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Definitions: Debt |
DebtNoun1. The state of owing money; "he is badly in debt". 2. The amount that is owed. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "debt" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1120. (references) |
Etymology: Debt \Debt\, noun. [from Old English expression dette, French dette, Late Latin expression debita, from the Latin expression debitus owed, past participle of debere to owe, prop., to have on loan; de- habere to have. See Habit, and compare to Debit, Due.]. (Websters 1913) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Satire | DEBT, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slave- driver. As, pent in an aquarium, the troutlet Swims round and round his tank to find an outlet, Pressing his nose against the glass that holds him, Nor ever sees the prison that enfolds him; So the poor debtor, seeing naught around him, Yet feels the narrow limits that impound him, Grieves at his debt and studies to evade it, And finds at last he might as well have paid it. Barlow S. Vode. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
19th Century Satire | A big word beginning with Owe, which grows bigger the more it is contracted. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Bible | Debt The Mosaic law encouraged the practice of lending (Deut. 15:7; Ps. 37:26; Matt. 5:42); but it forbade the exaction of interest except from foreigners. Usury was strongly condemned (Prov. 28:8; Ezek. 18:8, 13, 17; 22:12; Ps. 15:5). On the Sabbatical year all pecuniary obligations were cancelled (Deut. 15:1-11). These regulations prevented the accumulation of debt. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Dream Interpretation | Debt is rather a bad dream, foretelling worries in business and love, and struggles for a competency; but if you have plenty to meet all your obligations, your affairs will assume a favorable turn. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Finance | A debt payment of which one must make, as the debtor. Source: European Union. (references) |
| The extent of the ability to pay debts. Source: European Union. (references) | |
| Money, services, goods or anything else of value that is owed by one person to another as the result of a previous agreement. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
There are numerous types of debt obligations. They include loans, bondss, mortgages, promisary notes, and debentures. It is very common to borrow large sums for major purchases, such as a mortgage, and pay it back with an agreed premium interest rate over time, or all at once at a later date. The amount of money outstanding is usually called a debt. The debt will increase through time if it is not repaid faster than it grows. In some systems of economics this is usury, in others, this refers only to the excessive rate of interest, in excess of a reasonable profit for the risk accepted.
As noted above, debt is normally denominated in a particular monetary currency, and so changes in the valuation of that currency can change the effective size of the debt. This can happen due to inflation or deflation, so it can happen even though the borrower and the lender are using the same currency. Thus it is important to agree on standards of deferred payment in advance, so that a degree of fluctuation will also be agreed as acceptable. It is for instance common to agree to "US dollar denominated" debt.
The form of debt involved in banking gives rise to a large proportion of the money in most industrialised nations (see money and credit money for a discussion of this). There is therefore a complex relationship between inflation, deflation, the money supply, and debt. The store of value represented by the entire economy of the industrialized nation itself, and the state's ability to levy tax on it, acts to the foreign holder of debt as a guarantee of repayment, since industrial goods are in high demand in many places worldwide.
Lendings to stable financial entities such as large companies or governments are often termed "risk free" or "low risk" and made at a so-called "risk free interest rate". This is because the debt and interest are highly likely to be repaid. However, if the value of a currency has changed in the meantime, the purchasing power of the money repaid may vary considerably from that which was expected at the commencement of the loan. So from a practical investment point of view, there is still considerable risk attached to "risk free" or "low risk" lendings, even though in terms of the amount of a currency that will be returned there may not be. The Bank for International Settlements is an entity that sets rules to define what loans qualify as "risk free" or not. It is a very powerful institution, formed by the Bretton Woods agreements, which has had a pivotal position in central banking since 1947 when it opened.
Debt allows people and organisations to do things that they otherwise wouldn't be able or allowed to. Commonly people in industrialised nations use it to purchase houses, cars and many other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand. Companies also use debt in many ways to leverage the investment made in their private equity.
The properties of debt have been blamed for exacerbating economic problems. For example, during the onset of the Great Depression there was deflation, which effectively made debt throughout society grow. This resulted in a contraction of consumption since the borrowers were on average people who had to consume less due to the increased proportion of their earnings going towards repayments while the lenders were on average people who would invest their extra purchasing power. The reduction in consumtion reduced business activity and caused further unemployment. Also in a direct sense, more bankruptcies occurred due to increased effective debt than otherwise might have been the case.
Large organisations can break their debt into many small units of debt. These small units of debt are known as bonds. Each bond entitles the holder to the remaining repayments on that unit of debt. Bonds can be traded during the repayment period, and so ownership of the debt is seen as a form of investment.
Because bonds are traded on a regular basis, they have a fluctuating price. This implies that the overall debt represented by the total number of any particular type of bond also has a fluctuating price.
Borrowing and repayment arrangements linked to inflation indexed units of account are possible and are used in some countries. For example, the US government issues two types of inflation indexed bond - TIPs and I-bonds. These are one of the safest forms of investment available, since the only major source of risk - that of inflation - is eliminated. A number of other governments issue similar bonds, and some did so for many years before the US government.
In countries with concistently high inflation, ordinary borrowings at banks may be inflation indexed also.
