debenture
Americannoun
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Also called: debenture bond. a long-term bond, bearing fixed interest and usually unsecured, issued by a company or governmental agency
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a certificate acknowledging the debt of a stated sum of money to a specified person
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a customs certificate providing for a refund of excise or import duty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of debenture
1425–75; late Middle English debentur < Latin dēbentur ( mihi ) there are owing (to me), 3rd person plural passive indicative of dēbēre to owe ( see debt)
Explanation
A document that tells how much money you owe someone is a debenture. If you borrow ten dollars from the neighbor kid's lemonade stand earnings, you'd better at least leave him a debenture. Debenture, pronounced "deh-BEN-chur," looks and sounds like its Latin root, debentur, which means "there are due." A debenture is a receipt or certificate that acknowledges a debt, which you give someone who loans you money. Debenture is also your ability to use credit to get things now that you promise to pay for later.
Vocabulary lists containing debenture
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The case came to British courts because London-based Law Debenture Trust Corp. had been appointed by Ukraine to represent the interests of bondholders.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2023
The grace period expires at midnight New York time on Jan. 31, according to Robert Rywkin, a trustee from Law Debenture Trust Company of New York.
From BusinessWeek • Feb. 1, 2011
In the opinion of the House there is a question as to whether 'the Senate's Debenture Plan' contravenes ... the Constitution and is an infringement on the rights and privileges of the House.
From Time Magazine Archive
Debenture holders, their $28,000,000 already reduced to $24,000,000, were promised another $1,200,000 next month.
From Time Magazine Archive
Debenture Stock being purchased by a local butterman at seven pounds for a halfpenny.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, September 20, 1890 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
