indenture

[in-den-cher] /ɪnˈdɛn tʃər/
noun
1.
a deed or agreement executed in two or more copies with edges correspondingly indented as a means of identification.
2.
any deed, written contract, or sealed agreement.
3.
a contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound to service.
4.
any official or formal list, certificate, etc., authenticated for use as a voucher or the like.
5.
the formal agreement between a group of bondholders and the debtor as to the terms of the debt.
6.
indentation.
verb (used with object), indentured, indenturing.
7.
to bind by indenture, as an apprentice.
8.
Archaic. to make a depression in; indent; wrinkle; furrow.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin indentūra. See indent1, -ure
Related forms
indentureship, noun
unindentured, adjective
Examples from the web for indenture
  • Servants are those which serve only for a few years, according to the time of indenture, or the custom of the country.
  • The terms of the indenture governing our senior notes do not fully prohibit us or our subsidiaries from doing so.
  • If people choose to indenture themselves, that is there business.
  • To keep costs down, the state allows individual employers to indenture people.
  • Trust indenture considered to be mortgage on real property.
  • Thus, indenture followed closely on the heels of slavery in order to replace the slaves.
British Dictionary definitions for indenture

indenture

/ɪnˈdɛntʃə/
noun
1.
any deed, contract, or sealed agreement between two or more parties
2.
(formerly) a deed drawn up in duplicate, each part having correspondingly indented edges for identification and security
3.
(often pl) a contract between an apprentice and his master
4.
a formal or official list or certificate authenticated for use as a voucher, etc
5.
a less common word for indentation
verb
6.
(intransitive) to enter into an agreement by indenture
7.
(transitive) to bind (an apprentice, servant, etc) by indenture
8.
(transitive) (obsolete) to indent or wrinkle
Derived Forms
indentureship, noun
Word Origin and History for indenture
n.

"contract for services," late 14c., from Anglo-French endenture, Old French endenteure "indentation," from endenter (see indent). Such contracts (especially between master craftsmen and apprentices) were written in full identical versions on a sheet of parchment, which was then cut apart in a zigzag, or "notched" line. Each party took one, and the genuineness of a document of indenture could be proved by juxtaposition with its counterpart. As a verb, 1650s, from the noun.