debt

債務　—　Institutions

What must be paid back.

Morgan dollar — A photograph of the real thing this term names.

Peace dollar — A photograph of the real thing this term names.

⚠ Money itself, when examined closely, is a form of debt. Banknotes are recorded on the books as a liability of the issuer. "Records of debt" and "money" were not originally separate concepts.

Related terms

credit public debt ledger

Terms explained using this word

interest exchanging bankruptcy collateral barter payment promise borrowing

Courses where this term appears

A06 The World of the Gold Standard B04 Nominal and Real B14 Monetary Union and Fragmentation B17 Money and Law B19 Modern Money C06 The Silver Road C08 Nominalism C09 Japan's Debasement Debate P3 Household Finances P5 The State, Money, and You P6 Principles of Growth and Preservation P8 Money and People

Where this word appears

Overview: 2,700 years of the world　Britain　The Decline of the Pound
Overview: 2,700 years of the world　Russia　Default
United States　Money inside the constitution　The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 10
United States　Hamilton against Jefferson　The office of the Secretary of the Treasury
United States　The long road back to convertibility　A farm on the Great Plains
United States　The thirty years' war of gold and silver　The banking streets of the East and the farmland of the West
United States　The far shore of the war　Across the Atlantic, America
United States　The spring they let go of gold　The Supreme Court

and 34 more chapters

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