1670s, in reference to lands given to religious orders, from Medieval Latin amortizationem (nominative amortizatio), noun of action from past participle stem of amortizare (see amortize). Of debts, from 1824.
A term that refers either to the gradual paying off of a debt in regular installments over a period of time or to the depreciation of the “book value” (that is, the standard assessed value) of an asset over a period of time.