indenture

[in-den-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR indenture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a deed or agreement executed in two or more copies with edges correspondingly indented as a means of identification.

any deed, written contract, or sealed agreement.

a contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound to service.

any official or formal list, certificate, etc., authenticated for use as a voucher or the like.

the formal agreement between a group of bondholders and the debtor as to the terms of the debt.

indentation.

verb (used with object), in·den·tured, in·den·tur·ing.

to bind by indenture, as an apprentice.

Archaic. to make a depression in; wrinkle; furrow.

Origin of indenture

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word indentūra. See indent¹, -ure

Related formsin·den·ture·ship, nounun·in·den·tured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for indenture

compact, deed, contract, arrangement

Examples from the Web for indenture

Historical Examples of indenture

But the passage which, for me, is most precious is that Apprentice's "Indenture."
Visions and Revisions
John Cowper Powys
It is the same in civil law with an indenture at the common law.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
I have broken my indenture, and I think of running the country.'
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop
A secret renewal of the indenture was executed simultaneously.
Benjamin Franklin
John Torrey Morse, Jr.
And in our own country every white apprentice is, in his indenture, called a servant.
Abolitionism Exposed!
W. W. Sleigh

British Dictionary definitions for indenture

indenture

noun

any deed, contract, or sealed agreement between two or more parties

(formerly) a deed drawn up in duplicate, each part having correspondingly indented edges for identification and security

(often plural) a contract between an apprentice and his master

a formal or official list or certificate authenticated for use as a voucher, etc

a less common word for indentation

verb

(intr) to enter into an agreement by indenture

(tr) to bind (an apprentice, servant, etc) by indenture

(tr) obsolete to indent or wrinkle

Derived Formsindentureship, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for indenture

"contract for services," late 14c., from Anglo-French endenture, Old French endenteure "indentation," from endenter (see indent). Such contracts (especially between master craftsmen and apprentices) were written in full identical versions on a sheet of parchment, which was then cut apart in a zigzag, or "notched" line. Each party took one, and the genuineness of a document of indenture could be proved by juxtaposition with its counterpart. As a verb, 1650s, from the noun.