indenture Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a concave cut into a surface or edge (as in a coastline)
indentation.
noun formal agreement between the issuer of bonds and the bondholders as to terms of the debt
noun a contract binding one party into the service of another for a specified term
noun the space left between the margin and the start of an indented line
indention; indent; indentation.
verb bind by or as if by indentures, as of an apprentice or servant
indent.
- an indentured servant

OE. endenture, OF. endenture, LL. indentura a deed in duplicate, with indented edges. See the Note below. See Indent.

The act of indenting, or state of being indented.
(Law) A mutual agreement in writing between two or more parties, whereof each party has usually a counterpart or duplicate; sometimes in the pl., a short form for indentures of apprenticeship, the contract by which a youth is bound apprentice to a master.
The law is the best expositor of the gospel; they are like a pair of indentures: they answer in every part. C. Leslie.
✍ Indentures were originally duplicates, laid together and intended by a notched cut or line, or else written on the same piece of parchment and separated by a notched line so that the two papers or parchments corresponded to each other. But indenting has gradually become a mere form, and is often neglected, while the writings or counterparts retain the name of indentures.

imperfect & past participle Indentured ; present participle & verbal noun Indenturing

To indent; to make hollows, notches, or wrinkles in; to furrow.
Though age may creep on, and indenture the brow. Woty.
To bind by indentures or written contract; as, to indenture an apprentice.