It is possible for some organisations to enter into alternative types of borrowing and repayment arrangements which will not result in bankruptcy. For example, companies can sometimes convert debt that they owe into equity in themselves. In this case, the lender hopes to regain something equivalent to the debt and interest in the form of dividends and capital gains of the borrower. The "repayments" are therefore proportional to what the borrower earns and so can not in themselves cause bankruptcy. Once debt is converted in this way, it is no longer known as debt.
Similar arrangements could exist for individuals in that they could agree to repay a percentage of their earnings for a set amount of time in return for a sum of borrowed money. The lender would need to evaluate the future earning capacity of the borrower (this is possible and is often done anyway when lending), but more difficult would be the necessity to track how much they do in fact earn during the "repayment period". Typically, only governments can track earnings of individuals in such a way, and so such arrangements are only currently of use to governments. It is possible to view a portion of taxes as such a form of repayment in return for the cost of government services previously "lent" to citizens, for example education when the citizen was young or government paid maternity leave for the citizen's mother to look after them. Such views occasionally form part of justifications and structuring of some taxation. Some taxes in some countries are only collected from individuals that have received particular services, such as university education. Such an arrangement provides an incentive for the government to make the education useful, since they are sharing in the proceeds from it.
There are many arguments against debt as an instrument and institution, on a personal, family, social, corporate and governmental level. Usually these refer to conditions under which debt should not be used as a solution, e.g. to fund consumption for survival. Consumer debt and public debt deal with some of these issues.
Some theories of economics argue that debt is itself a problem, and should not be the foundation on which contracts are made between persons, organizations and nation-states. Those theories that hold it as wholly undesirable are often called creditary economics, and are also often related to theories of economics that look more basically at fundamental scarcities: clean air, clean water, safe food, shelter:
Islamic economics, concerned with the equity of distribution of these things and the potential for unrest if simple luck is permitted to cause some to starve while others prosper, simply for having held a safer debt asset through a catastrophe, has alternative instruments that do not obligate repayment in the sense of debt but instead act as a joint venture type instrument. The justification for this is a hadith which states as a rule of trade: "nothing present for that which is absent". This avoids the problems of the devaluted asset or bad debt becoming a source of unrest later on, should it be devalued or defaulted through no fault of the borrower. Since Allah intends the misfortune to fall on all those involved, the argument goes, to leave the debtor obligated and the creditor with recourse to the state for collection, is to defy God. Christian philosophy is also often concerned with these very issues.
Feminist economics is more concerned with the ultimately coercive nature of debt and the circumstances into which it is entered, and the consequences of having to liquidate one's resources, or even one's body (slavery, prostitution) directly, to repay debt undertaken for consumption - or mere survival. Unequal distributions of force required to collect debt, unequal vulnerabilities to coercive pressures of a society in general, are seen as hopelessly slanted against the female, who is a perpetual debtor, versus the male, who is a perpetual creditor, given the relative masteries of deadly force, and the vulnerability of mothers and the children to which they are closely bonded: debt bondage accrues more to women than men, and may even require the sale of children - often for sexual uses by men. Thus, debt simply reflects patriarchy, and even such female-friendly schemes as Grameen Bank are suspect because they are ultimately seeking to get women to "perform" in an economic system that is defined by, and for, men, for male desire.
Green economics makes an argument from ecology: the ecological yield of natural capital is quite limited by current solar income and other factors, such as water, topsoil, shade, nutrients and pollination. Nature's services only restore the capital so fast. Any interest rate greater than this nature rate of restoration necessarily obligates debtors to deplete the capital reserves of nature, and thus the services themselves, simply to repay the cash debt. This race to the bottom is exacerbated by competition - thus the slowest-recovering systems are forced to depletion even faster by "need" to compete with faster-recovering ones which have a higher yield and thus likely receive more attention from the exploiter. Even an interest rate less than the rate of depletion, charged on the land or rights of access, can lead to disaster if there is a high capital cost and thus equipment depreciation to repay. A particularly cogent example is fishery and forestry which are increasingly dependent on high-tech machines, creating fewer jobs, but depleting more fish stocks and forests, simply to repay the debts on equipment, which is ever more sophisticated. Thus, debt-financed infrastructural capital is analogous in this view to weapons: their only service is to compete, threaten and ultimately destroy all value in the long run. They do not "produce" on any kind of sustainable basis. The availability of debt itself to finance these machines and technologies is a problem, and not just of economics.
Short of bankruptcy, very often debts are wholly or partially forgiven. Traditions in some cultures demand that this be done on a regular (often annual) basis, in order to prevent systemic inequities between groups in society, or anyone becoming a specialist in holding debt and coercing repayment.
Global debt has reached the scale that many economists are convinced that forgiveness is the only way to restore any global equity in relations for the developing nations who, as predicted by green economics, are often despoiled simply to repay it. This movement has very broad support but predictably, not among most bankers.
Effects of Debt
Bonds
Inflation Indexed Debt
Nonstandard Approaches to Debt
Arguments against debt
Debt forgiveness
Type of debts
See also
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Debt."
