Owe

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Owe \Owe\ ([=o]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Owed} ([=o]d), ({Ought}
     ([add]t) obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. {Owing} ([=o]"[i^]ng).] [OE.
     owen, awen, aghen, to have, own, have (to do), hence, owe,
     AS. [=a]gan to have; akin to G. eigen, a., own, Icel. eiga to
     have, Dan. eie, Sw. [aum]ga, Goth. ['a]igan, Skr. [imac][,c].
     [root]110. Cf. {Ought}, v., 2d {Own}, {Fraught}.]


     1. To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own. [Obs.]
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              Thou dost here usurp
              The name thou ow'st not.              --Shak.
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     2. To have or possess, as something derived or bestowed; to
        be obliged to ascribe (something to some source); to be
        indebted or obliged for; as, he owed his wealth to his
        father; he owed his victory to his lieutenants. --Milton.
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              O deem thy fall not owed to man's decree. --Pope.
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     3. Hence: To have or be under an obigation to restore, pay,
        or render (something) in return or compensation for
        something received; to be indebted in the sum of; as, the
        subject owes allegiance; the fortunate owe assistance to
        the unfortunate.
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              The one ought five hundred pence, and the other
              fifty.                                --Bible
                                                    (1551).
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              A son owes help and honor to his father. --Holyday.
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     Note: Owe was sometimes followed by an objective clause
           introduced by the infinitive. "Ye owen to incline and
           bow your heart." --Chaucer.
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     4. To have an obligation to (some one) on account of
        something done or received; to be indebted to; as, to owe
        the grocer for supplies, or a laborer for services.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  owe
       v 1: be obliged to pay or repay
       2: be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense; "This
          new theory owes much to Einstein's Relativity Theory"
       3: be in debt; "She owes me $200"; "The thesis owes much to his
          adviser"

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  OWE, v.  To have (and to hold) a debt.  The word formerly signified
  not indebtedness, but possession; it meant "own," and in the minds of
  debtors there is still a good deal of confusion between assets and
  liabilities.