The etymology of the word duty lies in the Latin, in the word “debēre” and this of “dehibere” composed of the prefix “de” which means “withdrawal or deprivation” in addition to the verb “habere” which means “have”. Duty is understood as the obligation, commitment or moral responsibility that concerns each person and that is based on acting under the principles of morality, justice or their own conscience.That is, it is what the human being is obliged to, either because it has been imposed as a moral, legal, religious norm or simply by custom; and if he does not comply with these legal norms, he could be punished respectively according to what the law of that jurisdiction stipulates, which may be with prison or with fines; On the other hand, if moral duties are not fulfilled, it will be the conscience of each individual through remorse that is in charge of being a judge.
The word duty is usually related to morality, reason, virtue, ethics and righteousness, since it alludes to forms or actions of behavior of an individual that have been socially established throughout the history of humanity, as appropriate or pertinent for certain situations or actions that, without these, society could not have order, harmony, or meaning. Each person must fulfill certain duties that are established for him such as children must fulfill their tasks, respect their parents or their elders, perform certain tasks stipulated by other people with authority over them; and also adults must fulfill certain duties such as working, respecting and complying with traffic regulations, paying taxes among many other tasks.
Finally, it is important to note that the dictionary of the royal academy defines this word as what man is obliged to, either by religious precepts or natural or positive laws. In addition, it is also called duty when a person owns a debt and is in the obligation to cancel it.
