different between debt vs payables

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

Noun

payables pl (plural only)

1. debts and liabilities owed by a business

Related terms

• payable