▪ I. debt, n.
(dɛt)
Forms: 3–4 dete, 3–6 dette, 4–6 dett, det, deytt(e, 5–7 debte, 7– debt.
[ME. det, dette, a. OF. dete, dette:—pop. L. *debita for L. dēbitum (pa. pple. of dēbēre to owe), lit. (that which is) owed or due, money owed, debt. Often made masc. in OF. after debitum, and from 13th to 16th c. sometimes artificially spelt debte, after which debt has become the English spelling since the 16th c.]
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: a. a sum of money or a material thing.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7642 Dauid..wightli wan o þam his dete [v.rr. dette, dett]. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 293 Ȝif a trewe man teche þis pore man to paie his dettis. 14.. Merchant & Son in Halliw. Nugæ Poet. 28 Then Wyllyam payde hys fadur dettys. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer Offices 20 To declare his debtes, what he oweth. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Dk. Glocester xxiii, To paye large vsury besides the due det. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 24 Hauing com to Padua To gather in some debts. 1707 Hearne Collect. 23 Aug., To pay his small debts. 1767 Blackstone Comm. 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 Stephen 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.
| c 13.. Cursor M. 27808 (Cotton Galba) Rightwis es he, to gif ilk man his det. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 130 Why sholde men elles in hir bookes sette That a man shal yelde to his wyf hire dette. c 1400 Destr. Troy 534 This curtysy he claymes as for clere det. 1754 Richardson Grandison II. xxxv. 343 Look upon what is done for you..as your debt to..Providence. 1832 Tennyson Miller's Dau. 217 Love the gift is love the debt. |
† c. That which one is bound or ought to do; (one's) duty.
Sc. Obs.| c 1450 Holland Howlat 135 The trewe Turtour has..Done dewlie his det. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 546 It is my dett to do all that I can To fend our kynrik out off dangeryng. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. iii. 184 So douchtely we schaype to do our det. 1573 Sat. Poems Reform. xxxix. 319, I haue lang forȝet, Quhairfor indeid I haue not done my det. |
2. a. A liability or obligation to pay or render something; the condition of being under such obligation.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 250/345 He with-sok þe giwes [= Jew's] dette and was i-don to ane oþe. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 18 And he..forgaf thaim thair dette bathe. 1388 Wyclif Rom. iv. 4 And to hym that worchith mede is not arettid bi grace, but bi dette. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 771 Neither king nor Pope can geve any place suche a privilege that it shall discharge a man of his debtes beyng able to pay. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1064, I have herd say that promysse is dette. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 5 He hath for euer bound the Church vnto him, in a debt of speciall remembrance and thankefulnesse. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (1875) 65, I was free of that Dept. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 513 Debts contracted..as far back as 1796. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect 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 c);
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, and
cf. quot. 1551.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 462 ‘Þat dint’, he seyd, ‘was iuel sett. Wele schal y com out of þi dette.’ c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 280 Ther wiste no man that he [the Marchaunt] was in dette. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 10 Ne neuere shal falle in dette. 1478 Paston Lett. No. 824 III. 237 For he seythe ye be xxtis in hys dette. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 770 Now unthriftes riott and runne in debt. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. (Arb.) 104 Men, in whose debte and daunger they be not. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 434 Out of the debt of other men, and well able to pay. 1615 E. Hoby Curry-combe 215, I see you meane not to die in Iabals debt for an Epigram. a 1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 5 Being ouer head and eares in debt. 1745 De Foe's Eng. Tradesman vi. (1841) I. 39 They are under no necessity of running deep into debt. 1763 Gentl. Mag. July 331 The black traders are often in debt to the chiefs. 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xiv, Lord Clonbrony, for the first time since he left Ireland, found himself out of debt, and out of danger. 1845 Disraeli Sybil (1863) 155 To run in debt to the shopkeepers. |
† c. Obligation to do something; duty.
in debt: under obligation, in duty bound.
of debt or
with debt: as a matter of debt, as is due or right; as in duty bound.
Obs. (
Cf. 1 c.)
| c 1300 Cursor M. 23888 (Edin.) A besand he me taht to sette þat ik him ah to yeld wit dette. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 261 We ere in dette, at nede to help þe kyng. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 52 And as it were of pure dette They yive her goodes to the king. c 1425 Wyntoun Chron. iii. Prol. 23 Oure Eldrys we sulde folowe of det. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 2 Prelates and persons..þat ere haldene by dett for to lere þame. 1488 Caxton Chast. Goddes Chyld. 10, I..cannot thanke the as I ought of dette. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 35 This fatall stone..Quhair it wes brocht in ony land or erd..Of verrie det the Scottis thair suld ring. |
3. fig. Used in Biblical language as the type of an offence requiring expiation, a sin.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 126 We siggeð forȝif us ure dettes, al so ase we uorȝiueð to ure detturs. a 1400 Prymer (1891) 20 Forȝiue us oure dettes: as we forȝeue to oure detoures. 1508 Fisher Wks. (1876) 242 Whiche be our dettes? Truly our synnes. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. vi. 12 And forgeue vs our debtes [Wyclif dettis, Cranm., Rhemish dettes, 1611 debts] euen as we forgiue our debters. 1858 Trench Parables xvi, God is the creditor, men the debtors, and sins the debt. |
4. Phrases.
a. debt of honour: 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.
| 1646 Evance Noble Ord. 37 He is become a voluntary debitor..in a debt of honour. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. I. 98 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. debt of (or to) nature: the necessity of dying, death;
to pay the debt of (or one's debt to) nature: to die. [
Lat. debitum naturæ.]
