Hypothecate
/haɪˈpɑθɪkeɪt/verb
To pledge property as security for a debt without handing over possession of it.
The Greek roots
Literally: “to place under as security”
The story of the word
ὑποθήκη is something placed underneath as security, and hypothesis is the identical construction: a thing put under an argument to hold it up. Roman law used hypotheca for the pledge where the debtor keeps the property, unlike a pawn, and medieval lawyers carried the word into English. British budget debate uses it in a further sense, where a hypothecated tax is one whose revenue is tied to a named purpose instead of disappearing into the general fund.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Medieval Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
In a sentence
The shipowner hypothecated the cargo to raise money for repairs.
Campaigners want the levy hypothecated to social care.