Home > Antonyms > Antonyms for owe

Antonyms for owe

Grammar : Verb
Spell : oh
Phonetic Transcription : oÊŠ

Definition of owe

Origin :
  • Old English agan (past tense ahte) "to have, own," from Proto-Germanic *aiganan "to possess" (cf. Old Frisian aga, Old Norse eiga, Old High German eigan, Gothic aigan "to possess, have"), from PIE *aik- "to be master of, possess" (cf. Sanskrit ise "he owns," isah "owner, lord, ruler;" Avestan is- "riches," isvan- "well-off, rich").
  • Sense of "to have to repay" began in late Old English with the phrase agan to geldanne literally "to own to yield," which was used to translate Latin debere (earlier in Old English this would have been sceal "shall"); by late 12c. the phrase had been shortened to simply agan, and own (v.) took over this word's original sense.
  • An original Germanic preterite-present verb (cf. can, dare, may, etc.). New past tense form owed arose 15c. to replace oughte, which developed into ought (v.).
  • verb have an obligation
Example sentences :
  • In view of the violence you made use of, I consider that you owe my son an apology.
  • Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
  • He didn't like to owe anything to other people, not even to Prissie.
  • Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
  • I owe no thanks to Mrs. Whitney, with her prunes and her prisms and her penny-pinchings.
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark
  • Yes, I'm afraid I owe a lot of money, but must we—just to-night?
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark
  • We owe the discovery of this important document to Mr. Newman Flower.
  • Extract from : « Handel » by Edward J. Dent
  • I cannot tell you how lovely I find it, nor how happy I am; and I owe it all, all to you.
  • Extract from : « Rico and Wiseli » by Johanna Spyri
  • We owe it to the sex, Renny, to give 'em a chance at reforming us.
  • Extract from : « In the Midst of Alarms » by Robert Barr
  • I owe him an old grudge, and will find a time to pay it yet.
  • Extract from : « P.'s Correspondence (From "Mosses From An Old Manse") » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Certainly, also, you have paid back all you owe me with a Jew's interest.
  • Extract from : « Fair Margaret » by H. Rider Haggard
  • I owe it to your friendship not to torment you with unnecessary apprehensions.
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth

Synonyms for owe

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019