OWE


Meaning of OWE in English

I. ˈō verb

( owed ˈōd ; or archaic ought ˈȯt ; owed or archaic ought ; owing ; owes )

Etymology: Middle English owe, ogh & oweth, ogh (1st & 3d person singular present indicative respectively of owen to possess, own, owe, past owede, oughte ), from Old English āh (1st & 3d person singular present indicative of āgan to possess, own, owe, past āhte ); akin to Old High German eigun (1st & 3d person plural present indicative) possess, have, Old Norse ā (1st & 3d person singular present indicative) possess, have, am obliged (infin. eiga ), Gothic aih (1st & 3d person singular present indicative) possess, have, Sanskrit īśe he possesses, owns

transitive verb

1.

a. archaic : possess , own

b. dialect England : to claim as one's possession

c. : to have or bear (a specified feeling or relation) to someone or something

owes his master a grudge

2.

a.

(1) : to be under an obligation to pay or repay in return for something received : be indebted in the sum of

owes me five dollars

(2) : to be under obligation to render (as duty or service)

the homage which man owes his Creator — M.W.Baldwin

b. : to have an obligation to on account of something done or received : be indebted to

owes the grocer for supplies

3. : to have or possess as something derived or bestowed : be indebted or obliged for

owed his wealth to his father

owes his fame chiefly to his professional activities — Dumas Malone

intransitive verb

1. : to be in debt

owes for his house

2. obsolete : to be under obligations to someone

II. ˈ(y)ō

dialect England

variant of ewe

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.