v. t.
n. [ F. banqueroute, fr. It. bancarotta bankruptcy; banca bank (fr. OHG. banch, G. bank, bench) + rotta broken, fr. L. ruptus, p. p. of rumpere to break. At Florence, it is said, the bankrupt had his bench (i.e., money table) broken. See 1st Bank, and Rupture, n. ]
☞ In England, until the year 1861 none but a “trader” could be made a bankrupt; a non-trader failing to meet his liabilities being an “insolvent”. But this distinction was abolished by the Bankruptcy Act of 1861. The laws of 1841 and 1867 of the United States relating to bankruptcy applied this designation
a.
Bankrupt law,
n.;