debenture
/dɪˈbɛntjʊə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.18 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A certificate that certifies an amount of money owed to someone; a certificate of indebtedness.
noun
A type of debt instrument secured only by the general credit or promise to pay of the issuer, not involving any physical assets or collateral, now commonly issued by large, well established corporations with adequate credit ratings.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "This was the West Lancashire Railway, an ambitious but feckless little concern which, in a life lasting a quarter of a century, never earned a dividend, failed to keep up its debenture payments (despite a dangerous attempt to do so by issuing more debentures) and ended up in the hands of a receiver."
- "Madame Corre, who made the important decisions after her plodding husband had spent hours on the ledger, sold the family debentures and put the money into Dutch decurities."
- "That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired."
Etymology
From earlier debentur, from Latin debentur (“they are owing”), supposedly the first word of such a document in early times. The ending was apparently influenced by words in -(t)ure.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /dɪˈbɛntjʊə/