Etymograph

English

indebt

Indebt comes from Middle English dette ‘debt’, and goes back to Latin dēbita.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēbita
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*deptareconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dete‘debt’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dette‘debt’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500endetten
  6. Englishtodayindebt

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history not traced here.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēbita
  2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*deptareconstructed
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dete‘debt’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dette‘debt’
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500endetten
  6. Englishtodayindebt

Equivalent to in- + debt

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Latin dēbeō ‘to owe’

…

Medieval Latin dēbita

Vulgar Latin *depta

Old French dete ‘debt’

Middle English dette

English debt

Every English word from Latin dēbita

Today it means

verb To bring into debt; to place under obligation.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin dēbita / indebt

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