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"debt" in seven languages

Meaningdebt

Spanish

deuda

/ˈdewda/

fem.inherited

French

dette

/dɛt/

fem.inherited

Italian

debito

/ˈdebito/

masc.learned

Portuguese

dívida

/ˈdʒividɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

datorie

/datoˈrie/

fem.other source · Romanian dator 'owing' (Latin DĒBITŌREM) + -ie

Catalan

deute

/ˈdɛwtə/

masc.inherited

From the singular DĒBITUM, so masculine.

English

debt

/dɛt/

from Latin/French · Old French dette (b restored from Latin)

English → ItaliandebtdebitoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

DĒBITA‘things owed (neuter plural of DĒBITUM)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A Latin neuter plural became a feminine singular in Spanish and French. English debt is French dette with a silent b stuck in by scholars who wanted it to look like Latin.

English relatives: debt, debit, due

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In a sentence

  • esTienen muchas deudas.
  • frIls ont beaucoup de dettes.
  • itHanno molti debiti.
  • ptEles têm muitas dívidas.
  • roAu multe datorii.
  • caTenen molts deutes.
  • enThey have a lot of debt.

More in Work & money

All Work & money words