Se-cū'ri-ty, n.

n. [Lat. securitas, Fr. sécurité, Pr. securitat, seguritat, Sp. seguridad, It. securità, securtù, sicurità, sicurtà. See SECURE.] 1. The condition of being secure; as, (a.) Freedom from apprehension, anxiety, or care; confidence of safety. (b.) Hence, sometimes, over-carelessness; negligence. “That he might sin with more security.” Davies. (c.) Freedom from risk; safety. Give yourself merely to chance and hazard, From firm security. Shak. Some . . . alleged that we should have no security for our trade. Swift. 2. That which secures or makes safe; protection; guard; defense; hence, specifically, (a.) Something given or deposited to make certain the fulfillment of an obligation, the observance of a provision, the payment of a debt, or the like; surety; pledge. Those who lent him money lent it on no security but his bare word. Macaulay. (b.) A person who becomes surety for another, or who engages himself for the performance of another’s obligation. Bouvier. 3. An evidence of debt or of property, as a bond, a certificate of stock, and the like; as, government securities. Syn.—Protection; defense; guard; shelter; safety; certainty; ease; assurance; carelessness; confidence; surety; pledge.