来自古英语agan,拥有，所有，来自Proto-Germanic*aigan,占有，来自PIE*aik,掌握，掌管，词源同ought,own.其现义来自古英语习语agan to geldanne,用拥有的去支付或偿还，即own to yield.从而与own产生词义上的差别。
英文词源
owe
owe: [OE] Owe goes back to a prehistoric Indo- European base *oik-, *ik- denoting ‘possession’. Its Germanic descendant *aig- produced a range of ‘possession’-verbs, none of which now survives except Swedish äga, Danish eie, and English owe. In the Old English period this meant ‘possess’, but that sense was gradually taken over by the related own, and owe developed in the 12th century to ‘have to repay’. A more general notion of ‘obligation’ also emerged, which is now restricted to ought, originally the past tense of owe. => ought, own
owe (v.)
Old English agan (past tense ahte) "to have, own," from Proto-Germanic *aigan "to possess" (cognates: Old Frisian aga, Old Norse eiga, Old High German eigan, Gothic aigan "to possess, have"), from PIE *aik- "to be master of, possess" (cognates: Sanskrit ise "he owns," isah "owner, lord, ruler;" Avestan is- "riches," isvan- "well-off, rich").
Sense of "to have to repay" began in late Old English with the phrase agan to geldanne literally "to own to yield," which was used to translate Latin debere (earlier in Old English this would have been sceal "shall"); by late 12c. the phrase had been shortened to simply agan, and own (v.) took over this word's original sense.
An original Germanic preterite-present verb (along with can (v.1), dare, may, etc.). New past tense form owed arose 15c. to replace oughte, which developed into ought (v.).
双语例句
1. I'm broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars.
我破产了，莉薇，而且我欠了几百万美元的债。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I owe a big debt of gratitude to her.
我对她万分感激。
来自柯林斯例句
3. You owe a certain person a sum of money.
你欠某人一笔钱。
来自柯林斯例句
4. 85 percent of all American households owe money on mortgages.
85%的美国家庭背有按揭债务.
来自柯林斯例句
5. You owe it to yourself to get some professional help.