Synonym: DebtSynonym: IOUs. (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Property | Patent, copyright; chose in action; credit; debt;. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | America owes you a debt of gratitude, son. Now I understand you were wounded. (Forrest Gump; writing credit: Eric Roth) They say I paid my debt to society. (Ocean's Eleven; writing credit: George Clayton Johnson; Jack Golden Russell) I found out there's another debt to pay---for the privilege of being alive. (The Razor's Edge; writing credit: John Byrum; W. Somerset Maugham) Borrow!? Boy, are we in debt! (Robin Hood; writing credit: Ken Anderson; Larry Clemmons) Caught me fair and square, white hat. I guess there is nothing to do now but go quietly and pay my debt to society. (Angel; writing credit: Letcia Dornelles) | |
Lyrics | Another day older and deeper in debt ("Sixteen Tons"; performing artist: Tennessee Ernie Ford) | |
Clever | We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Adam, the first great benefactor of the human race: he brought death into the world. (references; author: Mark Twain) Worry is interest paid in advance for a debt you many never owe. (references; author: unknown) There are three dimensions to credit cards: length, width, and debt. (references; author: unknown) Jesus paid a debt he didn't owe because we had a debt we couldn't pay. (references; author: unknown) I have discovered the whole problem with the National Debt. Most of us work 5 days a week, and the government spends 7. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Unpaid Debt (1959) Life Debt of Our Children (1949) Debt of Honor (1936) The Cancelled Debt (1927) A Debt of Honour (1922) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Benjamin Franklin | Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt. |
Emerson | The borrower runs in his own debt. |
Euripides | But learn that to die is a debt we must all pay. |
Franklin | Getting into debt, is getting into a tanglesome net. |
George Peabody | Education: A debt due from present to future generations. |
Henry Ward Beecher | A church debt is the devil's salary. |
Josh Billings | Never run into debt, not if you can find anything else to run into. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | Science does not know its debt to imagination. |
Samuel Johnson | Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Magna Carta | 1215 | If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before that loan be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum contained in the bond. (reference) |
Amendment to US Constitution | 1795-1993 | But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | In the latter case, the Debtor Clearing Office will give the grounds for the non-admission of debt. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | But this long debt of confidence, due from me to him, whose bane and ruin I have been, shall at length be paid. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | For the liberation of fathers of families imprisoned for debt, one thousand livres. |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet, Edward for Edward pays a dying debt. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | But even a debt is something, even a job is something. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Problem sleepiness occurs as the debt accumulates. (references) | |
The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt," which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. (references) | ||
Business | Debt is almost entirely made up of bank borrowings. (references) | |
Short term debt is generally defined as debt payable within one year. (references) | ||
TUSRIF provides equity investment, debt finance, and technical assistance to private companies in Russia. (references) | ||
Children | Brazil | The report noted that although trafficking developed in part to meet the demands of foreigners, the local population sustains it. In March 2000, the ILO reported that observers have cited over 3,000 girls who were subject to debt servitude and forced into prostitution in Rondonia state. (references) |
Civil Liberties | Hungary | Those with approximately $40,000 (over 10 million HUF) or more in public debt may be denied travel documents. (references) |
Kyrgyz Republic | In March a debt case initiated in 2000 resulted in a ruling in favor of the creditor and the Government began confiscating Asaba's assets. (references) | |
Economic History | Hong Kong | Macau has no public debt. (references) |
Kyrgyzstan | Debt (external): $1.1 billion. (references) | |
Fiji | External debt (1997): $213 million. (references) | |
Human Rights | Uganda | The local NGO Uganda Debt Network has been active in trying to address corruption. (references) |
Indonesia | In July a 2-year-old boy was kidnaped after his grandparent in Ciwidey failed to pay a debt. (references) | |
Haiti | Moreover, arrests sometimes are made on charges (for example, sorcery or debt) that have no basis in law. (references) | |
Political Economy | SINGAPORE | Singapore has no external public debt. (references) |
UNITED KINGDOM | The UK has no meaningful external public debt. (references) | |
