Debenture. A certificate of debt issued by a corporation.
Unless secured by a mortgage it is simply a promise to pay, or in other words, a promissory note. It
differs from an income bond only in that it contains a promise to pay a certain amount of interest at
stated periods.  In Great Britain a debenture bond or stock is generally thought to be secured by
mortgage on real property; but this is not necessarily the case. The word merely means a debt or
promise to pay. By universal custom, however, the debenture bonds or stocks of British
companies rank before the preference and ordinary capital; and as a rule they are secured by a
charge on the companies' real property.