bond
UK /bɒnd/ · US /bɑnd/ noun, verb, adjective, proper noun
- noun (law) A document constituting evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds.
- noun (finance) A documentary obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract; a debenture. “Many say that government and corporate bonds are a good investment to balance against a portfolio consisting primarily of stocks.”
- noun A partial payment made to show a provider that the customer is sincere about buying a product or a service. If the product or service is not purchased the customer then forfeits the bond.
- noun (often in the plural) A physical connection which binds, a band. “The prisoner was brought before the tribunal in iron bonds.”
- noun An emotional link, connection or union; that which holds two or more people together, as in a friendship; a tie. “They had grown up as friends and neighbors, and not even vastly differing political views could break the bond of their friendship.”
- noun Moral or political duty or obligation.
- noun (chemistry) A link or force between neighbouring atoms in a molecule. “Organic chemistry primarily consists of the study of carbon bonds, in their many variations.”
- noun A binding agreement, a covenant. “You could rely on him. His word was his bond.”
- verb (transitive) To connect, secure or tie with a bond; to bind. “The gargantuan ape was bonded in iron chains and carted onto the stage.”
- verb (transitive) To cause to adhere (one material with another). “The children bonded their snapshots to the scrapbook pages with mucilage.”
- verb (transitive, chemistry) To form a chemical compound with. “Under unusual conditions, even gold can be made to bond with other elements.”
- verb (transitive) To guarantee or secure a financial risk. “The contractor was bonded with a local underwriter.”
- verb To form a friendship or emotional connection. “The men had bonded while serving together in Vietnam.”
- verb (transitive) To put in a bonded warehouse; to secure (goods) until the associated duties are paid.
- verb (transitive, construction) To lay bricks in a specific pattern.
- verb (transitive, electricity) To make a reliable electrical connection between two conductors (or any pieces of metal that may potentially become conductors). “A house's distribution panel should always be bonded to the grounding rods via a panel bond.”
- noun A peasant; churl.
- noun A vassal; serf; one held in bondage to a superior.
- adjective Subject to the tenure called bondage.
- adjective In a state of servitude or slavedom; not free.
Synonyms
bondwork cling stick chemical bond bond certificate alliance bail bail bond shackle hamper trammel attachment bond paper Julian Bond James Bond adhesiveness adhesion adherence adhere hold fast bind stick to tie attach bring together draw together
Etymology
From Middle English bond, a variant of band, from Old English beand, bænd, bend (“bond, chain, fetter, band, ribbon, ornament, chaplet, crown”), from Proto-Germanic *bandaz, *bandiz (“band, fetter”)، from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Cognate with Dutch band, German Band, Swedish band. Doublet of Bund. Related to bind.
Inherited from Middle English bonden.
From Middle English bonde (“peasant, servant, bondman”), from Old English bōnda, būnda (“householder, freeman, plebeian, husband”), perhaps from Old Norse bóndi (“husbandman, householder”, literally “dweller”), or a contraction of Old English būend (“dweller, inhabitant”), both from Proto-Germanic *būwandz (“dweller”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become, grow, appear”). See also bower, boor.
* As an English occupational surname, from the noun bond, bondman, reinforced by Old Norse bóndi (“peasant, farmer”). Also as a variant of Band.
* As a Swedish surname, variant of Bonde.
* As a Ukrainian surname, shortened from Bondarenko.
* As a Dutch surname, variant of Bont, from bont (“speckled, motley”), compare Bonte.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which binds, ties, fastens,or confines, or by which anything is fastened or bound, as a cord, chain, etc.; a band; a ligament; a shackle or a manacle.
- noun pl.
- verb To place under the conditions of a bond; to mortgage; to secure the payment of the duties on (goods or merchandise) by giving a bond.
- verb To dispose in building, as the materials of a wall, so as to secure solidity.
Etymology [The same word as band. Cf. Band, Bend.]
Etymology [OE. bond, bonde, peasant, serf, AS. bonda]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bond”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details