debenture

/dəˈbɛnʧər/

Other forms: debentures

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.

Definitions of debenture

1. noun

   the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future
   synonyms: debenture bond, unsecured bond

   type of:

   bond, bond certificate

   a certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal
2. noun

   a certificate or voucher acknowledging a debt
   type of:

   instrument, legal document, legal instrument, official document

   (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right