LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbsecond conjugation

dēbeō

dēbeō (present infinitive dēbēre, perfect active dēbuī, supine dēbitum)
Classical[ˈdeː.be.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɛː.be.o]
№ 155 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. to owe something, to be under obligation to and for something
    (passive voice of obligō only)
    [...] nēmō sē iūdicet quicquam dēbēre quī tempus accēpit, cum interim hoc ūnum est quod nē grātus quidem potest reddere.[Yet] no one who receives [a gift of] time judges himself to owe anything [in return], when meanwhile this one [thing] is in fact what not even a grateful [person] is able to repay.c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.1.3
  2. to be bound, in duty bound to do something; "ought", "must", "should"
  3. to be owed, to be due (when in passive voice)
  4. to have or keep from someone (in its original, etymological sense)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pecūniam quam accēpī, reddere oportet: eam dēbeō; etiam: dēbeō facere = oportet mē facere.
dēbeō -ēre dēbuī — in Mille Verba, Basilica et Iūs
ought
dēbet — in Seneca, ch. V

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Necesse est · Oportet · Opus est · Debere

1. Necesse est (ἀναγκάζω) denotes an obligation of nature and necessity, like ἀνάγκη ἐστίν; oportet, an obligation of morality and of honor, like χρή; opus est (πόθος, optare?) an obligation of prudence, like δεῖ. Cic. Orat. ii. 25. Jure omnia defenduntur quæ sunt ejus generis, ut aut oportuerit aut licuerit aut necesse fuerit. Att. iv. 6. Si loquor de republica quod oportet, insanus; si, quod opus est, servus existimor. And xiii. 25. Cat. ap. Sen. Ep. 94. Emo non quod opus est, sed quod necesse est; quod non opus est, asse carum est. And Cic. Or. ii. 43. 2. Oportet denotes objectively, the moral claim which is made upon any man; debere (δεύεσθαι, δεῖν? or, dehibere?) subjectively, the moral obligation which any man is under, like ὀφείλειν. Tac. Hist. iv. 7. Accusatores etiamsi puniri non oporteat, ostentari non debere. (v. 323.)

Conjugation conjugation 2

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.dēbeōdēbēbamdēbēbōdēbuīdēbueramdēbuerō
2nd sg.dēbēsdēbēbāsdēbēbisdēbuistīdēbuerāsdēbueris
3rd sg.dēbetdēbēbatdēbēbitdēbuitdēbueratdēbuerit
1st pl.dēbēmusdēbēbāmusdēbēbimusdēbuimusdēbuerāmusdēbuerimus
2nd pl.dēbētisdēbēbātisdēbēbitisdēbuistisdēbuerātisdēbueritis
3rd pl.dēbentdēbēbantdēbēbuntdēbuērunt
dēbuēre		dēbuerantdēbuerint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.dēbeamdēbēremdēbuerimdēbuissem
2nd sg.dēbeāsdēbērēsdēbuerīsdēbuissēs
3rd sg.dēbeatdēbēretdēbueritdēbuisset
1st pl.dēbeāmusdēbērēmusdēbuerīmusdēbuissēmus
2nd pl.dēbeātisdēbērētisdēbuerītisdēbuissētis
3rd pl.dēbeantdēbērentdēbuerintdēbuissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.dēbeordēbēbardēbēbor
2nd sg.dēbēris
dēbēre		dēbēbāris
dēbēbāre		dēbēberis
dēbēbere
3rd sg.dēbēturdēbēbāturdēbēbitur
1st pl.dēbēmurdēbēbāmurdēbēbimur
2nd pl.dēbēminīdēbēbāminīdēbēbiminī
3rd pl.dēbenturdēbēbanturdēbēbuntur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.dēbeardēbērer
2nd sg.dēbeāris
dēbeāre		dēbērēris
dēbērēre
3rd sg.dēbeāturdēbērētur
1st pl.dēbeāmurdēbērēmur
2nd pl.dēbeāminīdēbērēminī
3rd pl.dēbeanturdēbērentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.dēbēdēbēre
pres. 2nd pl.dēbētedēbēminī
fut. 2nd sg.dēbētōdēbētor
fut. 3rd sg.dēbētōdēbētor
fut. 2nd pl.dēbētōte—
fut. 3rd pl.dēbentōdēbentor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivedēbēredēbērī
perfect infinitivedēbuissedēbitum esse
future infinitivedēbitūrum essedēbitum īrī
present participledēbēns
dēbente, dēbentem, dēbentēs, dēbentī, dēbentia, dēbentibus, dēbentis, dēbentīs, dēbentium		—
perfect participle—dēbitus
dēbita, dēbitā, dēbitae, dēbitam, dēbitārum, dēbitās, dēbite, dēbitī, dēbitīs, dēbitō, dēbitōrum, dēbitōs
future participledēbitūrus
dēbitūra, dēbitūrā, dēbitūrae, dēbitūram, dēbitūrārum, dēbitūrās, dēbitūre, dēbitūrī, dēbitūrīs, dēbitūrō, dēbitūrōrum, dēbitūrōs, dēbitūrum		dēbendus
gerunddēbendī, dēbendō, dēbendumsupinedēbitum, dēbitū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

