different between debt vs onus

English

Alternative forms

• dette (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English dette, dett, borrowed from Old French dete (French dette), from Medieval Latin d?bita, from Latin d?bitum (“what is owed, a debt, a duty”), neuter of d?bitus, perfect passive participle of d?be? (“I owe”), contraction of *dehibe? (“I have from”), from de (“from”) + habe? (“I have”). Doublet of debit.

The unpronounced "b" in the modern English spelling is a Latinisation from the Latin etymon d?bitum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?t/
• Rhymes: -?t
• Homophone: death (with th-stopping)

Noun

debt (countable and uncountable, plural debts)

1. An action, state of mind, or object one has an obligation to perform for another, adopt toward another, or give to another.
2. The state or condition of owing something to another.
3. (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.
4. (law) An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money alleged to be due.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

• debit
• debitor
• debtor
• indebted

Translations

See also

• owe

Further reading

• debt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• debt in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Middle English

Noun

debt

1. Alternative form of dette

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin onus (“burden”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???n?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?o?n?s/
• Rhymes: -??n?s

Noun

onus (countable and uncountable, plural onuses or onera)

1. A legal obligation.

2. (uncountable) Burden of proof, onus probandi.

3. Stigma.
4. Blame.
5. Responsibility; burden.

Translations

Anagrams

• Onsu, Osun, Suon, UNOS, Unos, nous, ouns

Dutch

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin onus (“burden”).

Pronunciation

Noun

onus m (plural onussen or oni, diminutive onusje n)

1. burden

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h?énh?os from *h?enh?-. Cognate to Sanskrit ???? (ánas, “heavy cart; mother; birth; offspring”). See Ancient Greek ?????? (ónomai, “impugn, quarrel with”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?o.nus/, [??n?s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?o.nus/, [???nus]

Noun

onus n (genitive oneris); third declension

1. burden, load
2. cargo, freight
3. (figuratively) tax, tax burden

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Derived terms

• oner?
• onustus
• onus proband?

Descendants

• Dutch: onus
• English: onus
• Italian: onere
• Portuguese: ónus

References

• onus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• onus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• onus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• onus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Clackson, James, Indo-European Word Formation: Proceedings from the International Conference, 2002