poor-debtor law

noun

: a law providing relief for debtors usually by affording them time to pay their just debts by installments, or by freeing them from arrest or imprisonment on their delivering all their property not exempt from creditors to a trustee or other public officer for the benefit of the creditors, or on their taking an oath that they have property within the amount exempted from the claims of creditors

Word History

Etymology

poor debtor

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Cite this Entry

“Poor-debtor law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poor-debtor%20law. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

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