Word Study
bankrupt
CIDE DICTIONARY
bankrupt, n. [F. banqueroute, fr. It. bancarotta bankruptcy; banca bank (fr. OHG. banch, G. bank, bench) + rotta broken, fr. L. ruptus, p. p. of rumpere to break. At Florence, it is said, the bankrupt had his bench (i.e., money table) broken. See 1st Bank, and Rupture, n. ].
- A trader who secretes himself, or does certain other acts tending to defraud his creditors. Blackstone. [1913 Webster]
- A trader who becomes unable to pay his debts; an insolvent trader; popularly, any person who is unable to pay his debts; an insolvent person. M
[1913 Webster] - A person who, in accordance with the terms of a law relating to bankruptcy, has been judicially declared to be unable to meet his liabilities. [1913 Webster]" In England, until the year 1861 none but a “trader” could be made a bankrupt; a non-trader failing to meet his liabilities being an “insolvent”. But this distinction was abolished by the Bankruptcy Act of 1861. The laws of 1841 and 1867 of the United States relating to bankruptcy applied this designation
bankrupt to others besides those engaged in trade." [1913 Webster]
bankrupt, a.
- Being a bankrupt or in a condition of bankruptcy; unable to pay, or legally discharged from paying, one's debts; as, a bankrupt merchant. [1913 Webster]
- Depleted of money; not having the means of meeting pecuniary liabilities; as, a bankrupt treasury. [1913 Webster]
- Relating to bankrupts and bankruptcy. [1913 Webster]
- Destitute of, or wholly wanting (something once possessed, or something one should possess). Sheridan. [1913 Webster]
bankrupt, v. t.
To make bankrupt; to bring financial ruin upon; to impoverish. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
bankrupt, adj., n., & v.
--adj.
1 a insolvent; declared in law unable to pay debts. b undergoing the legal process resulting from this.
2 (often foll. by of) exhausted or drained (of some quality etc.); deficient, lacking.
--n.
1 a an insolvent person whose estate is administered and disposed of for the benefit of the creditors. b an insolvent debtor.
2 a person exhausted of or deficient in a certain attribute (a moral bankrupt).
--v.tr. make bankrupt.
--adj.
1 a insolvent; declared in law unable to pay debts. b undergoing the legal process resulting from this.
2 (often foll. by of) exhausted or drained (of some quality etc.); deficient, lacking.
--n.
1 a an insolvent person whose estate is administered and disposed of for the benefit of the creditors. b an insolvent debtor.
2 a person exhausted of or deficient in a certain attribute (a moral bankrupt).
--v.tr. make bankrupt.
Derivative
bankruptcy n. (pl. -ies).
Etymology
16th c.: f. It banca rotta broken bench (as BANK(2), L rumpere rupt- break), assim. to L
THESAURUS
bankrupt
almsman, almswoman, also-ran, ausgespielt, bankrupt in, bare, bare of, beggar, bereft of, blasted, blighted, break, broke, broken, bust, busted, casual, charity case, denudate, denude, denuded of, deprive, deprived of, desolated, destitute, destitute of, destroyed, devastated, devoid of, dilapidate, dismantle, disrobe, divest, done for, done in, down-and-out, down-and-outer, drain, draw, draw down, dud, empty of, exhaust, failed, failure, fallen, false alarm, finished, flop, fold up, for want of, forlorn of, fortuneless, gone to pot, hardcase, homeless, impair, impoverish, in default of, in receivership, in ruins, in the gutter, in the red, in want of, incapacitate, indigent, insolvent, insolvent debtor, irremediable, kaput, lacking, lame duck, landless, loser, missing, moneyless, needing, on the rocks, out of, out of funds, out of pocket, overthrown, pauper, pauperize, penniless, penniless man, poor devil, poor man, poorling, propertyless, ravaged, reduce, ruin, ruined, ruinous, scant of, scuttle, shipwreck, short, short of, shy, shy of, sink, spoiled, starveling, unblessed with, undone, unpossessed of, use up, void of, wanting, washout, wasted, welfare client, without a sou, wreck, wreckedROGET THESAURUS
bankrupt
Failure
