n. An accessory agreement through which a person binds themselves for another already bound, either in whole or in part, as for their debt, default or miscarriage; the assumption of liability for the obligations of another.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The state of being surety; the obligation of a person to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The state of being surety; the obligation of a person to answer for the debt, fault, or conduct of another.
Word Usage
"Be it by suretyship, shipwreck, fire, spoil and pillage of soldiers, or what loss soever, it boots not, it will work the like effect, the same desolation in provinces and cities, as well as private persons."