bearer bond
9
9.0
- noun
- /ˈbɛrər bɑnd/
- Archaic
:
bono al portador
- Investors often prefer bearer bonds for their simplicity and ease of transfer without needing to register ownership.
- bearer bonds, good as cash
- million in bearer bonds
Examples
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She inherited a collection of bearer bonds, which allowed her to claim interest payments as the holder of the physical documents.
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Four hundred million in highly liquid U.S. bearer bonds.
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One hundred million pounds... ..in bearer bonds.
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Some bearer bonds disappeared from his office.
Fiction book (1996) -
The terms, gentlemen, were $100 million in negotiable bearer bonds from each of you.
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Yes, 20 million euro in untraceable bearer bonds.
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And the best part: Millions in unregistered bearer bonds, all ours.
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The police said, were it not for the poor driving habits, the 20 million euros in bearer bonds would have been cashed... and gone by this afternoon.
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The company issued a series of bearer bonds that ensured interest payments were accessible to whoever held the certificates.
Synonyms
564
4.4
A certificate promising to repay borrowed money with interest
An official paper that shows a loan to a government or company, with amount, interest, and payback date
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a bond payable to whoever holds the certificate' is directly compositional from 'bearer' (the person who holds/receives payment) + 'bond' (debt instrument). Although a somewhat legal/financial term, the constituent meanings make the overall sense obvious, and many languages use an equivalent construction, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE.
Etymology
Bearer bond is a paper bond that pays whoever holds the physical certificate. The word bearer means the person who carries the paper, and these bonds often have tear-off small slips called 'coupons' to collect interest. That is why whoever has the paper is treated like the owner and the bond is payable to 'whoever holds it', so it can be passed on or lost like cash.