OMAN | Oman's sovereign debt is estimated at $3 billion. (references) | |
Trade | Jordan | In such cases, it requires debt repayment in foreign currency. (references) |
Egypt | The guarantee can reach up to 80% of the importer's outstanding debt. (references) | |
New Zealand | Debt and venture capital financing are readily available at New Zealand market rates. (references) | |
Travel | Cote D'ivoire | The most popular frauds involve money from a deposed political leader, smuggled diamonds, an unclaimed debt, gold bars, or imported goods with an absurd mark-up. (references) |
Women | Equatorial Guinea | If the marriage does not take place the family is required by tradition to return the dowry, which they sometimes cannot do. This can lead to imprisonment of the bride or a family member for the debt. (references) |
Worker Rights | Tajikistan | Debt bondage is a common form of control. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | TROGLODYTE, n. Specifically, a cave-dweller of the paleolithic period, after the Tree and before the Flat. A famous community of troglodytes dwelt with David in the Cave of Adullam. The colony consisted of "every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented" -- in brief, all the Socialists of Judah. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Rush Limbaugh | The guy running the Senate committee looking into Enron is in deep with Enron, all of its accountants, and its largest debt holder. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | Whether measures may not be advisable to reinforce the provision of the redemption of the public debt will naturally engage your examination. |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | Nor have we used the power confided by the same act of prolonging the foreign debt by reloans, and of redeeming instead thereof an equal sum of the domestic debt. |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | Most of those very meritorious citizens have paid the debt of nature and gone to repose. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Among the interests which merit the consideration of Congress after the payment of the public debt, one of the most important, in my view, is that of the public lands. |
Ulysses S. Grant | 1869-1877 | A great debt has been contracted in securing to us and our posterity the Union. |
Benjamin Harrison | 1889-1893 | This is better than to reduce our income below our necessary expenditures, with the resulting choice between another change of our revenue laws and an increase of the public debt. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | We are participating with other aid consortium members in debt rescheduling and will continue to cooperate through the UNHCR in providing refugee assistance. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | As the national debt grew, we were told not to worry, that we owed it to ourselves. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | It's long past time to make good on our debt to the United Nations. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Shannon, I assure you and all who have lost a loved one that our cause is just, and our country will never forget the debt we owe Michael and all who gave their lives for freedom. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Debt" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.54% of the time. "Debt" is used about 4,864 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 98.54% | 4,793 | 2,043 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.7% | 34 | 59,261 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.53% | 26 | 68,323 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.23% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Total | 100.00% | 4,864 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "debt": a bad debt ♦ a debt wages etc ♦ active debt ♦ attachment of a debt ♦ bad debt ♦ be deeply in debt ♦ be in debt ♦ be in smb.'s debt ♦ be out of debt ♦ be over head and ears in debt ♦ be up to one's ears in debt ♦ be up to the ears in debt ♦ be up to the hilt in the debt ♦ Bond debt ♦ bonded debt ♦ book debt ♦ cancel a debt ♦ certificate of debt ♦ clearing debt ♦ consolidated debt ♦ debt amortization ♦ debt capital ♦ debt carrying capacity ♦ debt ceiling ♦ debt colector ♦ debt collection agency ♦ debt collector ♦ debt conversion ♦ debt due ♦ debt forgiveness ♦ debt instrument ♦ debt interest ♦ debt limit ♦ debt of gratitude ♦ debt of honor ♦ debt of honour ♦ Debt of nature ♦ Debt of record ♦ debt owed to one ♦ debt payable ♦ debt payment ♦ debt policy ♦ debt ratio ♦ debt receivable ♦ debt register claim ♦ debt repurchase ♦ debt restructuring ♦ debt retirement ♦ debt security ♦ debt servicing ♦ debt workout ♦ deep in debt ♦ default on a debt ♦ direct forgiveness of debt ♦ discharge a debt ♦ floating debt ♦ foreign debt ♦ forgiveness of a debt ♦ free from debt ♦ gambling debt ♦ get into debt ♦ gross debt ♦ guaranteed debt ♦ honorary debt ♦ in debt ♦ installment debt ♦ instalment debt ♦ internal public debt ♦ involved in debt ♦ irrecoverable debt ♦ joint debt ♦ Judgment debt ♦ junior debt ♦ long term debt ♦ matured debt ♦ maturing debt ♦ mortgage debt repayable in predetermined instalments ♦ multiyear debt rescheduling arrangement ♦ national debt ♦ national debt ceiling ♦ net debt ♦ official debt ♦ official foreign debt ♦ out of debt ♦ outstanding debt ♦ overhead in debt ♦ oxygen debt ♦ pay off a debt ♦ pay off one's debt ♦ pay one's debt ♦ pay one's debt to ♦ pay one's debt to nature ♦ pay the debt of nature ♦ perpetual debt ♦ play debt ♦ prescriptive debt ♦ public and publicly guaranteed debt ♦ public and publicly guaranteed debt service ♦ public debt ♦ redeem a debt ♦ remission from a debt. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "debt": debt-bearing, debt-burden, debt-burdened, debt-collecting, debt-collecting agency, debt-collection, debt-collectors, debt-counselling, debt-crippled, debt-death, debt-driven, debt-equity, debt-financed, debt-for-equity, debt-forgiveness, debt-for-nature, debt-free, debt-happy, debt-heavy, debt-holders, debt-holding, debt-interest, debt-issuer, debt-laden, debt-nature, debt-on-wind-up, debt-payment, debt-plus-equity, debt-protection, debt-recovery, debt-reduction, debt-relief, debt-repayment, debt-rescheduling, debt-restructurings, debt-ridden, debt-scourged, debt-service, debt-servicing, debt-settler, debt-strapped, debt-swap, debt-to-equity, debt-to-gdp, debt-waiver. | |
Ending with "debt": bad-debt. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
debt consolidation | 10,917 |
debt | 4,095 |
debt consolidation loan | 1,979 |
credit card debt | 1,788 |
debt relief | 1,148 |
debt management | 1,077 |
debt reduction | 865 |
consolidate debt | 826 |
debt free | 787 |
debt collection | 611 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "debt"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaan | skuld (owe). (various references) | |
Albanian | borxh (arrearage, arrears, borrowing, chalk, charge, indebtedness, liability, owing, score). (various references) | |
Arabic | إثم (delinquency, error, evil, guilt, guiltiness, iniquity, misdeed, offence, sin, transgression, viciousness, wrongdoing), دين واجب الدفع, دين (credit, cult, debit, due, faith, judgement, leash, loan, persuasion, religion, score). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | дълг (credit, devoir, duty, indebtedness, liability, office, part, score, trust). (various references) | |
Catalan | deute. (various references) | |
Chinese | 窟窿 (hole; pocket; cavity), 债务 (indebtedness), 債務 , 債 , 帳 (account, credit, curtain, mosquito net, tent). (various references) | |
Czech | dluh (debit, tick). (various references) | |
Danish | gæld (account payable, borrowed capital, capital, debt capital, debt payable, deposits and borrowed funds, liabilities, liability, outside capital, reserves and liabilities, stockholders'equity and liabilities). (various references) | |
Dutch | schuld (account payable, blame, debt payable, fault, guilt, liability). (various references) | |
Esperanto | ŝuldo. (various references) | |
Farsi | قصور (Default, Delinquency, Negligence, Shortcoming), قرض (Loan, Prest), وام (Loan, Prest), دین (Faith, Liability, Religion), بدهی (Debit, Due, Liability). (various references) | |
Finnish | velka. (various references) | |
French | dette, créance (debt receivable, debtor, demand). (various references) | |
Frisian | skuld (blame, fault, guilt). (various references) | |
German | schuld (account payable, blame, debt payable, engagement, fault, guilt, guiltiness, liability, obligation, responsible, sin, trespasses, undertaking, wrong), Verpflichtung (bond, booking, commitment, committal, duty, engagement, engaging, enlistment, incumbency, liability, obligation, responsibility, signing on, signing up, undertaking), forderung (account, account receivable, assert a claim, call, challenge, claim, debt receivable, debtor, demand, exaction, loan claim, postulation, requirement). (various references) | |
Greek | χρέος (account payable, account receivable, debt payable, debt receivable, debtor, demand, due, liability, loan claim, rent, royalty, tax), οφειλή (account receivable, charges, debt receivable, debtor, demand, due, expenditure, expenditures, expenses, loan claim, rent, revenue charges, royalty, sum due, tax, total cost and expenses). (various references) | |
Hebrew | חוב (arrear). (various references) | |
Hungarian | adósság (indebtedness, passive debts, score). (various references) | |
Icelandic | skuld. (various references) | |
Indonesian | hutang (debit). (various references) | |
Italian | debito (account payable, debit, debt payable, debtor side, due, liabilities side, liability, obligation). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 債務 (liabilities). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | しゃくざい (liability, loan), しゃくせ", しゃっき" (liabilities, loan), さいむ (liabilities), さい (ability, again, alas!, aptitude, circumstances, companion, cut, difference, disparity, genius, gift, hold, how!, judge, loan, my son, on the occasion of, planting, re-, repeated, rhinoceros, son, talent, the extreme, the most, what!, -years-old), ふさい (incompetency, lack of talent, liabilities, man and wife, married couple), かりいれき" (loan, loan payable), かりいれ (harvest), かり (acting, assumed, borrowing, clip, cut, fleeting, hunting, informal, interim, loan, lower official, potash, potassium, provisional, prune, reap, shear, temporary, trim, unauthorized, wild goose). (various references) | |
