MORTGAGE---IS THIS A LATIN WORD...??? Does the Latin "Mort" have anything to do with the word mortgage...??? MORT means Death in Latin...( I think ) Anyone know any information...?
by 
BillyGEE
ANSWERS: 5
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I know the "mort" part originally comes from the Latin "mortuus," meaning dead. I don't know why....probably because I don't know what the "gage" part is all about.
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It's all starting to make sense to be now. gage probably means freedom. I definitely experienced a Death of my Freedom when i took out a Mortgage!
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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.
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Historically, when the oldest son of a nobleman needed large sums of money which his father refused to give him, he often turned to borrowing. In arranging the loan, he would gage or “pledge” to repay the debt when his father died (at which time the son expected to receive his inheritance). So it is that mortgage originally meant a pledge to repay upon the death of one’s father.
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"History of the word mortgage The word mortgage is derived from a "Law French" term used by English lawyers in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge", and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure."
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