owe

Owe is a verb in the English language that expresses obligation to pay, repay, or perform something. It is used when a person or entity is indebted to another, for example: "I owe you five dollars" or "The company owes its employees back pay." It can also denote a moral or social obligation, as in "I owe you an apology" or "We owe it to the community to act responsibly."

Grammatical notes: owe is transitive and takes an object specifying what is owed, usually followed by "to" when indicating the creditor (e.g., "owed to the bank") or directly by the person owed (e.g., "I owe you"). The principal parts are owe, owed, owed. The present participle is owing (e.g., "I am owing money to the bank"). The expression "to owe" appears in fixed phrases such as "owe someone an apology" and "owe it to someone to do something."

Etymology: The verb owes its roots in the Germanic family of languages, with cognates in related languages that reflect the broad concept of obligation and debt across European tongues.

Name usage: In addition to its lexical use, Owe is a personal name in some Scandinavian communities, where it has appeared as a masculine given name. It is less common as a surname, though it can appear in historical or regional records.

See also: debt, obligation, apology, credit, liability.