Collier's New Encyclopedia

A complete general encyclopedia of 1921 — the world as it was understood just after the Great War, from Aachen to Zwingli, across twelve volumes and six thousand pages.

HomeD › Debt (That which is due from one)

Debt (That which is due from one)

that which is due from one person to another; that which one person is bound to pay or perform to another; due; obligation; liability. That which any one is obliged to do or to suffer.

Debt in law is a species of contract whereby a chose in action, or right to a certain sum of money, is mutually acquired and lost; usually divided into debts of record, debts by special contract, and debts by simple contract. A debt of record is a sum which apears to be due by the evidence of a court of record; such as debt of judgment or recognizance. Debt by specialty is where a sum is acknowledged to be due, or becomes due, by instrument under seal; such as a covenant, bond, etc. Both these species of debts, being contracted by a man for himself and his heirs, attach on his lands and tenements, and bind them in the hands of his heir or devisee. Debt by simple contract is either by parol or

← Debs (EUGENE VICTOR an American)Debt (NATIONAL by written obligation) →