| [c 1315 Shoreham 2 And his deythes dette ȝelde. 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 209 Hym worthit neyd to pay the det That no man for till pay may let.] 1494 Fabyan Chron. ii. xli. 28 Fynally he payde the dette of nature. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, Wks. (ed. Rtldg.) 212/1 Pay nature's debt with cheerful countenance. 1635 Quarles Embl. ii. xiii, The slender debt to nature's quickly paid. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. lii. 265 He had paid his great Debt to Nature, without taking Notice of the small one due to me. 1812 Examiner 23 Nov. 747/1 One of them has..paid the debt of nature. |
c. action of debt: an action at law for recovering a debt.
| 1552 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 152 The gouernours..to haue an accion of dett[e] for the same. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire (1891) 192 A plaintiffe in an action of debte. 1800 Addison Amer. Law. Rep. 111 The ground of an action of debt is the consideration or equivalent given by the debtee to the debtor. |
† d. bill of debt: a promissory note, I.O.U., or other acknowledgement of indebtedness, in some countries used, like a bill of exchange, as a negotiable document.
Obs.| 1530 Palsgr. 198/1 Byll of dette, cedule. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 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. 1690 Child Disc. Trade (ed. 4) 16 If..a law for transferring bills of debt should pass, we should not miss the Dutch money. Ibid. 139 In other Kingdoms and Countries abroad..transference of Bills of Debt is in use. |
e. 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.
| 1653 Chidley (title), Remonstrance concerning the Public Faith, Soldier's Arrears, and other Public Debts. 1721 A. Hutcheson (title), Collection of Treatises, relating to the National Debts and Funds. 1752 Hume Ess. Public Credit (1875) I. 364 National debts cause a mighty confluence of people and riches to the capital. 1812 G. Chalmers Dom. Econ. Gt. Brit. (New ed.) 210 The most efficient measure..was to fund..the floating debts, of the victualling, and of the ordnance departments. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 100 The contracting of the National Debt cannot be said to have been begun before the Revolution of 1688. 1860 Knight Pop. Hist. Eng. VI. iii. 40 There was a floating debt of about ten millions. 1878 Edith Thompson Hist. Eng. xxxix. 275 The South Sea Company..for the purpose of reducing the National Debt, engaged..to buy up certain annuities. 1889 Whitaker's Alman. 493 The French National Debt is the largest in the world..Public debt, funded {pstlg}957,000,000; Public debt, floating, annuities, etc., capitalized {pstlg}728,372,372. |
f. small debt: a debt of limited amount, for which summary jurisdiction is provided, in England in the
County Court, in Scotland in the
Small Debt Court held by the sheriff. Also
attrib. (In Scotland the limit of these debts was in 1788 {pstlg}5, in 1837 {pstlg}8 6
s. 8
d., and in 1853 {pstlg}12.)
| 1603–4 Act 1 Jas. I, c. 14 (title), An Acte for Recouerie of Small Debtes. 1795 Act 35 Geo. III, c. 23 (title) An Act for the more easy and expeditious Recovery of Small Debts. 1861 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 762 The Statute 39 and 40 Geo. III, c. 46, commonly called the Small-Debt Act. Ibid. 764 The sheriff's exclusive jurisdiction in small debts was introduced by 6 Geo. IV, c. 24. Ibid. 766 The sheriffs must, in addition to their ordinary small-debt courts, hold circuit courts for the purposes of this act. Ibid. 767 By the act 16 and 17 Vict. c. 80, 1853, the small-debt jurisdiction of sheriffs is extended to causes not exceeding {pstlg}12. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. debt-collecting,
debt-collector,
debt-dealer,
debt-exchange,
debt-fraud,
debt-reduction;
debt-raiser, one who undertakes to raise money to pay off a debt;
debt-slave, one who is in slavery for the redemption of debt; so
debt-slavery.
| 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. Ibid., The small debt-collecting work which now largely occupies them. |
| a 1852 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. |
| 1826 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 255 Large part of the rents must go to the Debt-Dealers, or Loan-makers. |
| 1682 J. Scarlett 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. |
| 1883 19th Cent. May 884 Punishment of debt-frauds as crimes. |
| 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 121. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 19 May 3/1 Lord Salisbury may be an admirable political ‘debt raiser’. 1905 Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 6/1 We have handed over {pstlg}93,376 more towards debt reduction. |
| 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. |
| 1895 F. A. Swettenham Malay Sketches 229 The revolting practice of debt-slavery. |
Add:
[5.] debt counsellor, one who offers professional advice on methods of debt repayment to those who have fallen into debt.
| 1982 Christian Science 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. 1985 Financial Times 18 May (Weekend Suppl.) p. vi/1, Agencies such as credit brokers, debt counsellors and debt collectors. 1987 Money Apr. 148/1 If you are earning $20,000 a year or less, debt counselors say your net income may leave only enough for essentials. |
▸
Ecol. (
orig. 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.
| 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. |
▪ II. † debt, ppl. a. Obs. Forms: 4–5
dett(e, 6–
debt.
[ad. L. dēbit-us owed (cf. debite a.), conformed to debt n.] Owed, due, owing.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxviii. 5 Ȝeldand til þe[e] dett [v.r. duwe] honur. c 1440 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) i. xl, That it is nedeful to the & dette for to traueyle soo. a 1555 Ridley Wks. (1843) 305 Promises so openly made, and so duly debt. 1576 J. Knewstub Confut. (1579) Q vj a, That which is det and due on their behalfe. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 203 To pay our selues, what to ourselues is debt. |