mortgage

[mawr-gij] /ˈmɔr gɪdʒ/
noun
1.
a conveyance of an interest in property as security for the repayment of money borrowed.
2.
the deed by which such a transaction is effected.
3.
the rights conferred by it, or the state of the property conveyed.
verb (used with object), mortgaged, mortgaging.
4.
Law. to convey or place (real property) under a mortgage.
5.
to place under advance obligation; pledge:
to mortgage one's life to the defense of democracy.
Origin
1350-1400; earlier morgage, Middle English < Old French mortgage, equivalent to mort dead (< Latin mortuus) + gage pledge, gage1
Related forms
overmortgage, verb, overmortgaged, overmortgaging.
remortgage, verb (used with object), remortgaged, remortgaging.
submortgage, noun
unmortgage, verb (used with object), unmortgaged, unmortgaging.
Examples from the web for mortgages
  • Today's panic was triggered by the surprising discovery of higher defaults on subprime mortgages than anybody expected.
  • They then traded their backpacks for mortgages and turned their attention to families and careers.
  • But they also have truck payments, mortgages, and medical bills to pay.
  • mortgages and property taxes still have to be paid on that land, with little help from the government.
  • Instead he should have suggested rent become deductible for the same reason as mortgages, it is part of the cost of living.
  • Some of it is cause by high prices for medical technologies or bad mortgages or bad choices.
  • Poor schlumps in the suburbs, the only monsters with families,mortgages to pay and lawns that need mowing.
  • But they have tenure to gain, mortgages to pay, and fame to accrue.
  • Other companies could access these files to decide who should be given loans, mortgages, and other kinds of credit.
  • Bundling mortgages into securities made home ownership possible for many.
British Dictionary definitions for mortgages

mortgage

/ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ/
noun
1.
an agreement under which a person borrows money to buy property, esp a house, and the lender may take possession of the property if the borrower fails to repay the money
2.
the deed effecting such an agreement
3.
the loan obtained under such an agreement: a mortgage of £48 000
4.
a regular payment of money borrowed under such an agreement: a mortgage of £247 per month
verb (transitive)
5.
to pledge (a house or other property) as security for the repayment of a loan
adjective
6.
of or relating to a mortgage: a mortgage payment
Derived Forms
mortgageable, adjective
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, literally: dead pledge, from mort dead + gage security, gage1
Word Origin and History for mortgages

mortgage

n.

late 14c., morgage, "conveyance of property as security for a loan or agreement," from Old French morgage (13c.), mort gaige, literally "dead pledge" (replaced in modern Frech by hypothèque), from mort "dead" (see mortal (adj.)) + gage "pledge" (see wage (n.)). So called because the deal dies either when the debt is paid or when payment fails. Old French mort is from Vulgar Latin *mortus "dead," from Latin mortuus, past participle of mori "to die" (see mortal (adj.)). The -t- restored in English based on Latin.

v.

late 15c., from mortgage (n.). Related: Mortgaged; mortgaging.

mortgages in Culture
mortgage [(mawr-gij)]

A legal agreement that creates an interest in real estate between a borrower and a lender. Commonly used to purchase homes, mortgages specify the terms by which the purchaser borrows from the lender (usually a bank or a savings and loan association), using his or her title to the house as security for the unpaid balance of the loan.