Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BANK'RUPT, n. [Fr. banqueroute; Sp. bancarrota, bankruptcy, bank and Sp. and Port. roto, It. rotto, broken; Eng. rout, defeat. This may signify bench-broken, or bank-broken; most probably the latter, referring to the fund or stock. The last syllable is the Latin ruptus contracted; Norm. roupt, rous, broken.]

1. A trader who secretes himself, or does certain other acts tending to defraud his creditors. – Blackstone.
2. In a less technical sense, a trader who fails or becomes unable to pay his just debts; an insolvent trader. In strictness, no person but a trader can be a bankrupt. Bankruptcy is applied to merchants and traders; insolvency, to other persons.