The word 债券 is formed by combining the character 债, meaning debt, which itself is composed of 人 (person) and 责 (responsibility), indicating a personal obligation, with the character 券, meaning certificate or ticket, formed from 刀 (knife) and 卷 (scroll), suggesting a document that can be severed or issued. Together, these characters create a compound where 债 denotes the debt and 券 denotes the certificate, resulting in the term for a bond or debt security.