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debt
debt obligation in services, money, or goods owed by one party, the debtor, to another, the creditor. When contested, debts are collected by a civil suit upon which the judge renders a judgment, and an execution is levied on the debtor's property. In ancient nations debt was associated with slavery because the insolvent debtor and his household were in many cases turned over to the creditor to perform compulsory services. In early Rome the insolvent was given into custody of the creditor for 60 days prior to his sale as a slave, subject to such treatment as pleased the creditor. That arrangement was mitigated in 494 BC by the first of the uprisings of the Roman people; turbulence in Rome afterward was to a large extent occasioned by the desire to restrain creditors. In Greece the reforms of Solon had a similar origin. In Palestine, every 50th year—the year of jubilee—Jewish debtors were freed and their obligations were canceled. Imprisonment for debt, which once crowded prisons, was ended in theory in England and the United States by laws enacted in the 19th cent. The laws of bankruptcy are designed to apply the resources of debtors to their debts and thereafter to remove such legal obligations. |
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"debt." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "debt." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-debt.html "debt." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-debt.html |
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debt
debt / det/ • n. something that is owed or due: I paid off my debts | a way to reduce Third World debt. ∎ the state of owing money: heavily in debt. ∎ a feeling of gratitude for a service or favor: we owe them a debt of thanks. PHRASES: be in someone's debt owe gratitude to someone for a service or favor. |
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"debt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "debt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-debt.html "debt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-debt.html |
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debt
debt Hebrew laws on debt were humanitarian and recognized that falling into debt was a misfortune. All debts were to be cancelled every seven years (Deut. 15: 1 ff.) and only foreigners were to be charged interest (Deut. 23: 20). Nevertheless there was in NT times much traffic in loans (Matt. 25: 27).
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "debt." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "debt." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-debt.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "debt." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-debt.html |
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debt
debt debt of honour a debt that is not legally recoverable, especially a sum lost in gambling.
See also death pays all debts, national debt, out of debt, out of danger. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "debt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "debt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-debt.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "debt." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-debt.html |
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