Liabilities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of financial commitment or obligation that necessitates repayment, which can influence an entity's fiscal status and overall financial obligations
2. These are the monetary responsibilities or debts an individual or organization must address, affecting their economic position and balance sheet
3. Amounts a person or company owes to others, representing debts or financial commitments that must be settled ; conditions or traits that cause disadvantage or expose someone to risk or harm

Etymology: "Liabilities" is the plural of "liability," which is formed from the adjective "liable" plus the suffix "-ity." The adjective "liable" came into English from Old French, and the suffix traces back through Latin "-itas" and Old French "-ite" before settling into English as "-ity," so the noun is a patchwork of French and Latin parts assembled in English. The sense of "liable" that matters here is the older one of being bound or answerable by law, obligated to make good on something. Over time that legal idea of answerability turned into the financial sense the word carries now, where a liability is a debt or obligation an entity must eventually settle. In accounting, liabilities sit opposite assets on the balance sheet, which is why the plural form appears so often in business writing.

Synonyms: debts, obligations

Antonyms: assets, resources