Korean | 빚. (various references) | |
Manx | sthangan, lhiastanys, feeaghan (debit). (various references) | |
Norwegian | gjeld. (various references) | |
Papiamen | debe (owe). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ebtday.(various references) | |
Portuguese | dívida (account payable, debt payable, due, indebtedness, liability, score), débito (debit, debtor side, dispensing, flow rate, jet stream, liabilities side, liquid output, liquid stream, machine output, nozzle output, output, performance on production, production, productive output, score, spray output, throughput, work output). (various references) | |
Romanian | datorie (assignment, bond, business, credit, due, duty, indebtedness, obligation, office, part, responsibility), restanţã (arrear, arrears), creanţã (bond). (various references) | |
Russian | долг (devoir, duty, incumbency, liability, onus, ought). (various references) | |
Scottish | fiach , fiachan, ainfhiach (obligation). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | dug (long, obligation). (various references) | |
Spanish | deuda (cargo, debit, debtor side, due, indebtedness, liabilities side, term). (various references) | |
Sranan | payman (payment). (various references) | |
Swedish | skuld (blame, culpability, due, fault, guile, guilt, indebtedness, score). (various references) | |
Tagalog | útang. (various references) | |
Thai | หนี้เสีย (bad debt). (various references) | |
Turkish | borçlu olma, borç (accommodation, arrear, arrears, care, debit, encumbrance, liability, loan, obligation, red). (various references) | |
Turkmen | зykdajy (expenditure), bergi, algy. (various references) | |
Ukranian | гріх (evil, guilt, lapse, peccancy, sin, transgression, wrong doing), зобов'язання (engagements, indebtedness, liability, obligation, plight, subjection, undertaking), борг (arrears, bad, chalk). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | trả nợ đời. (various references) | |
Welsh | dyled (obligation). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | credita, credite, creditis, creditum, debitam, debitum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Matthew Chapter 18, Verse 32 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Tote proskalesamenoV auton o kurioV autou legei autw doule ponhre pasan thn ofeilhn ekeinhn afhka soi epei parekalesaV me |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Tunc vocavit illum dominus suus et ait illi serve nequam omne debitum dimisi tibi quoniam rogasti me |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Ða cleopede hys hlaford hine & cwæð to hym. Eala þu leðra þeowa ealneþinne gelt ic þe for-gef for-þam þe þu mebæde. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Thanne his lord clepide hym, and seide to hym, Wickid seruaunt, Y foryaf to thee al the dette, for thou preiedist me. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Then his lorde called him and sayde vnto him. O evyll servaut I forgave the all that det because thou prayedst me: was it not mete also yt thou |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Then his lord, having called him, said to him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Then his lord sent for him and said, You evil servant; I made you free of all that debt, because of your request to me: |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Matthew Chapter 18, Verse 32 |
| Bulgarian | Тогава господарят му го повика и му каза: Нечестиви слуго, аз ти простих целия оня дълг понеже ми се примоли. |
| Cebuano | Busa ang maong ulipon gipaatubang sa iyang agalon, ug giingnan siya niya, `Ikaw dautan nga ulipon! Gipasaylo ko ikaw sa tanan mong utang kay nagpakiluoy man ikaw kanako. |
| Chinese | 於 是 主 人 叫 了 他 來 、 對 他 說 、 這 惡 奴 才 、 央 求 我 、 我 就 把 所 的 都 免 了 ． |
| Croatian | Tada ga gospodar dozva i reèe mu: 'Slugo opaki, sav sam ti onaj dug oprostio jer si me zamolio. |
| Danish | Da kalder hans Herre ham for sig og siger til ham: Du onde Tjener! al den Gæld eftergav jeg dig, fordi du bad mig. |
| Dutch | Toen heeft hem zijn heer tot zich geroepen, en zeide tot hem: Gij boze dienstknecht, al die schuld heb ik u kwijtgescholden, dewijl gij mij gebeden hebt; |
| Finnish | eikö sinunkin olisi pitänyt armahtaa kanssapalvelijaasi, niinkuin minäkin sinua armahdin?` |
| French | Alors le maître fit appeler ce serviteur, et lui dit: Méchant serviteur, je t`avais remis en entier ta dette, parce que tu m`en avais supplié; |
| German | Da forderte ihn sein Herr vor sich und sprach zu ihm: Du Schalksknecht, alle diese Schuld habe ich dir erlassen, dieweil du mich batest; |
| Haitian Creole | Lè sa a, mèt la fè rele domestik la. Li di l' konsa: Gade jan ou mechan! Mwen kite tout lajan sa a pou ou paske ou te mande m' fè sa pou ou. |
| Hungarian | Akkor elõhivatván õt az õ ura, monda néki: Gonosz szolga, minden adósságodat elengedtem néked, mivelhogy könyörögtél nékem: |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Maka raja itu memanggil hamba yang jahat itu dan berkata kepadanya, 'Hamba yang jahat! Seluruh utangmu sudah kuhapuskan hanya karena engkau memohon kepadaku. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Kemudian dipanggil oleh tuannya hamba itu, lalu katanya kepadanya: Hai hamba yang jahat, bahwa semua utangmu itu sudah kuhalalkan sebab engkau meminta kepadaku. |
