/ dɪˈbentʃə(r); NAmE / noun
( BrE , finance ) an official document that is given by a company, showing it has borrowed money from a person and stating the interest payments that it will make to them
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (denoting a voucher issued by a royal household, giving the right to claim payment for goods or services): from Latin debentur are owing (from debere owe), used as the first word of a certificate recording a debt. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.