hen. III, l. 4 We hoaten alle vre treowe in þe treowþe þæt heo vs oȝen. 1382 Wyclif Luke xvi. 5 He seide to the firste, Hou moche owist thou to my lord? 1484 Caxton Fables of Alfonce vii, He is wyse that payeth that that he oweth of ryght. a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) H viij b, The people owe obedyence to the prynce. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 38 In it chyldrene ar taucht quhat thay aw vnto thair parents. 1735 Sheridan Let. to Swift 16 July, Swift's Lett. 1768 IV. 102, I cleared off the rent which I owed him. 1801 in A. H. Craufurd Gen. Craufurd & Light Div. (1891) 10 You owe it to yourself to prepare against this. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 29, I paid him what I owed him. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 140 On behalf of the land to which they owed a temporary allegiance. |
b. absol. (or with indirect obj. only): To be indebted, be in debt.
| 1460, 1483 [see ought v. 2 b]. 1607 Heywood Wom. Kild w. Kindn. Wks. 1874 II. 143, I haue..nothing left, I owe euen for the clothes vpon my backe. 1865 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 285, I owed for my summer bonnet and cloak. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 256/1 She says she owes me for the preservation of her life on the island. 1970 ‘E. Queen’ Last Woman ii. 135 ‘She'll come’, Newly said grimly. ‘After that yarn of hers, she owes me.’ 1972 D. Anthony Blood on Harvest Moon i. 17 ‘Another job.’.. ‘I couldn't turn this one down,’ I said. ‘I owe the lady.’ |
c. Sports. To be under an obligation to give one's opponent in a match (a number of strokes or points) as a handicap.
| 1904 J. P. Paret Lawn Tennis 345 Owe-fifteen (thirty or forty), a term used in handicap play to indicate that one player must make one (fifteen), two (thirty), or three (forty) points in each game before he begins to score. 1908 Daily Chron. 24 Aug. 9/3 Mr. F. Scarf..owing one stroke, beat Mr. R. C. Oppenheimer,..(handicap 15), by 7 holes up and 5 to play. |
3. transf. a. To have or cherish towards another (a feeling, regarded as something which is yet to be paid or rendered in action); to bear (good or ill will). Obs. exc. in to owe a grudge. b. To have or bear to some one or something (a relation, as dependence, etc., which has to be acknowledged); to ‘own’. rare. (For earlier pa. tense see ought 3, 3 b.)
| a. c 1385 [see ought 3]. 1460–4 Paston Lett. II. 81, I..have owyn to your person ryght herty love. 1461 Ibid. 62 They wold owe yow ryth good wyll, so that ye wold owe hem good wyll. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxx. 240 Ye do me greate wronge to owe me youre yll wyll. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 70 To whom the Cardinall did not owe the best favor. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 209 They..will wait two or three houres for some to whom they owe some speciall grudge, to bestow their curse vpon him. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. i, Being afraid the boy might owe me a spite. a 1904 Mod. The act of one who owes us a grudge. |
| b. 1644 [H. Parker] Jus Pop. 59 Monarchy and Aristocracy are derivative forms and owe a dependance on Democracy. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. i. iii. (1866) 107 There was nothing in his character or purposes which owed affinity with any mood of this jocund and energetic people. |
4. fig. a. To have to ascribe or attribute (something) to, or acknowledge as derived from (some person or thing); to have, as received from or caused by some one or something; to be indebted or beholden for. Const. to (or simple dative). Cf. due a. 9. (For the earlier pa. tense see ought v. 4.)
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 115 But, th' Earth not only th' Oceans debter is For these large Seas; but owes him Tanäis [etc.]. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 108 Thou ow'st the Worme no Silke; the Beast, no Hide. 1702 Pope Jan. & May 71 Abusive Nabal ow'd his forfeit life To the wise conduct of a prudent wife. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 60 ¶3 It was to this Age that we owe the Production of Anagrams. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague iii. i. 325, I owe my life to thee. 1838 J. L. Stephens Trav. Greece 13/1 Corinth owed her commercial greatness to the profits of her merchants in transporting merchandise across [the isthmus]. 1868 Lockyer Elem. Astron. vi. (1879) 228 We owe the discovery of the prismatic spectrum to Sir Isaac Newton. |
† b. Without direct object: To be indebted or beholden (to a person or thing for something). Obs.
| 1611 Beaum. & Fl. King & no King i. i, I think, we owe thy fear for our victory. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 46 Accurate Artificers..owe more unto Doctrine than unto Nature. 1653 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 4 In this both he and I ow infinitely to your Lordship. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 93 Others assert, That they owe for their knowledge of Christianity to one Cyril. |
III. To have it as a duty or obligation.
† 5. a. To have as a duty; to be under obligation (to do something). (Followed by inf. with or without to.) Obs. (For the pa. tense see ought v. 5 a.)
(a) with to and infin. = ought v. 5 b (a).
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 21 Swilcne lauerd we aȝen to dreden. Ibid. 81 Her me ah to understonden for whi hit seið [h]alf quic. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 57 Alse we oȝen to don. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 836 Þe seruyng man..Oweþ to come when he haþ leysere. 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 226/1 As we ben and owe to ben. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 293 Thei awe to be namede raþer Agarenes. c 1500 Melusine 108 Therfore it oweth not to be refused ne gaynsayd. 1534 More Treat. on Passion Wks. 1314/1 You owe also one to weshe an others fete. 1537 Let. in Cranmer's Misc. Writ. (Parker Soc.) II. 352 As obedient..as a true Christian oweth to be. |
(b) with simple infin. = ought v. 5 b (b).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 53 Nu aȝe we alle..nime forbisne. 13.. Cursor M. 5104 (Cott.) All your bidding agh be til vs als comanding. c 1470 Harding Chron. ccix. v, As prysoners owe home agayn repeire. a 1500 Chaucer's Dreme 1405 Forgotten was no thing That owe be done. 1524 Hen. VIII Let. to Pace in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1724) I. ii. App. xiii. 28 They shuld & owe, not oonely forbere to geve ayde. |
† b. In weakened sense: = Shall. Obs. rare.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1944 Quat-so his dremes owen a-wold. |
† 6. quasi-impers. (usually with inf. clause as subject): (It) behoves, is the duty of, befits, is due (to); e.g. him owe (or oweth) = it behoves him, he ought; as him owe = as befits him, as is due to him. Obs. (For the pa. tense see ought v. 6.)
| c 1220 Bestiary 350 Anoðer kinde. Ðat us oȝ alle to ben minde. c 1375 Cursor M. 18791 (Fairf.) Wele vs agh to loue him. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxi. 13 Y shal ordeyne to thee a place whidyr hym awe to flee. c 1440 York Myst. xxiii. 49 Full glad and blithe awe vs to be. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4486 Hym awe serue and luf godde with his hert alle & some. 1470–1500 [see ought v. 6 a, b]. |
† 7. pa. pple. owen = under obligation, obliged, bound. Obs.
| 1541–2 Act 33 Hen. VIII in Bolton Stat. Irel. (1621) 211 To give money in almes, in as large a maner and forme as they are bownden or owen to doe. 1642 [see A. 4 α]. |
▪ II. † owe a.
shortened ME. form of own a.
▪ III. owe
obs. form of how adv., you pron.