| Italian | Allora il padrone fece chiamare quell'uomo e gli disse: Servo malvagio, io ti ho condonato tutto il debito perché mi hai pregato. |
| Korean | 이 에 주 인 이 를 불 러 다 가 말 하 되 악 한 종 아 네 가 빌 기 에 내 가 네 빚 을 부 탕 감 하 여 주 었 거 늘 |
| Latvian | Tad viòa kungs to pasauca un sacîja: Tu nekrietnais kalps! Es visu parâdu tev atlaidu, jo tu mani lûdzi. |
| Manx Gaelic | Eisht deie e hiarn er, as dooyrt eh rish, O ghrogh harvaant, leih mish dhyt's yn slane lhiastynys shen, er-yn-oyr dy ren oo lheid yn aghin hym: |
| Maori | Katahi ka karanga tona ariki i a ia, ka mea ki a ia, Pononga kino, i whakarerea noatia e ahau taua moni tarewa katoa i a koe, nau hoki i inoi ki ahau: |
| Modern Greek | Τοτε προσκαλεσας αυτον ο κυριος αυτου, λεγει προς αυτον· "ουλε πονηρε, παν το χρεος εκεινο σοι αφηκα, επειδη με παρεκαλεσας· |
| Norwegian | Da kalte hans herre ham for sig og sa til ham: Du onde tjener! all din gjeld eftergav jeg dig, fordi du bad mig; |
| Portuguese | Então o seu senhor, chamando-o á sua presença, disse-lhe: Servo malvado, perdoei-te toda aquela dívida, porque me suplicaste; |
| Rumanian | Atunci stqpknul a chemat la el pe robul acesta, wi i -a zis: ,Rob vicelan! Eu yi-am iertat toatq datoria, fiindcq m`ai rugat. |
| Russian | фПЗ"Б ЗПУХ"БТШ ЕЗП ТЙЪЩЧБЕФ ЕЗП Й ЗПЧПТЙФ: ЪМПК ТБ'! ЧЕУШ "ПМЗ ФПФ С ТПУФЙМ ФЕ'Е, ПФПНХ ЮФП ФЩ Х ТПУЙМ НЕОС; |
| Shuar | Nuna antuk uunt akupin untsuk Itiá timiai "Yajauchiitme. ¿Winia "waitnentrurta" Túrutkumin tsankurachmakjam? |
| Spanish | Entonces su señor le llamó y le dijo: "¡Siervo malvado! Toda aquella deuda te perdoné, porque me rogaste. |
| Swahili | Hapo yule bwana alimwita huyo mtumishi, akamwambia, `Wewe ni mtumishi mbaya sana! Uliniomba, nami nikakusamehe deni lako lote. |
| Swedish | Då kallade hans herre honom till sig och sade till honom: 'Du onde tjänare, allt vad du var skyldig efterskänkte jag dig, eftersom du bad mig därom. |
| Thai | แล้วเจ้านายของเขาจึงทรงเรียกผู้รับใช้นั้นมาสั่งว่า `โอ เจ้าผู้รับใช้ชั่ว เราไ"้โปร"ยกหนี้ให้เจ้าหม" เพราะเจ้าไ"้อ้อนวอนเรา |
| Ukrainian | Тоді пан його кличе його, та й говорить до нього: абе лукавий, я простив був тобі ввесь той борг, бо просив ти мене. |
| Uma | Mpo'epe toe we'i, kamoroe-nami magau'. Mpohubui-i tauna hilou mpokio' batua to dada'a gau' -na tohe'ei. Karata-na, na'uli' -ki: `Dada'a lia-ko! Inta-nu kupori-mi ngkai rala buku-ku, apa' moranempale-moko hi aku'. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "debt": debtless, debtor, debtors, debts. (additional references) | |
Words containing "debt": codebtor, codebtors, indebted, indebtedness, indebtednesses, overindebtedness, overindebtednesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Debt" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: adebt, dabg, dbe, dbt, Dbto, deat, Deba, debat, debb, debbi, debe, debet, debi, debo, debth, debu, Deby, dect, dectp, deet, Defb, delt, deobt, deot, dert, desb, dest, D'est, det, dett, deubt, dewt, dext, deyt, dfb, dibi, dibo, diebt, dobt, dubt, dvb, ebt, edt, edtv, Idbf, Sebt. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "debt" (pronounced de"t) |
| 3 | d e" t | cadet, vedette. |
| 2 | -e" t | abet, anisette, barbette, barrette, beget, beset, bet, Brunet, brunette, cabriolet, calumet, cassette, cigarette, clarinet, cornet, coronet, corvette, diskette, duet, et, Falconet, flageolet, forget, fret, Gazette, georgette, get, jet, kitchenette, let, Luncheonette, met, minaret, minuet, net, nett, octet, offset, pet, pipette, pirouette, preset, quartet, quintet, regret, reset, Ret, rosette, roulette, set, Sextet, silhouette, sobriquet, statuette, Stet, suffragette, sweat, tet, threat, unmet, unset, upset, vet, vignette, wet, whet, yet, yett. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-d-e-t" | |
-1 letter: bed, bet, deb, ted. | |
-2 letters: be, de, ed, et. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-d-e-t" | |
+1 letter: bated, bidet, debit, debts, debut, tubed. | |
+2 letters: abated, baited, basted, bathed, batted, bedsit, belted, bested, bestud, betide, betted, bidets, bitted, boated, bolted, booted, bruted, budget, bunted, busted, butled, butted, debate, debits, debtor, debuts, hotbed, tabbed, tabled, tabued, tombed, tubbed. | |
+3 letters: abetted, ablated, abluted, aborted, abutted, baddest, baldest, bartend, batched, battled, bedfast, bedight, bedirty, bedmate, bedpost, bedsits, bedtick, bedtime, beetled, belated, berated, berthed, bestead, bestrid, bestuds, betaxed, betided, betides, bighted, bigoted, bilsted, birthed, bistred, bitched, blasted, blatted, bleated, blitzed, bloated, blotted, blunted, blurted, boasted, boldest, boosted, borated, botched, bottled, bracted, breadth, bruited, budgets, bursted, bustled, dabster, datable, debated, debater, debates, debited, debtors, debuted, deorbit, doublet, doubted, doubter, drabbet, driblet, dubiety, dumbest, flatbed, habited, hotbeds, jetbead, lobated, obtrude, orbited, outbred, rebated, redbait, redoubt, stabbed, stabled, stobbed, stubbed, subedit, subtend, tabbied, tabered, tabooed, tabored, thumbed, trebled, tribade, tumbled, unbated. | |
