debenture

noun

1. certificate of indebtedness.
2. a certificate of drawback issued at a custom house.

noun

1. Also called: debenture bond a long-term bond, bearing fixed interest and usually unsecured, issued by a company or governmental agency
2. a certificate acknowledging the debt of a stated sum of money to a specified person
3. a customs certificate providing for a refund of excise or import duty

n.

“written acknowledgment of a debt,” early 15c., from Latin debentur “there are due” (said to have been the first word in formal certificates of indebtedness), passive present third person plural of debere “to owe” (see debt).