Mortgage

Do you know the latin word for mortgage?

It means Death Grip! That's probably a secret you want to keep to yourself lol.

.. from medieval times when, if one fell on hard times, one solution was to seek to mortgage a property you already owned in order to get cash.

From Websters:

mort·gage Pronunciation: \ˈmȯr-gij\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English morgage, from Anglo-French mortgage, from mort dead (from Latin mortuus) + gage gage — more at murder Date: 15th century

From  American Heritage Dictionary:

 ETYMOLOGY: Middle English morgage, from Old French : mort, dead (from Vulgar Latin *mortus, from Latin mortuus, past participle of mor, to die + gage, pledge (of Germanic origin).

Comments

[Gerard Hagan]

Pretty funny, death grip might not be something you'd want to mention to a real estate client.

Gerard Hagan - Edmonton Homes

[myrtle beach]

I can see where we would call a mortgage a death grip.

[Myrtle Beach Real Estate]

Mortgage comes from mort meaning death in French (mortuus in Latin) + gage meaning promise in Old French.

I think it means that you promise to give the mortgage people your house, but when you've paid it all back, the promise dies.