N failure, nonsuccess, nonfulfillment, dead failure, successlessness, abortion, miscarriage, brutum fulmen, labor in vain, no go, inefficacy, inefficaciousness, vain attempt, ineffectual attempt, abortive attempt, abortive efforts, flash in the pan, lame and impotent conclusion, frustration, slip 'twixt cup and lip, blunder, fault, omission, miss, oversight, slip, trip, stumble, claudication, footfall, false step, wrong step, faux pas, titubation, b_evue, faute, lurch, botchery, scrape, mess, fiasco, breakdown, flunk, mishap, split, collapse, smash, blow, explosion, repulse, rebuff, defeat, rout, overthrow, discomfiture, beating, drubbing, quietus, nonsuit, subjugation, checkmate, stalemate, fool's mate, fall, downfall, ruin, perdition, wreck, deathblow, bankruptcy, losing game, affaire flamb_ee, victim, bankrupt, flunker, flunky, unsuccessful, successless, failing, tripping, at fault, unfortunate, abortive, addle, stillborn, fruitless, bootless, ineffectual, ineffective, inconsequential, trifling, nugatory, inefficient, insufficient, unavailing, of no effect, aground, grounded, swamped, stranded, cast away, wrecked, foundered, capsized, shipwrecked, nonsuited, foiled, defeated, struck down, borne down, broken down, downtrodden, overborne, overwhelmed, all up with, ploughed, plowed, plucked, lost, undone, ruined, broken, bankrupt, played out, done up, done for, dead beat, ruined root and branch, flambe, knocked on the head, destroyed, frustrated, crossed, unhinged, disconcerted dashed, thrown off one's balance, thrown on one's back, thrown on one's beam ends, unhorsed, in a sorry plight, hard hit, stultified, befooled, dished, hoist on one's own petard, victimized, sacrificed, wide of the mark, out of one's reckoning, left in the lurch, thrown away, unattained, uncompleted, unsuccessfully, to little or no purpose, in vain, re infecta, the bubble has burst, the jig is up, the game is up, all is lost, the devil to pay, parturiunt montes, dies infaustus, tout est perdu hors l'honneur, failure, nonsuccess, nonfulfillment, dead failure, successlessness, abortion, miscarriage, brutum fulmen, labor in vain, no go, inefficacy, inefficaciousness, vain attempt, ineffectual attempt, abortive attempt, abortive efforts, flash in the pan, lame and impotent conclusion, frustration, slip 'twixt cup and lip, blunder, fault, omission, miss, oversight, slip, trip, stumble, claudication, footfall, false step, wrong step, faux pas, titubation, b_evue, faute, lurch, botchery, scrape, mess, fiasco, breakdown, flunk, mishap, split, collapse, smash, blow, explosion, repulse, rebuff, defeat, rout, overthrow, discomfiture, beating, drubbing, quietus, nonsuit, subjugation, checkmate, stalemate, fool's mate, fall, downfall, ruin, perdition, wreck, deathblow, bankruptcy, losing game, affaire flamb_ee, victim, bankrupt, flunker, flunky, unsuccessful, successless, failing, tripping, at fault, unfortunate, abortive, addle, stillborn, fruitless, bootless, ineffectual, ineffective, inconsequential, trifling, nugatory, inefficient, insufficient, unavailing, of no effect, aground, grounded, swamped, stranded, cast away, wrecked, foundered, capsized, shipwrecked, nonsuited, foiled, defeated, struck down, borne down, broken down, downtrodden, overborne, overwhelmed, all up with, ploughed, plowed, plucked, lost, undone, ruined, broken, bankrupt, played out, done up, done for, dead beat, ruined root and branch, flambe, knocked on the head, destroyed, frustrated, crossed, unhinged, disconcerted dashed, thrown off one's balance, thrown on one's back, thrown on one's beam ends, unhorsed, in a sorry plight, hard hit, stultified, befooled, dished, hoist on one's own petard, victimized, sacrificed, wide of the mark, out of one's reckoning, left in the lurch, thrown away, unattained, uncompleted, unsuccessfully, to little or no purpose, in vain, re infecta, the bubble has burst, the jig is up, the game is up, all is lost, the devil to pay, parturiunt montes, dies infaustus, tout est perdu hors l'honneur.Nonpayment
N nonpayment, default, defalcation, protest, repudiation, application of the sponge, whitewashing, insolvency, bankruptcy, failure, insufficiency, run upon a bank, overdrawn account, waste paper bonds, dishonored bills, protested bills, bogus check, bogus cheque, rubber check, bankrupt, insolvent, debtor, lame duck, man of straw, welsher, stag, defaulter, levanter, not paying, non-paying, non-performing, in debt, behindhand, in arrear, behind in payments, in arrears, beggared, unable to make both ends meet, minus, worse than nothing, worthless, insolvent, bankrupt, in the gazette, gazetted, unpaid, gratis, unremunerated, nonpayment, default, defalcation, protest, repudiation, application of the sponge, whitewashing, insolvency, bankruptcy, failure, insufficiency, run upon a bank, overdrawn account, waste paper bonds, dishonored bills, protested bills, bogus check, bogus cheque, rubber check, bankrupt, insolvent, debtor, lame duck, man of straw, welsher, stag, defaulter, levanter, not paying, non-paying, non-performing, in debt, behindhand, in arrear, behind in payments, in arrears, beggared, unable to make both ends meet, minus, worse than nothing, worthless, insolvent, bankrupt, in the gazette, gazetted, unpaid, gratis, unremunerated.For further exploring for "bankrupt" in Webster Dictionary Online
