DEBERE

Etymology and Meaning

  • Etymon: DEBERE
  • Language of the etymon: Latin
  • Latin Conjugation: II
  • Meaning: must, owe

Comments

  • Semantically based morphological split

    In the gerund and past participle the first-listed form is that meaning 'owe (money)', the second means 'must, be obliged'. In the imperfect indicative only the second-listed set of forms means 'must', while either of the alternative listed forms can apparently mean 'owe'. In the present indicative and future, the verb is defective in the meaning 'must' (as indicated here in the second-listed set of forms). The Romance conditional forms are apparently used instead of the present indicative, while the reflex of FALLERE is used in place of the Romance future.

Grammatical Categories