gratiam alicui debere
to owe gratitude to; to be under an obligation to a person.
pecuniam alicui debere
to owe some one money.
debitor, or is qui debet
the debtor.
creditor, or is cui debeo
the creditor.
neque id mirum est or videri debet
there is nothing strange in that.
debitum naturae reddere (Nep. Reg. 1)
to die a natural death.
ex quo intellegitur or intellegi potest, debet
from this it appears, is apparent.
gratiam alicui referre (meritam, debitam) pro aliqua re
to show gratitude (in one's acts).

dēbĕo (dehibeo, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 24
I. infra, cf. Ritschl, Opusc. Phil. 2, 590), ŭi, ĭtum, 2, v. a. de-habeo, (lit., to have or keep from some one: "qui pecuniam dissolvit, statim non habet id quod reddidit, qui autem debet, aes retinet alienum," Cic. Planc. 28, 68 Wund.; hence), to owe (Gr. ὀφείλω; opp. reddo, solvo, dissolvo, persolvo, freq. and class.).
I. Lit., of money and money's worth.
a. Act.,
(a). with acc.: quas (drachmas) de ratione dehibuisti, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 24; cf. Ter. Heaut. 4, 5, 43: Mylasis et Alabandis pecuniam Cluvio debent, Cic. Fam. 13, 56; so, pecuniam alicui, id. ib. 13, 14 et saep.: qui dissolverem quae debeo, Ter. Ph. 4, 3, 51: appellatus es de pecunia, quam pro domo, pro hortis, pro sectione debebas, Cic. Phil. 2, 29, 71; so, grandem pecuniam, Sall. C. 49, 3: quadringenties HS. Cic. Phil. 2, 37: talenta CC, id. Att. 5, 21, 12: quadruplum, duplum, Quint. 7, 4, 44 et saep.—
(b). Without acc.: illis quibus debeo, Ter. Ph. 5, 7, 30: ut illi quam plurimi deberent, Sall. J. 96, 2: nec ipsi debeo, Quint. 4, 4, 6: Cal. Jan. debuit; adhuc non solvit, Cic. Att. 14, 18; Caes. B. C. 3, 20, 3 et saep.—Part. pres. as subst.: debentes, ium, m., debtors, Liv. 6, 27, 3; cf. Sen. Ben. 1, 4, 5.—
b. Pass.: dum pecunia accipitur, quae mihi ex publica permutatione debetur, Cic. Fam. 3, 5, 4; Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 82; cf.: quam ad diem legioni frumentum deberi sciebat, Caes. B. G. 6, 33: a publicanis suae provinciae debitam biennii pecuniam exegerat, id. B. C. 3, 31; Quint. 5, 10, 117: quod si omnino non debetur? Quid? praetor solet judicare deberi? Cic. Q. Fr. 1, 2, 3, § 10; cf.: quaeretur an debeatur, Quint. 7, 1, 21 et saep.—Hence,
(b). Dēbĭ-tum, i, n., what is owing, a debt, Cic. Att. 13, 23 fin.: ne de bonis deminui paterentur priusquam Fundanio debitum solutum esset, id. Q. Fr. 1, 2, 3, § 10: tamquam debito fraudetur, id. Or. 53, 178: ex quibus unum haec epistula in debitum solvet, will pay a debt with one, Sen. Ep. 7, 10: reddere, to repay, Col. 10, pr. 1.
2. Prov.: animan debere, to be over head and ears in debt, Ter. Ph. 4, 3, 56 ("Graecum proverbium, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ψυχὴν ὀφείλει," Don.).
II. Trop., to owe something, i. e. to be under obligation, both to and for something.
A. To owe, i. e. to be bound or under obligation to render, pay, etc., something (for syn. cf.: necesse est, oportet, cogo, decet, opus est, par est, meum, tuum ... alicujus est).
1. In gen.
a. Act.
(a). with acc.: ego hoc tibi pro servitio debeo, Ter. Andr. 4, 1, 51: quo etiam majorem ei res publica gratiam debet, Cic. Phil. 2, 11, 27; so, gratiam, Sall. J. 110; cf. no. b: videris patriae hoc munus debere, Cic. Leg. 1, 25: si fidem debet tutor, Quint. 5, 10, 73 (acc. to Cic. Top. 10, 42, si tutor fidem praestare debet); cf. no. b: dies longa videtur opus debentibus, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 21: quos mundo debes oculos, Ov. M. 4, 197: debueram patriae poenas odiisque meorum, Verg. A. 10, 853; cf. Ov. M. 6, 538; id. F. 5, 648: juvenem nil jam caelestibus ullis debentem, Verg. A. 11, 51; cf. Sil. 15, 371: navis, quae tibi creditum Debes Vergilium finibus Atticis, Hor. Od. 1, 3, 6; Ov. M. 1, 481 sq.: Turnum debent haec jam mihi sacra, Verg. A. 12, 317 Wagn. N. cr.; cf. id. ib. 11, 179: isti tibi quid homines debent? i. e. what business have you with those men? Plaut. Trin. 4, 2, 51; cf. infra b fin.—
