Datorie

Datorie is a Romanian noun meaning obligation or debt. It can refer to a financial liability owed to another person or institution, or to a moral, legal, or social duty. In everyday language, it is used to describe both monetary debts and broader duties one has to fulfill.

Etymology: The term originates in Latin debitum, via Old Romanian, and developed into Romanian as datorie. It has cognates in other Romance languages and is linked to the general notion of owing something.

Usage: In legal contexts, datorie denotes obligations arising from contracts or statutes; in accounting, datorii are liabilities on the balance sheet. In ethics and philosophy, phrases like datorie morală describe duties to others or to society. The plural form datorii is common when referring to multiple obligations.

Examples: It is the citizen’s duty to respect the laws. I have a debt of 5,000 lei to the bank. The concept also appears in phrases like îndeplinirea datoriilor, meaning fulfilling one’s duties.