Debt is money that you owe to someone else and must pay back.
It comes from Old French “dette,” from Latin “debitum,” meaning “that which is owed,” from “debere,” “to owe.” The silent “b” was added in English to match the Latin spelling.
The “b” in “debt” is there because someone wanted it to look more Latin and “educated,” not because anyone ever said it. English spelling sometimes honors history more than pronunciation, which is why it feels so inconsistent.
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