(b). With inf., to be bound, in duty bound to do something; I ought, must, should, etc., do it (in class. prose always in the sense of moral necessity; in the poets sometimes for necesse est): debetis velle quae velimus, Plaut. Am. prol. 39: num ferre contra patriam arma illi cum Coriolano debuerunt? Cic. Lael. 11: multo illa gravius aestimare debere, Caes. B. G. 7, 14 fin.: Africam forte Tubero obtinere debebat, id. B. C. 1, 30: debes hoc etiam rescribere, Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 30 et saep.: ut agri vastari, oppida expugnari non debuerint, Caes, B. G. 1, 11: summae se iniquitatis condemnari debere, si, etc., id. ib. 7, 19 fin.: scriptor ... inter perfectos veteresque referri debet, etc., Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 37 (for which ib. 41: inter quos referendus erit? cf. also ultima semper Exspectanda dies homini; dicique beatus Ante obitum nemo debet, Ov. M. 3, 137): ut jam nunc dicat, jam nunc debentia dici, Hor. A. P. 43 et saep.—Poet. for necesse est, oportet, it is necessary, it must needs (so almost everywhere in Lucret.): omnia debet enim cibus integrare novando et fulcire cibus, etc., Lucr. 2, 1146; 3, 188; 4, 61; 1, 232 Munro.—
b. Pass., to be due or owing: Veneri jam et Libero reliquum tempus deberi arbitrabatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 11: quanta his (sc. dis) gratia debeatur, id. Fin. 3, 22, 73; id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 9 fin.: honores non ex merito, sed quasi debitos repetere, Sall. J. 85, 37 et saep.: persolvant grates dignas et praemia reddant Debita! Verg. A. 2, 538: debita quam sulcis committas semina, id. G. 1, 223; Prop. 1, 6, 17; 2, 28, 60 (3, 26, 14 M.): debitae Nymphis opifex coronae, Hor. Od. 3, 27, 30: calentem debita sparges lacrima favillam, id. ib. 2, 6, 23; Prop. 3, 7, 9 (4, 6, 9 M.): soli mihi Pallas debetur, Verg. A. 10, 443 et saep.: quid tibi istic debetur? what business have you there? Plaut. Mil. 2, 5, 18; id. Truc. 2, 2, 8; id. Rud. 1, 1, 34; cf. supra, a
(a). .—Hence, Dēbĭtum, i, n., what is due, debt, duty, obligation (post-Aug. and rare): velut omni vitae debito liberatus, Curt. 10, 5, 3: nepotum nutriendorum, Val. Max. 2, 9, 1: non secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum, Vulg. Rom. 4, 4; 1 Cor. 7, 3: solvere debito, to free from obligation, Sen. Ben. 6, 4, 1.—
2. Poet. (esp. in Verg.) and in post-Aug. prose like the Gr. ὀφείλω and ὀφλισκάνω.
a. To owe, i. e. to be bound or destined by fate or by nature (v. Lidd. and Scott sub. ὀφείλω, no. 3).
(a). Act.. urbem et jam cerno Phrygios debere nepotes, i. e. are destined to found, Ov. M. 15, 444: debet multas hic legibus aevi (i. e. fato) Ante suam mortes, Luc. 2, 82; cf. id. 6, 530.—More usually,
(b). pass., to be due i. e. to be destined: cui regnum Italiae Romanaque tellus Debentur, Verg. A. 4, 276; cf. id. ib. 3, 184; 7, 120; 145: indigetem Aeneam scis Deberi caelo, id. ib. 12, 795: animae, quibus altera fato Corpora debentur, id. ib. 6, 714: sors ista senectae Debita erat nostrae, id. ib. 11, 166: fatis debitus Arruns, i. e. devoted to death, id. ib. 11, 759: dum bello Argolici vastabant Pergama reges Debita casurasque inimicis ignibus arces, id. ib. 8, 375 ("fataliter ad exitium destinata," Serv.); cf. so absol.: tempora Parcae debita complerant, id. ib. 9, 108: morbo naturae debitum reddiderunt, Nep. Reg. 1 fin.: DEBITVM NATVRAE PERSOLVIT, etc., Inscr. Orell. no. 3453; and simply DEBITVM PERSOLVIT, id. ib. no. 4482.—
b. So, because what one is destined by the fates to suffer is regarded as his debt (ὀφλισκάνειν γέλωτά τινι): tu nisi ventis debes ludibrium, cave, Hor. Od. 1, 14, 16.
B. To owe something to some one, to be indebted to or to have to thank one for something.
(a). With acc.: ut hoc summum beneficium Q. Maximo debuerim, Cic. de Or. 1, 26, 121; so magna beneficia mihi, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 12; qui mihi laudem illam eo minus deberet, Cic. Att. 1, 14, 3: me paene plus tibi quam ipsi Miloni debiturum, id. Fam. 2, 6 fin.; cf. id. Planc. 28; and quantum cuique deberet, Nep. Epam. 3 fin.; Plin. Pan. 30, 1 et saep.: o cui debere salutem Confiteor, Ov. M. 7, 164; so vitam, id. Pont. 4, 5, 31; and in a like sense: se, id. M. 7, 48; 2, 644; so, in a bad sense, hoc quoque Tarquinio debebimus, id. Fast. 2, 825. —
(b). Absol., to be indebted, obliged, under obligation to one: verum fac me multis debere, et in iis Plancio, etc., Cic. Planc. 28; cf. with a clause: tibi nos debere fatemur, quod, etc., Ov. M. 4, 76.
C. To continue to owe something; i. e. to withhold, keep back: quod praesenti tibi non tribueram, id absenti debere non potui, Cic. Fam. 7, 19, init.—So pass.: sic enim diximus, et tibi hoc video non posse debere, id. Tusc. 2, 27, 67 fin.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindēbeō

Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *haβēō Latin habeō Latin debeo Contraction of *dēhibeō, from dē- + habeō (“have”), i.e. "I hold away (from someone)". See the same contraction in dēbilis. Compare the later formed dēhabeō.

Insular Romance
  • Sardiniandèpere
  • Sardiniandepi
  • Sardiniandèpiri
  • Sardiniandèvere
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalandeure
  • Occitandever
  • Occitandeure
  • Occitandeveir
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesedeverfrom Old Galician-Portuguese dever
  • Spanishdeberfrom Old Spanish dever
  • Aragonesedever
  • Aragonesedeure
  • Faladebelfrom Old Galician-Portuguese dever
  • Galiciandeberfrom Old Galician-Portuguese dever
  • Asturiandeberfrom Old Leonese dever
  • Leonesedeberefrom Old Leonese dever
  • Mirandesedeberfrom Old Leonese dever
  • Ladinodeverfrom Old Spanish dever
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiandovere
  • Corsicanduveri
  • Dalmatiandovar
  • Venetandover
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliandovê
  • Ladindovei
  • Romanshdovair
  • Romanshduer
Gallo-Italic
  • Liguriandovéi
  • Piedmontesedovej
  • Lombarddüsì
  • Lombarddoè
  • Lombarddovei
  • Lombarddovè
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençaldevêr
  • Old Frenchdevoir
Borrowings
  • Interlinguadeber

Quick answers

What does dēbeō mean in Latin?
dēbeō, a verb, means “to owe something, to be under obligation to and for something; to be bound, in duty bound to do something; "ought", "must", "should"”.
What are the principal parts of dēbeō?
dēbeō, dēbēre, dēbuī, dēbitum (second conjugation).
How do you pronounce dēbeō?
In classical Latin, [ˈdeː.be.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdɛː.be.o].
Where does dēbeō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *de → Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ → Proto-Italic *dē → Latin dēbeō.