debet

Debet is a term used in accounting and finance to denote the left-hand side of an account in double-entry bookkeeping. The word comes from the Latin debet, meaning “he owes,” reflecting historical practice in which the debtor side of a transaction was recorded on the left. In many non-English-speaking jurisdictions, debet is still used to label the debit side of ledgers, often alongside the English word “credit.”

In double-entry accounting, every transaction affects at least two accounts and must balance: the total debits equal the total credits. A debit entry increases assets and expenses and decreases liabilities, equity, and revenue. A credit entry does the opposite: it increases liabilities, equity, and revenue and decreases assets and expenses. The exact effect depends on the type of account being affected, so the practical impact of a debit varies by context.

Common examples illustrate the rule. When a company purchases office supplies for cash, the debit side records the increase in supplies (an asset) and the credit side records the decrease in cash. When revenue is earned on credit, one would debit Accounts Receivable (an asset) and credit Revenue (income). Debet and credit must balance to preserve the accounting equation: Assets equal Liabilities plus Equity.

Beyond bookkeeping, the term also appears in banking language, where a debit typically refers to money leaving an account, and a credit to money entering it. The term’s usage varies by language and jurisdiction, but the underlying concept of a left-hand (debet) versus right-hand (credit) entry remains central to double-entry accounting.