debt: [13] Debt originated as dēbita, the plural of Latin dēbitum ‘that which is owed’, a noun formed from the past participle of the verb dēbēre ‘owe’. In Vulgar Latin, dēbita was evidently viewed as a feminine singular noun, and it passed thus into Old French as dette, the form in which English originally acquired the word. From the 13th to the 16th centuries the French spelling was latinized as debte, a reform which English adopted in the 16th century.
In the 15th century English independently borrowed Latin dēbitum as debit. (Latin dēbēre ‘owe’, source also of English debenture, due, and duty, was originally a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘a(chǎn)way’ and habēre ‘have’, literally ‘have away’, that is, ‘keep in one’s possession what belongs to someone else’.) => debenture, due, duty, endeavour
debt (n.)
late 13c., dette, from Old French dete, from Latin debitum "thing owed," neuter past participle of debere "to owe," originally, "keep something away from someone," from de- "away" (see de-) + habere "to have" (see habit (n.)). Restored spelling after c. 1400. In Middle English, debt of the body (mid-14c.) was "that which spouses owe to each other, sexual intercourse."
雙語例句
1. The word " debt " contains a mute letter.
在 debt 這個(gè)詞中有一個(gè)不發(fā)音的字母.
來自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
2. The plan is designed to reduce some of the company's mountainous debt.
該計(jì)劃旨在減少公司堆積如山的債務(wù)。
來自柯林斯例句
3. The American Congress has agreed to forgive Egypt's military debt.
美國國會(huì)同意免除埃及的軍事債務(wù)。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The Commonwealth Development Corporation has agreed to reschedule Tanzania's debt.