+4 letters: abdicate, abducent, abducted, abductee, absented, baccated, backdate, baldpate, balloted, bantered, baptised, baptized, bartends, bartered, basseted, battened, battered, bawdiest, beadiest, bedights, bedmates, bedotted, bedplate, bedposts, bedquilt, bedsheet, bedstand, bedstead, bedstraw, bedticks, bedtimes, befitted, bemisted, benedict, bentwood, besotted, besteads, bestowed, bestride, bestrode, bethesda, betiding, betrayed, bettered, bidental, billeted, bilsteds, biparted, bisected, bistered, bittered, blandest, blighted, blindest, blondest, blotched, bodement, bolthead, bonneted, bothered, bottomed, bountied, brattled, breadnut, breadths, breasted, breathed, breveted, bristled, brittled, broadest, bromated, bucketed, budgeted, budgeter, buffeted, bulleted, buttered, buttoned, codebtor, combated, dabsters, database, dateable, datebook, daubiest, deadbeat, deadbolt, deathbed, debaters, debating, debility, debiting, debtless, debutant, debuting, deorbits, diabetes, diabetic, diatribe, doublets, doubters, downbeat, drabbest, drabbets, drawtube, dribblet, driblets, drumbeat, dubonnet, dutiable, editable, embruted, entombed, flatbeds, gibbeted, globated, habitude, hebetude, imbruted, indebted, interbed, intombed, jetbeads, kibitzed, labiated, librated, obdurate, obedient, objected, obtained, obtected, obtested, obtruded, obtruder, obtrudes, obtunded, obverted, obviated, outbaked, outboxed, outbreed, probated, rabbeted, rabbited, rebaited, rebooted, rebutted, redbaits, redoubts, stubbled, stumbled, subdepot, subedits, sublated, subtends, subtrend, tabarded, tableted, taboured, teaboard, throbbed, timbered, tradable, trembled, tribades, trilobed, troubled, truebred, tuberoid, turbaned, unabated, unbathed, unbelted, unbitted, unbolted, unbusted, vibrated, waterbed. | |
+5 letters: abdicated, abdicates, abductees, aberrated, abnegated, abreacted, abrogated, abstained, absterged, absurdest, acerbated, adaptable, adhibited, adoptable, adsorbate, adsorbent, adumbrate, ambulated, auditable, babbitted, backdated, backdates, bacteroid, baldpates, ballasted, banqueted, bartended, bartender, bassetted, bastinade, bastioned, batfowled, bayoneted, beatified, beatitude, beclothed, becrusted, bedighted, bedirtied, bedirties, bedlamite, bedplates, bedquilts, bedsheets, bedstands, bedsteads, bedstraws, bedwetter, befretted, beknotted, belatedly, belittled, benedicts, benefited, benempted, benighted, bentwoods, bepainted, beshouted, besmutted, besoothed, besteaded, bestirred, bestrewed, bestrides, bestrowed, bestudded, bethanked, bethesdas, bethorned, bethumped, betokened, betrothed, bevomited, bewitched, bigotedly, birthdate, blanketed, blathered, blattered, blethered, blistered, blithered, bloodiest, bloviated, blustered, bobtailed, bodements, bolstered, boltheads, bondstone, botanised, botanized, boycotted, bracketed, bratticed, breadnuts, brevetted, broodiest, brothered, brutified, budgetary, budgeteer, budgeters, budgeting, burthened, butadiene, butchered, butylated, bystander, codebtors, cohabited, cohobated, combatted, combusted, databases, datebooks, deadbeats, deadbolts, deathbeds, deathblow, debarment, debatable, debenture, debutante, debutants, decumbent, deorbited, detonable, diabetics, diatribes, dilatable, disturbed, disturber, doubleton, doubtable, doubtless, downbeats, draftable, drawtubes, dribblets, drumbeats, dubieties, dubitable, dubonnets, eastbound, edibility, embattled, embedment, exhibited, extubated, gibbetted, habitudes, hebetated, hebetudes, incubated, inhabited, inhibited, interbeds, interbred, intubated, jubilated, kibbitzed, lambasted, liberated, lobstered, lobulated, molybdate, obcordate, obligated, obsoleted, obtruders, obturated, outbarked, outbawled, outbeamed, outbegged, outbidden, outblazed, outbraved, outbreeds, outbribed, outbulked, outburned, outdebate, outfabled, perturbed, potboiled, quodlibet, rebottled, redbaited, redbreast, robotized, sabotaged, sibilated, sodbuster, speedboat, streambed, subdepots, subducted, subedited, subeditor, subjected, submitted, subsisted, subtended, subtitled, subtrends, subverted, sunbathed, sweatband, tableland, tabletted, tabulated, tamboured, teaboards, tinderbox, trabeated, tradeable, tubulated, turbanned, turbidite, twayblade, undoubted, waterbeds, waterbird, westbound. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 65 62 74 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-.. . -... - |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01100101 01100010 01110100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D e b t |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 0065 0062 0074 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)38716886 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Historic | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Spoken 12. Quotations: Speeches | 13. Usage Frequency 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Translations: Ancient 18. Bible Trace 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Orthography 23. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
