The History of the Word Mortgage

Today we are taking a look at the history behind the word mortgage. The term dates back to the late 14^th century and comes from the Old French word, morgage (mort gaige was the 13^th century version). The Latin root words are “mort,” meaning “dead,” and “gage,” which means “pledge.” So the word mortgage literally means “dead pledge” – it was so named because it describes a deal that dies either when the debt is paid or when payment fails. But wait – you may have noticed that morgage doesn’t have a “t” in it; the letter was restored in Modern English based on Latin. Now you know!